Lupus Ontario

09/02/2026

Join us on September 12 for the Ottawa WALK for Lupus Ontario! - https://mailchi.mp/lupusontario/ottawawalk26

08/31/2026

⭐ Meet Lupus Warrior, Anna Fraser⭐

Hello, I'm Anna, a Lupus Warrior.

I received my diagnosis six years ago—wow, how time flies. But I'd like to backtrack a little.

As a child, I was the one who caught everything. If something was going around, I got it. If there was a special event, like Christmas, I was often sick and spending most of it in my room. I didn't know why.

I tried to stay out of the sun because whenever I was in it, I would become extremely tired. I didn't know why. Mosquitoes and bugs always seemed to bite me more than anyone else. I didn't know why. I would get boils and blisters. I didn't know why. My health was always on my mind, but I never had any answers.

Being adopted, the fear of the unknown was always there. Eventually, it caught up with me.

I was diagnosed with lupus nephritis, a condition I've been dealing with for the past six years—but looking back, it feels like I've been living with it my whole life. Now I finally know why

With the support of an incredible team of doctors, along with my family and friends, I'm grateful to say that I am now in remission.

Living with lupus isn't easy, physically or emotionally. It's a completely different way of life—staying out of the sun, wearing UV-protective clothing, changing my eating habits, adjusting my sleep, and making exercise part of my routine. Every day brings new challenges. There are also the constant explanations of why I can't do certain things or why I need to do things differently. Those choices aren't about limiting my life—they're about helping me live it as well as I can.

I've learned to take life one day at a time, celebrating the wins and working through the losses. Through it all, I've tried to stay positive.

I always encourage my fellow lupus warriors to stick together. There is strength in numbers.

No two of us have the same journey, but every one of us can relate to what it means to live with this disease.

Be kind to yourself, celebrate every win, no matter how small, and never lose hope.

See you at our Lupus Walk!

Thank you, Anna for sharing your story. We are so grateful for the time, compassion, and dedication she brings to supporting others living with lupus.

Join Anna and the Ottawa lupus community at the Ottawa WALK for Lupus Ontario on September 12! Together, we can raise awareness, build connections, and continue supporting everyone affected by lupus.

08/31/2026

💜 Register for the Ottawa WALK for Lupus Ontario 💜

📅 Saturday, September 12, 2026
📍 Gazebo at Andrew Haydon Park
📫 3127 Carling Ave, Nepean, ON K2H 5A6

⏰ Check-in: 9:30 a.m.
🚶 Walk starts: 10:00 a.m.

Register, join a team, walk with us, or make a donation. Every step brings us closer to a future—and a life—without lupus.

🔗 Learn more & Register: https://lupusontario.akaraisin.com/ui/WALK26/g/Ottawa

We look forward to seeing you there! 💜

About This WALK When: Where: Address: Check-in opens at am with the walk stepping off at am. Step Forward for Lupus Research Create a team, join a team, walk so

08/24/2026

We are looking for a backup Support Group Facilitator for the Men’s Support Group

Interested in supporting your lupus community? We’re looking for backup facilitators for our online monthly support group. If you’d like to get involved, please email [email protected]

08/24/2026

Thank YOU for taking part in the Barrie WALK! - https://mailchi.mp/lupusontario/collingwoodty-10155643

08/18/2026

💜 Western Ontario Lupus Support Group – Tonight!

Join us tonight, August 18, for our free online Western Ontario Lupus Support Group.

It’s not too late to register! 💻
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0vc-qqqDssEt1oxNpUgc3wmzA2vk-86BPJ

08/17/2026

Join us on August 21 for the Barrie WALK for Lupus Ontario! - https://mailchi.mp/lupusontario/barrie2026

08/17/2026

Lupus Link - We’re less than $10K Away From Our WALK Goal — Helps us Reach It! - https://mailchi.mp/lupusontario.org/august2026

08/14/2026

💜 BARRIE WALK FOR LUPUS IS COMING! 💜

Join us on Friday, August 21 for the Barrie WALK for Lupus! Come together with the lupus community to raise awareness, show your support, and WALK for those living with lupus. 💜

📅 Friday, August 21, 2026
📍 Heritage Park, 5 Simcoe St, Barrie, ON L9S 3T7
⏰ Check-in: 6:30 PM | Walk starts: 7:30 PM

✨ This is a Glow Walk! ✨
Bring your flashlights, glow sticks, glow-in-the-dark shirts, and anything else that will help us light up the city!

Whether you're living with lupus, supporting a loved one, or standing with our community, we can't wait to WALK with you! 💜

Register now: https://lupusontario.akaraisin.com/ui/WALK26/g/Barrie

About This WALK When: Where: Address: Check-in opens at am with the walk stepping off at am. Step Forward for Lupus Research Create a team, join a team, walk so

08/05/2026

⭐ Meet Lupus Warrior, Sherry Sandhu ⭐

I was diagnosed with lupus at the age of ten. I had no idea what it was. Neither did my family.

What came after were regular trips to SickKids, and then at fifteen, open heart surgery after developing lupus endocarditis. At the time, I wasn't really thinking of myself as someone with a chronic illness. I was a teenager stressed about steroid weight gain, a visible scar, and missing school. Wanting to get back to class kept me going.

For a long time, lupus was something I had, not something that defined my day-to-day. I went into remission, went to medical school, became a family doctor. I kind of just got on with it.

That shifted in the last few years. Post-COVID flare, then a serious infection, a head injury, strokes, and a high-risk cardiac surgery, where I had a cardiac arrest. It was the first time I truly felt, not just understood intellectually, that lupus could kill me. As a physician, I knew that. But somehow, until then, it hadn't really landed as my reality. The cardiac complications in particular have significantly shaped my journey, and I think that's something worth naming because it isn't always what people picture when they think of this disease.

There is a specific kind of grief that comes with chronic illness that doesn't get talked about enough. Some of it is concrete, like the grief I carry around fertility, because complications from lupus meant I wasn't able to have children. But there is also a quieter grief for the future you imagined, the plans and milestones that the disease quietly rewrites. That grief is real.

Lupus can also be an invisible illness. From the outside, you can appear perfectly well while the inside tells a very different story. That gap can make it difficult for others to understand the real impact of the disease, and at times, to take it seriously. For me personally, there has been something jarring about navigating a complex medical history while the common comment I receive is 'you look so well’.

Self-advocacy is its own kind of work. Managing appointments alone can be overwhelming, and navigating everything that comes with it becomes practically a part-time job. It takes work, community, and resources, and being compassionate with yourself through all of it.

And still, you can live well. The hard seasons have taught me gratitude and the value of the present moment. There have been full-circle moments, too. In medical school, I found myself working alongside my childhood rheumatologist at the same hospital where I was first diagnosed. And more recently, sitting with a newly diagnosed young woman in my clinic, I was able to offer something beyond the clinical. Those moments mean a lot.

Twenty-eight years of living with lupus, and it continues to teach me things. There is still plenty to navigate, unexpected moments, and genuine gratitude. All of it can be true at once.