Living with lupus, 35-year-old Jean-Marie Leonard of Falls Church will be the leader of the “We Make a Difference” team in the 4th Annual Walk for Lupus Now! in Washington, D.C. tomorrow.
Living with lupus, 35-year-old Jean-Marie Leonard of Falls Church will be the leader of the “We Make a Difference” team in the 4th Annual Walk for Lupus Now! in Washington, D.C. tomorrow.
A mother of two, Leonard was diagnosed with the chronic, potentially life-threatening autoimmune disease that can cause damage to virtually any organ in the body, in 2006. She underwent surgery last month, but it’s not enough to keep her down.
Leonard told the News-Press she walks because “it’s the one day out of the year [she] doesn’t feel alone.”
This year, she will be walking alongside her 14-year-old son and her 8-year-old daughter – who’s raised $250 on her own – as well as other friends and family members.
Leonard’s been involved with the Walk since it first started, and served as a co-chair last year. More so, Lorelei Harloe of the Lupus Foundation of America Greater Washington Chapter called Leonard “top fundraiser.”
However, suffering from health problems earlier this year didn’t allow her to do as much grass-roots fundraising on foot as she would have liked. Still, she’s raised $2,150 of her $3,000 fundraising goal. Her church, the Redeemer Lutheran Church in McLean, is also participating in fundraising for the first time this year.
When asked what she enjoys most about the Walk, Leonard said, “The people that I meet are amazing. They’re people from all walks of life who’d you would have never guessed to be affected.”
The Washington chapter 4th Annual Walk for Lupus Now! begins at 9:30 a.m. It will lead down Pennsylvania Avenue in the, starting at 13th street to 3rd street, and will return to 13th street.
Jean-Marie Leonard’s Walk For Lupus Now! team page may be viewed online here.
