Walk to End Lupus Now Austin 5K Saturday at Camp Mabry

Have you ever heard of Lupus? 

Many people haven’t, unless they or someone they know has it.

Lupus is a mysterious, autoimmune disease that causes your antibodies to turn against you – causing inflammation and tissue damage to organs.

Right now, 1.5 million Americans are fighting Lupus – including 120,000 Texans.

On Saturday, Sept. 24th, hundreds of people will gather in Austin for the Walk to End Lupus Now 5K.

“This is the Lupus Foundation of America's signature event, its signature fundraising event,” explained Dr. Jaime Guyden, a holistic medical doctor and Lupus patient. “And, the whole point is to bring together a community for comradery, for support, to let people know they're not alone. Because this disease is so elusive, and you can feel very alone with it, it's an opportunity for people to come together.”

Guyden said raising awareness and money for Lupus research is essential to finding a cure.

“Now that more celebrities are coming out - you now, Nick Cannon has come out, Toni Braxton has come out, Selena Gomez has come out - that they all have this disease,” said Guyden. “When we get this kind of awareness - then the research dollars start pouring in. But, it all starts with awareness. Until we get to a place where most people are able to say, 'okay this is Lupus and this is how is affects people,’ then we won't really get the research dollars."

Walk to End Lupus Now Austin will be held, rain or shine, on Saturday morning at Camp Mabry. Registration starts at 8:00 a.m. The program, which includes testimonials, begins at 9:00 a.m. And, the 5K gets going at 10:00 a.m. 

Austin musician, Anastasia, will MC the event. 

And, FOX 7 evening anchor, Rebecca Thomas will share her personal connection to Lupus.

Her mother has the disease, which damaged her kidneys – leading Rebecca to donate a kidney to her mother in November of 2015.

To learn more about Walk to End Lupus Austin – click here.