Laura Poquette hopes to get the word out about lupus, an autoimmune disease that afflicts her daughter, Erika, 17.
The Ansonia High School junior was diagnosed with the chronic illness in 2005, when she was in eighth grade.
Through the efforts of the mother-daughter duo, a Connecticut Walk with Us for Lupus will be held June 14 at Sleeping Giant State Park, 200 Mount Carmel Ave., Hamden.
Registration begins at 9 a.m. The 3.1-mile walk starts at 10 a.m., rain or shine.
Two years ago, the Poquettes and their supporters participated in a walk to benefit the Alliance for Lupus Research in North Andover, Mass.
At the time, they said their goal was to hold a fundraising walk closer to home.
Erika "is holding her own," her mother said. "She plays volleyball and softball. (The disease) usually flares up in stressful periods for her," Poquette said.
"For the most part, she is doing well," she said. "Basically, we want to find a cure. We want to help her get better before she gets worse."
Erika Poquette has systemic lupus erythematosus, which affects the joints and major organs, including the heart, kidneys, skin, lungs, brain and central nervous system. There is no cure for the disease. In autoimmune diseases, the immune system, which is intended to protect against infection, attacks the body's tissues and organs.
All proceeds from the June 14 walk will go to the Alliance for Lupus Research, based in New York City.
Call Poquette at 736-0294, or e-mail lupuswalk@yahoo.com. To see more of New Haven Register, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.nhregister.com. Copyright (c) 2008, New Haven Register, Conn. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
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