Softball to host Hit For Lupus fundraiser next Saturday

The UWRF softball team is hosting their second annual Hit For Lupus event on Saturday, April 30, when the Falcons take on the UW-Oshkosh Titans at 2 p.m. at Ramer Field. Senior shortstop Dana Book is the organizer and coordinator of the event which takes on a special meaning. Her mom, Lorri, was diagnosed with Lupus when she was 13.  Dana created the event to raise awareness and to do something special for her mom.

According to the Lupus Foundation of America, “Lupus is a chronic, autoimmune disease that can damage any part of the body (skin, joints, and/or organs inside the body). Chronic means that the signs and symptoms tend to last longer than six weeks, and often for many years. In lupus, something goes wrong with your immune system, which is the part of the body that fights off viruses, bacteria, and germs (“foreign invaders,” like the flu). Normally our immune system produces proteins called antibodies that protect the body from these invaders. Autoimmune means your immune system cannot tell the difference between these foreign invaders and your body’s healthy tissues and creates autoantibodies that attack and destroy healthy tissue. These autoantibodies cause inflammation, pain and damage in various parts of the body.”  There is no known cure and 90% of people who are living with Lupus are women.

The Hit For Lupus event will raise money for the Lupus Foundation of Minnesota. T-shirts will be on sale through the game. The order forms are available on the UWRF athletics site.

According to the Falcon Athletics’ website, “About 1.4 million people are living with lupus and nationwide studies indicate that there are about 16,000 new cases diagnosed annually.” For more information, you can visit the UWRF athletics’ website at uwrfsports.com.