Connie Barnosky Scheafer, Donor

She was always cheerful and encouraging...

My sister Connie is a study in willpower. She was diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus when she was 14 years old. She was given four months to live. This was back before they knew much about Lupus. She made it past those four months and the doctors learned as they continued to treat her. Connie was a ray of sunshine, always cheerful and encouraging to everyone she met. She had a strong will and would not give up. She had a daughter when she was told it would kill her. She went camping with her daughter’s Brownie troop just about a year before she passed away.

Connie was a guinea pig for 14 years and passed away at the age of 27. Her body was donated to the University of Arizona for the study of Lupus.