Lupus Awareness Month: Stories of Strength, Grace & Resilience 🖤
Every May, communities across the country recognize Lupus Awareness Month, a time dedicated to raising awareness, sharing stories, supporting research, and bringing visibility to a disease that is often misunderstood.
At The Campbell House, awareness is personal.
This month, Kim and Kia opened up about their experiences living with lupus and the realities that come with navigating an invisible illness. Their stories offer honesty, perspective, and insight into the physical and emotional challenges many people with lupus face every day.
Understanding Lupus
Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease where the immune system attacks healthy tissues and organs instead of protecting them. It can affect the joints, kidneys, skin, heart, lungs, brain, and other parts of the body. Symptoms can come and go in waves known as flareups, making the disease unpredictable and difficult to manage.
According to the Lupus Foundation of America:
Approximately 1.5 million Americans are living with some form of lupus.
Around 90% of people diagnosed with lupus are women.
Lupus most commonly develops between the ages of 15–44.
Black women, Hispanic women, Asian women, and Indigenous women are disproportionately affected and often experience more severe complications.
Research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also shows that systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the most common form of lupus, affects hundreds of thousands of people across the United States and continues to have no cure.
Despite how serious lupus can be, many people living with it still hear:
“You don’t look sick.”
That misunderstanding is exactly why awareness matters.
Kia’s Story: “Thank God I Don’t Look Like I Feel.”
Kia was diagnosed with lupus at 23 years old after complications during pregnancy led doctors to realize the issue was not with her baby, it was with her health.
For 33 years, she has lived with the reality of lupus.
One of the hardest parts, she explained, is how invisible the illness can feel to others.
“I’m always sick and tired and because I don’t outwardly look sick and tired, it’s easy to make assumptions about how I’m feeling.”
Like many living with lupus, Kia continues carrying responsibilities even on difficult days.
“What else can I do? I retreat when I have no choice, but I have responsibilities. People actually rely on me to show up.”
Still, she continues to move through life with perspective, faith, and resilience.
“There is a blessing in everything.”
Kia also shared an important message for younger people diagnosed with lupus:
“Eat right, exercise, treat your body good to the best of your ability, fight the effects as long as you can.”
And after more than three decades living with lupus, her message to other women is deeply powerful:
“I’ve been living with this condition for 33 years and my life has been full. I believe life is about perspective. Stay positive, it will keep you moving forward.”
Kim’s Story: “Give Yourself Grace.”
Kim was diagnosed with lupus at the end of 2024 after months of testing, uncertainty, and emotional exhaustion.
What began as a routine annual physical quickly turned into specialist appointments, repeated bloodwork, and difficult conversations about medications and long-term health management.
At first, Kim did not realize what she was experiencing could be lupus.
“Every now and again my fingers would hurt, maybe my knees. I would just take some Tylenol and say I’m getting older.”
As her doctors continued monitoring her bloodwork, she eventually began learning more about lupus and what flareups could actually feel like.
“Some days I wake up and I’m totally fine, and then some days I wake up and literally feel like I can’t move my limbs.”
Like Kia, Kim emphasized how often lupus pain is invisible to other people.
“I can literally be sitting talking, smiling, and laughing with you and be in pain.”
What keeps her going is faith, movement, and learning how to give herself grace while navigating a new diagnosis.
“Allah keeps me going.”
As someone newly diagnosed, Kim hopes others understand the importance of listening to their bodies and validating their own experiences.
“Don’t allow anyone to make you feel as if you’re not feeling what you’re feeling.”
She also encourages others to continue learning, seeking knowledge, and exploring ways to care for their bodies holistically.
Thank You to Kim & Kia 🖤
We want to sincerely thank Kim and Kia for sharing their stories so openly and honestly.
Living with lupus is not just about managing symptoms. It is about navigating uncertainty, invisible pain, exhaustion, emotional strain, and the reality of continuing to show up for life while carrying something many people cannot see.
By speaking openly about their experiences, Kim and Kia are helping break the silence around a disease that affects millions of people worldwide.
Their voices matter.
Their honesty matters.
And their stories help other women feel less alone.
Awareness is not only about statistics and medical definitions, it is about humanity, empathy, visibility, and understanding.
This Lupus Awareness Month, we encourage everyone to listen more carefully, judge less quickly, support continued research efforts, and remember that invisible illnesses are still very real illnesses.
To Kim and Kia: thank you for your strength, your honesty, and your willingness to share your truth with The Campbell House community. 🖤
