A stabbing chest pain took my breath away while I read on the couch. The next day rashes spread across my cheeks, my joints swelled and I was overcome with fatigue. I could not walk more than a few feet without losing my breath. At 12-years-old I went from one confounded doctor to another for one year before being diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. I was overcome with relief: A diagnosis meant a cure for all my ailments. I could go back to normal. <br>   But that relief was quashed when I learned that my life would be drastically changed by my diagnosis. Treatments for lupus are limited while the havoc the illness unleashes on my body are infinite and hard to predict. Some days I forget about my chronic disease. Other days I cannot perform simple tasks without pain and overwhelming exhaustion. I felt powerless and defeated. But I chose to push back. <br> After battling this disease for 20 years, I finally accomplished a long-time goal in December 2023: completing an Ironman 70.3. The athletic goals I make for myself are one way I can reclaim some control over my body from a disease that takes with reckless abandon. I am 32 and have many years of life with lupus ahead. Most of my treatment is trial and error because there is still so much we do not know about the disease. Help me learn more about lupus and how to best treat it by supporting my fundraising efforts for the 2024 UNITED AIRLINES NYC HALF MARATHON. No donation is too small. Thank you.