To support Put on Purple day for Lupus Awareness Month, Caretaker Landscape turned purple on May 17th.

   

Lupus is a chronic inflammatory disease that can affect various parts of the body, especially the skin, joints, blood, and kidneys.  Lupus is a disease which remains under-recognized and under-appreciated.

One of our very own, Michelle Phelps, was diagnosed with Lupus earlier this year.  The great news is that she caught it early and is being treated, but still has a long road ahead.  Here is her story.

 “I was diagnosed with Lupus at the end of January this year.  Like many people with Lupus I had been to numerous doctors wondering what was wrong.  I had gone from being a person who couldn’t sit still, constantly doing things to having days where I could barely get out bed because I was in so much pain, my hair was falling out and I was losing weight with no explanation.

I remember going to the doctor and pleading with them that I knew something was wrong and that this was not normal.  Finally, after seeing my primary care doctor for the 4th time in 5 months I decided to track down a doctor I had seen the previous year for my shoulder.  I called and was not able to get in.  Desperate for help I decided I would just show up.  When the doctor saw me sitting in his lobby he immediately told the receptionist to schedule me in.  After a few weeks of visits and some painful injections he ordered some blood tests.  What my doctor didn’t know was that after doing research, I knew I would test positive for Lupus so I actually ordered blood tests 3 weeks prior.

I did test positive and with other factors I was officially diagnosed with Lupus.  The good thing is that now I am being treated and while each day is different, I do feel stronger and a lot better than I did.  I feel so lucky.  There are so many people that have Lupus that do not know or they are not in a situation where they are able to seek the help they need.  A lot of people with Lupus end up with kidney failure, lung failure, heart diseases and other various diseases because they don’t start treatment soon enough.  Matt, Mischelle and The Caretaker Team have been a huge part of helping me get on the track of feeling better.  I can’t imagine having worked anywhere else during this time.  It feels so good to know that I work at a company where not only do we reach out and help others, but we truly help our own.  If you have seen us at events, you will often see the team carrying everything and making sure I stay out of the sun.  I can’t even describe how blessed I feel to be surround by such great people.  I am also so lucky to have such an amazing supportive family.

Today, I am working with a team of doctors to get my Lupus controlled and into an inactive status.  I still have a ways to go.  It will be another 3 months before the medication I am on is considered to be fully in my system.  Today I am asking you to join in the awareness in a disease that few people know about but a disease that affects an estimated 5 million. Every day people with Lupus must deal with their own immune systems turning against their bodies, resulting in health effects including heart attacks, strokes, seizures, organ failure and miscarriages.  Help me by joining us in signing a petition to Congress asking for their support in funding lupus research.  Click on Sign the Petition.”