According to the University of California San Francisco, an estimated 16,000 people get diagnosed with lupus every year, in which 90% of those diagnosed are female. In the case of Sarah Scroggins (11), she was diagnosed with lupus — a chronic autoimmune disease attacking her own cells — at the start of her sophomore year.
“I was overwhelmed with everything [at first] because I had so many new medications and you just don’t know how to do life every day from having [a disease] that’s life-changing,” Sarah Scroggins said.
Sarah’s mom Michelle Scroggins is a nurse practitioner and she was the first to know the differences in Sarah’s body.
“I had noticed over the preceding summer that her hands had started to swell — the joints specifically — [and] that was concerning to me,” Michelle Scroggins said. “I knew something was going on but wasn’t quite sure what and Sarah didn’t really complain a whole lot.”
Sarah is a patient at St. Jude and belongs to their hematology clinic where hematologists follow up with her blood counts or tests twice a year to prevent her from getting blood disorders and blood clotting. However, throughout her journey, Sarah and her family did not have to pay a single time for the treatments she received at St. Jude.
“Whenever we go to St. Jude we do not pay for anything at all,” Michelle Scroggins said. “To people who are uninsured and don’t have the financial needs, it’s a real relief and something that they don’t have to worry about because they are given premium care and not having to worry about actually paying for it. Sarah’s not the only one who’s from Memphis that goes to St. Jude so knowing that we have top healthcare for the [youth] at LeBonheur and St. Jude is just really reassuring.”
On the other hand, LeBonheur provides twice a year rituximab infusions to help keep her red blood cells at a normal level. According to John Hopkins Lupus Center, low red blood cells can result in anemia that’s caused by bleeding, chronic disease, and vitamin deficiency so the importance of keeping all her blood cells at the normal rate can not be emphasized enough.
“I’ve done three [rituximab infusions] and will do my 4th in December,” Sarah Scroggins said.
Sarah is now taking 8 different medications a day that are specific to her lupus which are considered immunosuppressants.
“[These medications] suppress the immune system because her immune system is hyperresponsive,” Michelle Scroggins said.
Since she started her treatments, Sarah has faced mental struggles and had difficulty catching up on her classes like AP World History, so she met with a counselor every two weeks.
“As a family, we all tried to be there in any sort of capacity that she needed us to be but sometimes it’s easier to talk to someone who’s not related to you and professionally trained to talk to you during times like this,” Michelle Scroggins said.
Besides counseling, Sarah was able to overcome her challenges by the presence of her close friends and family.
“She was recently in hospital at the beginning of this year and they came by to see her while she was in the hospital,” Michelle Scroggins said. “I know they’ve been there every single day, listening to her struggles she’s having and doing whatever they can do to help her.”
On the St. Jude Memphis Marathon Weekend — the largest single-day fundraising event for the hospital — that will take place on December 7th, Sarah and her four friends are running the 5k race to raise money for St. Jude.
“I wanted to raise money and get back to St. Jude because they’ve been so amazing,” Sarah Scroggins said.
Just last year, more than 20,000 runners finished the crossline and St. Jude was able to raise $15 million. Besides the 20,000 different individuals who ran the race, there are so many other people who come out to help in any way they can.
“There’s always people on the sidelines that cheer them on,” Karolina Deleon (11), one of Sarah’s friends who will be running the 5k race with her, said. “People come to support the run even if they’re not [running] it.”
Each of the runners there on the Marathon Weekend have the desire to fund St. Jude so that many lives, including Sarah’s, can be changed for the better.
“My favorite part will be knowing what we’re supporting and knowing everybody running is there for the same reason to support the kids in these hospitals,” Deleon said.
