"I was always looking for some type of answer as to why I was not feeling well." Nearly 20 years of symptoms, and one long-awaited answer: Lupus. When Mercedes Ibarra received her diagnosis in 2015, it gave a name to what she had spent decades trying to understand. Today, her experience with lupus is woven into her work as a professional flamenco dancer, teacher, and choreographer - and the art she creates. Tune in tomorrow, Oct. 27th at 11am PST as Mercedes joins host Adam Selkowitz for Season 6, Ep. 3 of #YourStoryOurFight®! If you’ve searched for answers or had to rethink how you pursue a passion, we hope you’ll join us. 🧡 Subscribe on YouTube or follow Your Story Our Fight® wherever you listen to podcasts. 🎧 LupusLA.org/podcast Want to help spread lupus awareness? Share an episode with someone who wants to better understand life with lupus - every story heard helps bring an often-invisible experience into view! #Lupus #LupusAwareness #LupusCommunity #LivingWithLupus

Crenshaw, thank you for bringing this series to life. 🧡 On Saturday, our third and final #BrunchAndLearn brought the community together for a morning of free lupus education, thoughtful questions, and connection over a complimentary brunch. ☕ Throughout this series, people living with #lupus and their loved ones gathered to learn, share experiences, and connect with others who understand. Every question helped shape the conversation, and every person who joined us helped make these gatherings meaningful. Creating welcoming spaces for those connections is an important part of our work at Lupus LA - helping patients and families access information, find support, and feel less alone in navigating lupus! Whether you attended one gathering or all three, thank you for spending part of your weekend with us. For free support groups, educational programs, and patient resources, sign up to join our community at lupusla.org/join #LupusCommunity #LupusSupport Special thanks to our speaker, Dr. Maureen McMahon, and to @GSK!

When you live with lupus, research is personal. 🧡 Today at 11am PT, join us for #NewsFromTheLab with Dr. Caroline Jefferies of Lupus LA’s Medical Advisory Board and Lupus LA Founding Chairman Adam Selkowitz. Hear directly from an autoimmune researcher and stay connected to the work advancing our understanding of this disease. 📅 Tuesday, October 20th ⏰ 11:00am PT / 2:00pm ET 📺 LIVE on Lupus LA’s YouTube channel: YouTube.com/LupusLA We’ll see you live! #Lupus #LupusResearch #LupusAwareness

Season 6, Episode 2 of #YourStoryOurFight® is OUT NOW, featuring Somaja Dixon, Commercial Operations Assistant at A+E Global Media and lupus advocate. 🧡 “Do not hide your symptoms, please. Let people know, please.” - Somaja Dixon | That message comes from someone who knows how hard it can be to say you’re not okay - and that lupus is much more than fatigue or a rash. Diagnosed with lupus the same month she graduated college, Somaja later faced lupus nephritis and a nearly two-week hospital stay. In this candid conversation with host Adam Selkowitz, she shares what that experience meant for her life - and the process of finding her footing afterward. They talk about the parts that can be difficult to put into words: not wanting to worry your family, rebuilding confidence, and balancing career goals with your health. If you’ve ever kept a hard day to yourself or felt pressure to move faster than your body allows, make time for Somaja’s story. 🎧 Watch on YouTube.com/LupusLA or listen wherever you get your podcasts: lupusla.org/podcast #Lupus #LupusPodcast #LupusNephritis #LupusAwareness

Join our Virtual Adult Lupus Support Group this Tuesday, Oct. 13th, at 7 PM PT, led by facilitator Jazmin Zinnerman! As Jazmin shares in this clip, you get to decide how you participate. Keep your camera on or off. Share what’s on your mind, ask a question, or simply tune in and hang out with us! Listening counts as being part of the community, too. Whether it’s your first meeting or you’re a familiar face, we’d love to spend the evening with you. Adults living with lupus across the country are welcome. Register at lupusla.org/supportgroups. 🧡 #Lupus #LupusSupport #LupusCommunity

She graduated college and received a #lupus diagnosis in the same month. Somaja Dixon was ready to build a career in entertainment. Then, alongside everything she was planning, came something she had to learn to navigate: life with lupus. Next week, Somaja joins host Adam Selkowitz for Season 6, Episode 2 of the Your Story Our Fight® podcast to share what happened next - from her first symptoms to #lupusnephritis, recovery, and finding her way forward. Now a Commercial Operations Assistant at A+E Global Media and a lupus advocate, Somaja is opening up about the experiences behind the person you see today. If a diagnosis has ever left you wondering what comes next, we hope you’ll join us for this conversation. 🧡 Follow Lupus LA for the release on Tuesday, Oct. 13th at 11am PT and catch up on #YourStoryOurFight® on YouTube or anywhere you get your podcasts! 🎙️ lupusla.org/podcast 🎥 YouTube.com/LupusLA #LupusLA #Lupus #LupusAwareness

Wishing a very Happy Birthday to a voice that helps our community feel seen. 🧡 Today, we’re celebrating @tonibraxton - legendary entertainer, #LupusLA Board Member, and a longtime champion for lupus awareness. For years, Toni has shared her experience with honesty, opening up conversations about a disease that is often invisible to others. About 90% of people living with lupus are women, and women of color are disproportionately affected. Every opportunity to build understanding matters. Toni, thank you for using your voice to bring lupus into the spotlight! #Lupus #ToniBraxton #LupusAwareness 🎥: @shemdpodcast

Join @lupusla and @DRN_non_profit for our third and final FREE in-person Brunch & Learn on Saturday, October 24th from 10:00am - 12:00pm in Crenshaw area of Los Angeles! This time, we’re gathering around a topic that comes up often in our community: Nutrition & Supplements in Lupus. 🍽️ Dr. Maureen McMahon, an expert rheumatologist, will give a presentation with live Q&A where you can ask your questions directly. 💬 With so much nutrition advice out there, this is an opportunity to learn, talk through what’s on your mind, and connect with others navigating life with #lupus while enjoying a complimentary brunch. You will also be entered for a chance to win Visa gift cards! 🎁 🎟️ Space is limited - reserve your spot today: LupusLA.org/BrunchAndLearn

The #PowerOfArt is back! Join us Sunday, November 15th for a virtual paint-along celebrating the healing power of creativity in the lupus journey - led by artist, @LupusLA Board Member, artist, and all-around inspiration, Donna Jordan! 🎨 This year we're proud to partner with Moon x River to bring the Power of Art to homes around the world. Order your Paint-Along Kit (delivered right to your door, shipping included!) and paint with Donna live from 12:00–2:30 PM PT. No experience needed - just an open heart and a brush. Can't paint? You can still register to join us! 🖌️ To purchase Paint Kits & to register, visit lupusla.org/paint *Please note that kit orders close on October 29th. #LupusLA #MoonxRiver #ArtTherapy #LupusAwareness

Grab your favorite fall beverage and join the lupus community for a little connection with people who understand life with a chronic illness. ☕️ Our FREE October support groups offer virtual and hybrid options - and lupus patients from anywhere across the country are welcome to join online - with your camera on or off! Share what’s on your mind, ask a question, or simply listen. You don’t need to prepare anything to belong here. 📅 Find your October group: • Oct. 10 | 9:30 AM - Bilingual & Caregiver Support (Hybrid) • Oct. 10 | 10:30 AM - Spanish-Speaking Support • Oct. 10 | 12 PM - Lupus Support for Men • Oct. 13 | 7 PM - General Lupus Support Group • Oct. 27 | 6 PM - Young Adults Group (Ages 18–29) All times are Pacific Time. Whether it’s your first group or you’re coming back to familiar faces, we’d love to spend some time with you! 🧡 Save these dates, share with a fellow lupus warrior, and register for free at lupusla.org/supportgroups. #Lupus #LupusSupport #LupusCommunity #LivingWithLupus

The questions you carry deserve time, thoughtful answers, and a community beside you. 🧡 At today's free Brunch & Learn, lupus warriors and loved ones gathered over a catered brunch for a conversation about lupus, hormones, and more! Rheumatologist, Dr. Leanna Wise, explored everything from hormonal changes and flares, to fertility, family planning, pregnancy and postpartum - as well as perimenopause, menopause and hormone replacement therapy (HRT)! We also explored how certain medications can affect fertility in both women and men living with lupus. Thank you Dr. Wise for your expertise and thoughtful answers, to our event partners like GSK and Diverse Research Now , and to Baldwin Bethany CDC for welcoming us back! Together, you help us bring free education and meaningful connection directly to our community. Want to attend our next FREE Brunch & Learn? RSVP now at lupusla.org/brunchandlearn #Lupus #LupusCommunity #LupusEducation

Parents: this one is for YOU. This Tuesday at 5:30 PM PT. 🧡 Our Support Group for Parents of Children (of any age) Living with Lupus meets on virtually on Zoom with licensed therapist and lupus warrior Liz Morasso - someone who understands firsthand what your child, teen, or young adult is facing, and how heavy it can be to carry as a parent. Connect with other parents who truly get it. Share what's working. Ask the questions you can't ask anywhere else. And get guidance on supporting your child or teen - and yourself - along the way. All parents of those living with lupus are welcome. Register for free at lupusla.org/supportgroups #caregiversupport #lupussupport #lupus #lupuswarrior

Twenty-five years later, we remember. Our Lupus LA community joins in honoring the lives lost on September 11, 2001, the courage of first responders, and the families and survivors forever changed. Today, we pause in remembrance - and carry forward the compassion that calls us to care for one another. #September11

NEXT SATURDAY: Have you saved your seat? 🥐 Our free Brunch & Learn returns to the Crenshaw community on Saturday, September 19th (from 10am – 12pm) with Diverse Research Now - featuring expert rheumatologist Dr. Leanna Wise on "Lupus & Hormones." 9 in 10 people living with lupus are women, and hormones can influence symptoms through cycles, pregnancy, and menopause - yet it's a conversation most clinic visits run out of time for. Next Saturday, there's time! Bring your questions for the live Q&A with a true expert. Plus: Free delicious brunch, a raffle for Visa gift cards, free lupus resources, and community connection. 📍 Baldwin Bethany CDC, 4115 W. MLK Jr. Blvd, Los Angeles. 🎟️ Space is limited - register now at LupusLA.org/BrunchAndLearn #lupus #lupusresources #lupuscommunity

Every lupus story deserves to be heard. 📣 We're excited to announce that Lupus LA's #YourStoryOurFight® podcast has been named in Feedspot’s Top 3 Lupus Podcasts for 2026! Behind this recognition are the people who make every episode matter: guests who share their lives with honesty, listeners who find connection in someone else’s experience, and a community that keeps showing up for one another. Thank you to #Feedspot for recognizing these voices - and to our global community for tuning in! Discover #YourStoryOurFight on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and share an episode with someone who needs to hear that they are not alone! Stream Now: LupusLA.org/Podcast View the List: podcast.feedspot.com/lupus_p… #LupusLA #LupusAwareness #Lupus #LupusCommunity

This Labor Day, we’re recognizing the work others don’t always see: managing lupus alongside a career, navigating changing limits, or making the difficult decision to step away from work. Wherever you are, you deserve support. 🧡 Tomorrow, make space for a conversation with those who understand. Join our Virtual Lupus Support Group to share what’s on your mind, exchange experiences, or simply listen. You don’t have to figure it all out alone. 🗓️ Tuesday, September 8th | 7pm PT 💻 Join from anywhere - lupus warriors from all over the country are welcome! 🔗 Register at lupusla.org/supportgroups #Lupus #LupusSupport #LupusCommunity

This September, connect virtually with the lupus community! Bring your questions, share what’s on your mind, or simply listen. Let your presence provide support for other lupus warriors: 🗓️ SEPTEMBER SUPPORT GROUPS 🔹 September 8th | 7pm PT General Lupus Support Group 🔹 September 12th | 9:30am PT Bilingual Support Group with Looms4Lupus 🔹 September 12th | 10:30am PT Spanish-Speaking Support Group / Grupo de apoyo en español with Looms4Lupus 🔹 September 12th | 12pm PT Men’s Support Group NEW! 🔹 September 15th | 5:30pm Support Group for Parents of Children Living with Lupus (Parents of people with lupus of all ages are welcome!) 🔹 September 22nd | 6pm Young Adult Support Group | Ages 18–29 💻 Join us via Zoom! Our bilingual and Spanish-speaking groups also offer an in-person option at Baldwin Park Community Center. Find your group, and register at lupusla.org/supportgroups. #Lupus #LupusSupport #LupusCommunity #LivingWithLupus