STAND WITH GIANNA & RAY
OUR 2022 FACES OF LUPUS!
Imagine being 16 years old, playing 3 high school sports a year, lifting 400 lbs and then suddenly not being able to walk. Or being a healthy 9 year little girl walking to get ice cream with her grandmother, then suddenly diagnosed with lupus and staying in a Children’s Hospital for a year. Ray and Gianna Mendez don’t have to imagine it because these things happened to them. We would like to introduce you to Ray Mendez and his daughter Gianna, a father and daughter who have lupus.
Ray was a thriving 16 year old young man when he started having red blotches on his scalp, after months of doctors appointments he was diagnosed with Discoid lupus (DLE). Ray continued acting as if life hadn’t changed when a year later he was attending a family reunion he collapsed from a seizure and was diagnosed with SLE.
Read the complete story of Ray’s 30 year journey with lupus here.
Gianna is Ray’s daughter and has her own lupus story which started when she was 9 years old. “One day I was getting ice cream with my grandmother and the minute I got back home, my life was changed forever. As I arrived home, I complained about a lot of pain coming from my left ankle; it was as swollen as a grapefruit but we had no idea how and figured I must’ve bumped it. My mother took me to the doctor and I was returned home with an ACE bandage and the suggestion of “ice it for a few days”. A few days later my opposite ankle hurt. I again was wrapped with an ACE bandage and told I was “being dramatic” by the doctor. My mother, knowing my father’s history with lupus and its effect with swollen joints, inquired about testing for Lupus, but was abruptly turned away by the doctor as “she isn’t a medical professional”. The very next day I complained to my mother about the pain and my mother reminded me how the doctor explained that sometimes while growing, random pains can happen. I ignored my feelings and went to school. 7 hours later my after school instructor had to carry me to my afterschool program because I could not physically walk. My mother immediately
drove me to the doctor and demanded tests for Lupus to be included in the assessment. However, it left the doctors confused on the next steps because I did not display the “appropriate” number of symptoms to be considered a Lupus diagnosis.
Later, I developed a fever and an allergic reaction, which sent me to the Emergency Room and I stayed there for 2 weeks. I will never forget sitting on the hospital bed and crying for my mother, but instead was surrounded by 6 staff members from the Infectious Disease Department, wearing full protective gear, poking me with needles. Through multiple lab tests, doctor visits, and checklists it was finally confirmed that I had Lupus Nephritis. As overwhelming and chaotic this may sound, I would like you to take a moment to try and imagine coping with all of this at the age of 9 years old.
Finally I discovered the Lupus Support group and had my father support me by also going to a couple of sessions. It was such a relief to share my story and know that someone else had also experienced it. With all of the trial and tribulation of meds, eating habits, and external factors it was beautiful to have a place that I can feel understood.
"The San Jose Hangout Support Group has helped me grow in confidence knowing that I am in fact never alone; I have Lupus, but Lupus does not have me. Sharing my story and knowing that someone else has also experienced something similar makes me feel less alone."
We at the Lupus Foundation of Northern California are proud to help patients like Gianna and her father Ray, find support in their community.
Too many times, for too many patients, lupus can seem like a desert of despair. For Ray and Gianna - and for many other Northern California lupus patients - the Lupus Foundation of Northern California is an oasis. Ray and Gianna want their fellow warriors to know “you are not alone, LFNC is here for you.” You understand the isolation of too many patients, the courage it takes to talk about one’s lupus, and the importance of a community. That’s why I am asking you to make a commitment today - a commitment to make more than a difference; a commitment to make an impact.
By providing Virtual Lupus Health Conferences, in English and Spanish and our Office Hours with Dr. Parsa, from helping meet the needs of patients as whole individuals with the Buddy Program and our Virtual Support Groups, like The Hangout where Ray and Gianna attend, everything you help us do sends a message to the lupus community: that we are here, that we understand, and that we will not let patients walk alone.
Ray and Gianna inspire their fellow warriors every day. And you inspire us by standing with patients like Ray and Gianna.
Ray was a thriving 16 year old young man when he started having red blotches on his scalp, after months of doctors appointments he was diagnosed with Discoid lupus (DLE). Ray continued acting as if life hadn’t changed when a year later he was attending a family reunion he collapsed from a seizure and was diagnosed with SLE.
Read the complete story of Ray’s 30 year journey with lupus here.
Gianna is Ray’s daughter and has her own lupus story which started when she was 9 years old. “One day I was getting ice cream with my grandmother and the minute I got back home, my life was changed forever. As I arrived home, I complained about a lot of pain coming from my left ankle; it was as swollen as a grapefruit but we had no idea how and figured I must’ve bumped it. My mother took me to the doctor and I was returned home with an ACE bandage and the suggestion of “ice it for a few days”. A few days later my opposite ankle hurt. I again was wrapped with an ACE bandage and told I was “being dramatic” by the doctor. My mother, knowing my father’s history with lupus and its effect with swollen joints, inquired about testing for Lupus, but was abruptly turned away by the doctor as “she isn’t a medical professional”. The very next day I complained to my mother about the pain and my mother reminded me how the doctor explained that sometimes while growing, random pains can happen. I ignored my feelings and went to school. 7 hours later my after school instructor had to carry me to my afterschool program because I could not physically walk. My mother immediately
drove me to the doctor and demanded tests for Lupus to be included in the assessment. However, it left the doctors confused on the next steps because I did not display the “appropriate” number of symptoms to be considered a Lupus diagnosis.
Later, I developed a fever and an allergic reaction, which sent me to the Emergency Room and I stayed there for 2 weeks. I will never forget sitting on the hospital bed and crying for my mother, but instead was surrounded by 6 staff members from the Infectious Disease Department, wearing full protective gear, poking me with needles. Through multiple lab tests, doctor visits, and checklists it was finally confirmed that I had Lupus Nephritis. As overwhelming and chaotic this may sound, I would like you to take a moment to try and imagine coping with all of this at the age of 9 years old.
Finally I discovered the Lupus Support group and had my father support me by also going to a couple of sessions. It was such a relief to share my story and know that someone else had also experienced it. With all of the trial and tribulation of meds, eating habits, and external factors it was beautiful to have a place that I can feel understood.
"The San Jose Hangout Support Group has helped me grow in confidence knowing that I am in fact never alone; I have Lupus, but Lupus does not have me. Sharing my story and knowing that someone else has also experienced something similar makes me feel less alone."
We at the Lupus Foundation of Northern California are proud to help patients like Gianna and her father Ray, find support in their community.
Too many times, for too many patients, lupus can seem like a desert of despair. For Ray and Gianna - and for many other Northern California lupus patients - the Lupus Foundation of Northern California is an oasis. Ray and Gianna want their fellow warriors to know “you are not alone, LFNC is here for you.” You understand the isolation of too many patients, the courage it takes to talk about one’s lupus, and the importance of a community. That’s why I am asking you to make a commitment today - a commitment to make more than a difference; a commitment to make an impact.
By providing Virtual Lupus Health Conferences, in English and Spanish and our Office Hours with Dr. Parsa, from helping meet the needs of patients as whole individuals with the Buddy Program and our Virtual Support Groups, like The Hangout where Ray and Gianna attend, everything you help us do sends a message to the lupus community: that we are here, that we understand, and that we will not let patients walk alone.
Ray and Gianna inspire their fellow warriors every day. And you inspire us by standing with patients like Ray and Gianna.
