World Lupus Day

(Google Image) 

By Diane Forrest, RN

Picture yourself in a boat on a river,

With tangerine trees and marmalade skies.

Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly,

A girl with kaleidoscope eyes.

Cellophane flowers of yellow and green,

Towering over your head.

Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes,

And she's gone.

Lucy in the sky with diamonds,

Lucy in the sky with diamonds,

Lucy in the sky with diamonds,

Ah... Ah...

Follow her down to a bridge by a fountain,

Where rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies.

Everyone smiles as you drift past the flowers,

That grow so incredibly high.

Newspaper taxis appear on the shore,

Waiting to take you away.

Climb in the back with your head in the clouds,

And you're gone.

Picture yourself on a train in a station,

With plasticine porters with looking glass ties.

Suddenly someone is there at the turnstile,

The girl with kaleidoscope eyes.

(Google Image)

Many of you will recognize the above lyrics as the Beatles song, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney.  I can remember the big uproar about this song, claiming it was talking about the drug LSD and encouraging kids to take it.   In fact nothing could be further from the truth.  This song was written because John Lennon's son, Julian, had drawn a picture of his friend Lucy.  You can see the picture above.  When John saw the picture, he was inspired to write the song.

(Google Image)

Lucy had lupus and eventually died from the disease.  Systemic lupus erythematous (SLE) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that may affect the skin, joints, kidneys, brain, and other organs.  The cause of lupus is unknown, some of the symptoms include:

• Chest pain when taking a deep breath;
• Fatigue;
• Fever with no other cause;
• General discomfort, uneasiness, or ill feeling (malaise);
• Hair loss;
• Mouth sores;
• Sensitivity to sunlight; and or
• Skin rash -- a "butterfly" rash over the cheeks and bridge of the nose affects about half of people with SLE. The rash gets worse in sunlight. The rash may also be widespread.

(Google Image)

There is currently no cure for Lupus.  Today marks the first ever World Lupus Day and was started by Julian Lennon for his friend.  To learn more about Lupus and ways to help, visit this site:  http://www.worldlupusday.org/