World Lupus Day 2011 - "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" had Lupus!

So it's midnight, May 10th and I'm trying to figure out what I can do, from my couch, for World Lupus day. So, first things first! Since this is the first time I have even heard of World Lupus Day, I googled it and I found their website. After I looked at what Lupus organizations around the globe are doing for World Lupus Day, I came across the history behind this day.

In 2004, an international steering committee representing lupus organizations from 13 different nations met in Eaton, United Kingdom to organize the first observance of World Lupus Day and they made a Proclamation where "lupus organizations around the globe call for increases in public and private sector funding for medical research on lupus, targeted education programs for health professionals, patients and the public, and worldwide recognition of lupus as a significant public health issue." - http://www.worldlupusday.org/  

Every year, this Steering Committee revises the Proclamation to reflect the ever changing issues that people with lupus around the world face on a daily basis and it also serves to give a voice to all those affected by this devastating and debilitating chronic disease.

Cool, huh? Well, then there's a video featuring a gentleman name Julian Lennon talking about lupus. I'd  never heard of him before so I kept by-passing the video until I looked closer at his name. "Lennon?" I thought, "As in John Lennon? Hmmm, that must be his brother!" I obviously know nothing about the Beatles except a few of their well known songs. I watched the video and found out a few interesting things:

1. Julian Lennon is John Lennon's SON not his brother...DUH!

2. Julian is talking about his experience with Lupus as it related to a childhood friend of his named Lucy Vodden, who battled Lupus until her death in 2009 at the young age of 46.

3. Lucy Vodden is the very same "Lucy" about whom the song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" was written about! Apparantly, Julian came home from school one day with a drawing of his friend "Lucy in the sky with diamonds" and his father wrote a song about it!

Now, you may have already known all these things. I did not! But I am glad that I took a little bit of time (early in the morning when, despite Tylenol PM, sleep remained elusive) to look into it and find out! The website asks that you sign an awareness pledge and since signing this pledge didn't require me to spend any money that I don't have, I signed up!

And this has become my little contribution to World Lupus Day, from my couch, in my pajamas, waiting for sleep!