The whole story seems unbelievable when I write it down and read it back aloud. I only know it’s true because I lived it. My story begins running the 2002 Boston Marathon. I chose to run that particular race in order to raise money for the American Liver Foundation.

I was diagnosed with Stage 3 liver fibrosis. I ran Boston in order to benefit this foundation.  At the time, my doctors hadn’t yet discovered that Lupus had actually caused the damage. At 38-years-old, I ran a respectable first marathon in 4:10. I proved to myself that I could conquer whatever was going on with my body while raising money for a cause that was near and dear to my heart.  That year we raised over $7,000—most of which came from work colleagues who knew my story.  The first words out of mouth as I crossed the finish line were, “I’m not supposed to be able to do this.”

This wasn’t my first battle with Lupus. I had a stroke at age 28, and had fought illness most of my life which included life-threatening pneumonia, infections, pericarditis, vasculitis, bowel obstructions, diminished lung capacity, diabetes and immune system failures finally leading up to a Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) diagnosis.  Despite the seemingly endless challenges, my strong and positive mental attitude drove a successful career in the technology world.  I was training to run my second Boston Marathon when I moved to Houston in 2003.  I was once again running for the Liver Foundation to prove to myself that the first one wasn’t just luck and I could do this again for myself and my favorite charity.  My second Marathon was not the accomplishment my first had been. The fundraising effort was outstanding, but it took me an hour longer to finish.   At the time, I was on a powerful chemo drug, Lupron, to control bleeding and as a result was vomiting during most of my training runs.  It was the first awakening that I was not in control and perhaps I wasn’t supposed to be able to do this after all.

One of the first people I met when I moved to Houston to pursue my career was a colleague named Mike Kiefer.  From the beginning, Mike supported me when I was running and took care of the running/walking when I was unable to.  Fast forward to 2014; 12 years after my very first marathon.   I spent much of that year in the hospital battling Lupus – one attack after another. Meanwhile, my dear friend Mike and his wife, Tracy Kiefer, started Team Are we there Yetz? They completely surprised me by organizing and walking the first Lupus race for the team and raised $3,000.   This is when I first realized that others racing could raise awareness and critical funds for Lupus awareness and shine a bright light in the midst of my own suffering.  I wasn’t supposed to run, but I was supposed to be able to raise money!  My network of colleagues came through in ways I could have never imagined.

In 2015, Lupus ran me right out of my full-time work career.  I was struggling to find purpose when I got a call from a young woman I had mentored at IBM, Laura Russell. She had seen an advertisement about the Lupus Foundation of America being part of the Run for A Reason in the 2016  Houston Chevron Marathon and wanted to organize a team to run and fundraise for Lupus.  I was completely overwhelmed.  My nephew Brad, also an IBM employee, and Laura’s best friend, Blair Felter, also joined the 13.1 running team.  Together with Laura’s Mom, Donna Vazquez (also a colleague and best friend from IBM) we raised over $7,800 for the January 2016 race, $9,580 in 2017 and $14,009 in 2018. 

Over the last 3 years, these young runners of Team Are We there Yetz have run the Houston Chevron Half Marathon on behalf of the Lupus Foundation of America-Texas Gulf Coast Chapter and fundraised over $31,389 for Lupus research and local programs.

I am no longer supposed to run marathons.  My greater purpose is to leverage able-bodied runners to help raise critical research dollars and awareness for Lupus. It’s even more unbelievable that I can make just as much of an impact in this manner.  The love and support of my friends, family, and colleagues have made this all possible. I can’t wait until the day when I learn that a cure has been found.