Meet The FLNA Founder
Welcome to Fibromyalgia & Lupus National Association (FNLA). It's an honor to have you visit our page!
Millions of individuals, including our founder Denise, suffer from the debilitating and misunderstood disease called Fibromyalgia. The other piece to her puzzle includes SLE Lupus. Systemic lupus erythematosus is an autoimmune disease that causes several complications, some being life-threatening.
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Like millions, Denise battles invisible illnesses, causing daily chronic pain coupled with overlapping diseases. Watching her mother and loved ones battling these cruel illnesses, Denise's heart's desire to give back includes helping patients fight with courage letting people know they are not alone in this journey.
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​Denise often says, "It's easy to become your diagnosis"; however, you have to be willing to fight and take control back over your life. There are many days she may feel like giving up, but she continues to push through. She keeps a purple butterfly, purple ribbon along with a picture of her mother and kids to remind me how important it is to be strong and fight.
Her message for everyone is to know is there is HOPE, and within hope, there is faith, courage, and strength. Fibromyalgia fighters are brave and unique, and yes, no one suffers the same. There are different strands of fibromyalgia that can include mild, moderate, and severe cases that are debilitating for many fighters.
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Lupus is also extremely debilitating and can be life-threatening if not adequately diagnosed and treated. Lupus is an autoimmune disease that attacks your immune system. This disease attacks healthy cells and tissue, leaving patients dreadfully ill. Having both Fibromyalgia and Lupus is a challenge beyond belief, yet it is not impossible to "thrive to survive" one day at a time.
The purpose of FLNA is to help educate, teach, and become a community-based organization. Also, FLNA is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization recognized by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
FLNA brings about Fibromyalgia, and Lupus awareness because it matters. Further, we work diligently to help educate caregivers, healthcare professionals, families, and friends about chronic illnesses. We will to hosting chronic pain conferences, community walks, and sponsoring programs to help patients learn more about nutrition, medications, leadership, financial planning, and taking care of themselves without feeling guilty. We advocate on behalf of millions of Fibromyalgia and Lupus patients while also helping to fund Fibromyalgia and Lupus scientific research.
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The goal is to help patients manage themselves personally and professionally and provide accurate information regarding these chronic illnesses and related diseases. Having the correct information is the key to helping fighters and caregivers to manage these invisible illnesses successfully.
Please join us in our passion and mission to make a difference and get lives back on track! Thank you for visiting our website; we humbly appreciate you and your support.
In Health & Wellness,
R. Denise Brooks-Brightman
Founder/CEO
