Whenever Jennifer Simmons hits rock bottom, the Bermuda Lupus Association is her lifeline.

“Once upon a time I used to make plans but now I take it day by day,” said Ms Simmons, who discovered this year that lupus was behind her mystery sickness and pain.

“Whenever I feel I’m at my lowest point, and I go on our group chat, I look up and say, ‘Thank you, Lord — it’s not that bad.’ Some of us really suffer. Without our group, I don’t know where we would be.”

This Saturday marks a crucial fundraising and awareness day for the lupus community, with a fun run and walk, setting out at 5pm from Police Field at Prospect.

Spreading the word is key for the association as many patients know only that they are sick, but not why.

Diagnosing lupus often takes years. No two cases look alike, and many people do not look sick.

Acid reflux nearly 20 years ago was the first alarm bell for Ms Simmons.

Fibromyalgia was subsequently diagnosed for her chronic back pain, and Ms Simmons’s spreading illness was later blamed on rheumatoid arthritis. It became bursitis most recently, which left her bedridden for days.

“I don’t even want to put my foot on the ground because it’s so sore,” she said.

But Ms Simmons is determined to show her support if she can make it for Saturday’s event.

Costumes are optional at the Lupie Groupie for Life run and walk, but prizes will be awarded for the best outfits in purple and butterfly themes, emblematic of the group, with food stalls, fun castles and face painting. Participants are also eligible for draw prizes.

Part of the proceeds will go towards the lupus charity to help patients, their families and the association’s ongoing awareness drive.

Lupus frustrates doctors as well as patients: genetics and environmental factors conspire to set off the host of painful autoimmune symptoms. The disease has no cure.

Now that Ms Simmons has a name for her sickness, she said her attitude to life has changed.

“I used to be angry,” she said. “Now that I know what’s going on, I can feel when something is not right. It’s just hard.”

To register for the race online, go to www.racedayworld.com. To learn about the Bermuda Lupus Association, go to www.bermudalupusassociation.bm or find the group’s page on Facebook. To get in touch, e-mail bda.lupusassociation@gmail.com.

• For a copy of the association’s sign-up sheet for Saturday’s event, click the PDF under “Related Media”.