Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

On Saturday, Granger Park in LaGrange will host the fifth annual Fifty Shades of Pain Lupus Awareness walk.

Local realtor Maria Harris, a lupus survivor, organizes the event each year to raise awareness of the painful and debilitating disease that affects many in our community. The event also serves to remind those suffering from Lupus that they are not alone.

“The main purpose of the lupus walk is to bring us all together and love on each other, and let them know that they are not alone. Because a lot of our survivors feel like they are suffering alone in silence,” Harris said.

The event also serves as a fundraiser for 50 Shades of Pain Inc.,  a non-profit that educates and advocates for those with Lupus.

“This is our biggest fundraiser of the year,” Harris said. “We use those funds to distribute throughout the year to help with essential needs, medications, transportation needs and household essentials [for families dealing with lupus].”

Harris said a lot of people don’t know about lupus, and even those who have the disease aren’t aware of how many others around them have it. 

Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissues and organs. The condition can affect various parts of the body and manifests differently in each individual, but it’s most commonly seen with severe joint pain.

“A lot of people are suffering in silence. But through our organization, we are having more people that’s coming out with it and admitting that they do have it. Because sometimes they don’t tell others that they have lupus, because they don’t look like they are sick,” Harris said. 

“We want to bring awareness to what lupus really is, because a lot of people don’t realize that it does attack your organs. It’s the body attacking itself,” she said. 

This is the fifth year Harris has organized the walk, and it grows each year. This year, they are adding a mini health fair to coincide with the walk and traditional balloon release. 

“We just want to shine some light on lupus and make it visible. Because of that, more people are coming forward and saying, ‘I want to be a part of this. I now know I’m not alone.’ So every year, we are growing,” Harris said.

The Lupus Awareness Walk and Health Fair is set for Saturday, May 3, at Granger Park in LaGrange. Registration begins at 8 a.m. with the walk starting at 9 a.m.

Harris encourages anyone to come and walk, even if you don’t have lupus.

“It’s just a great time for everybody coming together. Everybody seems to be there and happy, just to be there with one another,” she said.