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« on: November 19, 2007, 10:10:15 am » |
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Courtesy of Jeremy Soper From left, Betty Ellis, Janie Dover, Phyllis Simko, Anita McCoy. The River City Eagles #4023 present two checks to the president of the Lupus Foundation of America, Phyllis Simko. Money raised by the Eagles will go to support Lupus research and education in Indiana.
When Anita McCoy was looking for a new cause for her charitable organization, The River City Eagles, to promote, she didn’t have to look farther than her best friend, Janie Dover.
Dover was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, when she was 11 years old. Years later she began to experience strange symptoms. It started with redness across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose, a distinctive pattern known as a “butterfly rash.” Dover was misdiagnosed as having ringworm and made to lie in a tanning bed, which ended up worsening the problem. Soon her hair was falling out, her joint pain was worsening, and she was so exhausted that she said “I don’t care if I die if I could just lay down to do it.” After a few more misdiagnoses including “nerves” related to the recent death of a grandson and Diabetes, Dover was finally sent to a specialist who ran a Complete Blood Count (CBC) and a Symptomatic Malarial Analysis (SMA) and she was diagnosed with Lupus, an auto-immune disease that causes the immune system to attack the body's own tissue and organs, including the kidneys, hear, lungs, brain, blood, or skin. Rheumatoid Arthritis can be a precursor to Lupus.
At first, Dover had trouble adjusting. The management of the disease can cause side effects. Dover receives steroid scalp injections to help control the rash and subsequent lesions. The injections have caused scar tissue in her scalp resulting in hair loss, and the hair she is still able to grown can’t get longer than a few inches. Dover took to only shopping in the middle of the night because when people saw her hair loss and facial lesions “People would back away. I would go home and cry,” said Dover.
McCoy had watched her friend suffer and as Inside Guard for the River City Fraternal Order of the Eagles # 4023 she knew she had the power to make a difference. McCoy and Dover started out by passing out Lupus literature encouraging early diagnosis at medical offices throughout the Tri-State and then turned their attention to fundraising. At first it was hard to generate interest because Lupus was not a well-known disease but McCoy said “I will raise $500.”
Her first project was a yard sale to benefit the Indiana Chapter of the Lupus Foundation of America (LFA.) Planning the sale took on special resonance for McCoy when she found out her niece, a young mother of three, had just been diagnosed with Lupus. Donations came from all over the Tri-State area and the sale was held September 8th of this year. McCoy surpassed her goal by raising $560.
McCoy didn’t stop there. She and Dover recruited their friend and Vice President of the River City Eagles, Betty Ellis, to help take their fundraising to the next level. They requested and received a grant for $1,000 from the Indiana Fraternal Order of the Eagles. Saturday, November 17 at 6:30 pm the River City Eagles held a dinner and presented the Indiana LFA president Phyllis Simko with the two checks totaling $1,560. The money will be used to fund Lupus research and education in the state of Indiana. Simko in turn presented McCoy, Dover and Ellis with an award in recognition of the work they have done to raise Lupus awareness.For more information on Lupus, a disease that impacts 1 in 185 Hoosiers, click here. http://www.lupusnwichapter.org/
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