2024-05-11 16:08:24
A young athlete from Quebec who suffers from lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease, is participating in the first edition of the 1000 Lengths Challenge for Lupus.
Ten days to swim a distance of 25 kilometers: this is the challenge launched by Lupus Canada that Yaneisy-Nynoska Tremblay, a synchronized swimmer, decided to take on.
The person currently studying for a master’s degree in microbiology-immunology at Laval University is particularly challenged by this challenge because she herself suffers from the disease.
Since I study lupus, I thought it would be a good opportunity to promote research, explains the swimmer.
Since the beginning of May, she has been doing 100 laps of the pool per day at Laval University for this challenge which ended on May 10, World Lupus Awareness Day.
The goal is to reach the significant figure of 1,000 lengths, referring to lupus which is nicknamed the disease of 1,000 faces.
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The butterfly is the symbol of lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Philippe L’Heureux
It’s just to show that it’s a battle every day and the challenge is to show the endurance, the resilience that people with lupus have every day, says the student.
A little known and difficult to understand disease
Although lupus affects one in 1,000 people in Canada, this autoimmune disease is still shrouded in mystery.
It is a disease that mainly affects young women and one of the main symptoms is arthritis, explains Paul Fortin, rheumatologist and professor at the medical faculty at Laval University.
Other effects caused by the disease, for example on vital organs or on the skin, vary greatly from person to person.
Listed in medical books since the late 1800s, lupus today can be controlled but not cured.
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A group of students and researchers gathered at the Bfly center in Quebec, an aviary of butterflies, the insect that represents lupus.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Philippe L’Heureux
In addition, the reasons for its appearance remain largely unknown.
It is a complex disease, there are probably genetic factors and environmental factors, says doctor Fortin. Treatments for lupus are quite complex because we have to treat the immune system.
Despite everything, Paul Fortin is optimistic regarding the future of treatment for this disease.
According to him, science is making great progress and the challenges that Yaneisy-Nynoska is participating in contribute to a large extent to raising awareness among the population.
The duo reminds that the month of May is Lupus Awareness Month.
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