Finding Strength, One Step at a Time: Cynthia’s Lupus Journey

August 21, 2026

When Cynthia was diagnosed with lupus in 2006 at just 12 years old, she didn’t fully understand what the diagnosis would mean for her future.

“I couldn’t really grasp the entirety of the situation,” she recalls. “The team of doctors kept mentioning a new way of life, new routines, and a new normal.”

Leading up to her diagnosis, Cynthia experienced swollen knees, loss of appetite, fatigue, and sensitivity to ultraviolet (UV) light. While her parents worried about what was ahead, Cynthia approached her diagnosis differently.

“I was never afraid,” she says. “I took it one step at a time and accepted what each day threw my way.”

Like many families, Cynthia’s had never heard of lupus before her diagnosis. But once lupus became part of their lives, they began hearing stories from others who had been affected by the disease.

“It felt like suddenly ‘this one aunt’s sister had it’ or ‘my teacher’s daughter has it,'” she says. “It shed light on what the future held while still trying to be positive and optimistic.”

For years, Cynthia learned to manage the ups and downs of living with lupus. Then, in 2018, everything changed.

After a bacterial lung infection went misdiagnosed and untreated for several months, she experienced a major lupus flare and was hospitalized for weeks. Even after receiving the correct treatment, her recovery took months.

“When I had my lupus flare, I could barely bend my knees to walk,” Cynthia says. “When I mustered up the energy to get on my feet, I would become out of breath quickly.”

That difficult chapter inspired her to participate in her first Walk to End Lupus Now® event in San Francisco later that year.

Continue reading from The Lupus Foundation of America