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Annie
Romano Click
here to read Annie Romano is a native Californian and has lived in San Diego for the past six years. She has been active in the leather community for eleven years in various capacities and spent a lot of time in the San Francisco community before moving south. In 1998, she held the title of Ms. San Diego Leather. Annie's platform for her Ms. World Leather 2001 title year will be raising awareness and funds for Lupus, a project very near and dear to her heart. She is working closely with the San Diego Chapter of the Lupus Foundation of America and they are very excited to be working with the leather community. Annie is honored to have won the title of Ms. World Leather 2001 and to have the opportunity to work for such a worthy cause. Annie is a founding member of Leather and SisterHood, San Diego's first women's leather membership club. She currently sits on the board as co-director. She is also the producer of the annual Butch Revue and the co-owner of the Ms. San Diego Leather title. On a personal note, Annie has been happily married to Jo Blas since November of 1999. She supported Jo during her year as IMsL and Jo is standing right behind Annie this year. Jo is the reason Annie took up the cause of Lupus, having been diagnosed with the condition in July of 2000. Annie's
hope is to touch as many people as possible, educating them on the symptoms
of Lupus. Hopefully, knowing these symptoms earlier will make a difference
for the people affected with the condition, and those of us that love
them. WHAT IS LUPUS? Lupus is a chronic inflammatory disease that can affect various parts of the body, especially the skin, joints, blood, and kidneys. The body's immune system normally makes proteins called antibodies to protect the body against viruses, bacteria, and other foreign materials. These foreign materials are called antigens. In an autoimmune disorder such as lupus, the immune system loses its ability to tell the difference between foreign substances (antigens) and its own cells and tissues. The immune system then makes antibodies directed against "self." These antibodies, called "auto-antibodies," react with the "self" antigens to form immune complexes. The immune complexes build up in the tissues and can cause inflammation, injury to tissues, and pain. WHAT IS THE PREVELANCE OF LUPUS? One in every 185 Americans has Lupus and one in every 102 women will be diagnosed with it. Lupus affects 10 - 15 times more women than men and women of color are more often diagnosed. The reason for this is not currently apparent to the medical community. The number of people that have been diagnosed with Lupus is MORE than the number of people diagnosed with AIDS, Multiple Sclerosis, Cystic Fibrosis, Sickle Cell Anemia and Cerebral Palsy - COMBINED. WHAT ARE THE MAJOR SYMPTOMS OF LUPUS? Joint
pain and swelling There are many more symptoms and each person with Lupus exhibits different symptoms. This is one of the reasons it is so hard to diagnose and treat. Many people with Lupus have to wait 5 - 10 years for a diagnosis. WHERE CAN I LEARN MORE ABOUT LUPUS? The
Lupus Foundation of American
The emblem
above was created to commemorate Annie's year as
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