My Friend Keely

I have a friend, her name is Keely, she has lupus. She's 10 years old and was diagnosed in March of 2008. I have not known Keely that long but I have an attachment to her already. I helped her grandmother with a project for Christmas and Keely was there several days while we worked on things. The day we finished the project Keely had been working on her Christmas cards for family and friends and she made a point of giving me a card. She overheard her grandmother and I talking about the project being done and asked me if we were still going to be friends. I am guessing she thought because we were done with the project she wouldn't see me anymore. I told her she would see me again and that I would always be her friend. I went home, which is just up the road from her grandmothers, and picked one of my home made cards with a quilled snowflake I had made and carried back to her. I think that sealed our friendship.

Keely, the last few weeks, has really been sick with her lupus and been in the hospital with a really bad flare up that had prevented her from being able to eat. The doctors have tried her on many medications trying to find that one that would put her lupus in remission to no avail. This last flare up has caused the doctors to resort to chemotherapy and it may be several weeks before her doctors will know if this is going to help. She is doing better and did get to come home this week. I don't know a lot about lupus but am learning more every time I talk to her grandmother and mom. Her grandmother told me that this is a disease you don't hear a lot about like other diseases and I told her that I wanted to help people learn more about this terrible disease.

Keely's mom and grandmother are working on getting together a team to walk in the Walk for Lupus Now campaign to raise awareness and funding to help patients and families and national research efforts. I have joined their team, Keely's gang. If you would like to make a donation to help Keely and others with this terrible disease, please follow this link. https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=292575&lis=0&kntae292575=1C8FE988E81749E294773210792B2740 Event information from the Georgia Lupus Foundation of America's website: The Georgia Chapter’s Walk for Lupus Now is a 1.5 mile walk, beginning at the Meadow at the 10th Street entrance to Piedmont Park, opposite Grady High School.