BALTIMORE — "It has impacted me tremendously. It may not look like it, but it definitely has. I have days that I can barely get up and move," Rita Wells said.
Wells was diagnosed with lupus in 2017. What has kept her going is her village of support, there for all of the moments, including the ones others don't see.
"It's just what people don't see. The aches, the pains, all the medical that comes along with it," Wells said.
Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease where the body's immune system attacks healthy tissues and organs, causing inflammation and damage. About 90% of people living with lupus are women, and women of color are disproportionately affected.
Qwona Brown knows that reality firsthand.
"Lupus has affected my kidney as well as my heart. I was hospitalized in 2018 …so lupus has been a really hard journey, but I'm battling beautifully," Brown said.
Brown said her diagnosis also revealed a pattern within her own family.
"A lot of people on my dad's side were diagnosed with lupus since my diagnosis, but I have a strong community behind me that supports me 100%. My mom knows when I'm flaring up before I even know sometimes," Brown said.
The 2026 Walk to End Lupus Now, Baltimore drew more than 500 walkers and 90 teams, raising more than $68,000. WMAR served as the media partner for the event.
Money raised through the walk helps provide one-on-one support from health education specialists and supports research to advance treatments for the 1.5 million Americans living with lupus.
Congressman Johnny Olszewski says funding matters.
"It's far too misunderstood and providing the resources to the community and the research dollars is so critical," Olszewski said.
In the 2026 federal appropriations bill, Congress approved a record $27 million for lupus programs. That included $14 million for the CDC's National Lupus Patient Registry and $3 million for the Office of Minority Health's Lupus Program, which works to reduce barriers to lupus clinical trials.
Olszewski described the funding landscape as complicated.
"It's sort of a mixed bag, to be honest with you. We've seen really significant cuts under this administration from things like the National Institutes of Health and other places that could help find a cure not just for lupus but for so many other diseases out there. But also at the same time we were able to secure record funding in the most recent budget specifically for lupus. The national government plays a really important role and so both locally and in the halls of the U.S. Congress, we're going to keep fighting for those dollars," Olszewski said.
The University of Maryland School of Medicine was also on hand, connecting attendees with support and resources through its lupus care program and other initiatives aimed at helping people living with the disease.
The next Walk to End Lupus Now events include a walk in Washington, D.C., on September 26 and another in Richmond, Virginia, on October 10.