SEQUIM — Sunday afternoon, Brianna Juel will give her father, Brian Juel, a firm push out of an airplane 13,000 feet above Shelton.
Hold on, now. He’s consented to jump from the plane, and Brianna’s nudge is only a verbal one.
Brian’s 12:30 p.m. stunt is a “Leap for Lupus,” a skydive to help his daughter and others who live with lupus, an enigmatic, sometimes fatal illness that causes the body’s immune system to attack its own organs.
In 2005, a group of skydivers in Silverdale established the Leap for Lupus Foundation and began soliciting donations toward studies of lupus therapies at the University of Washington.
Like athletes who raise money for other causes via runs, walks and bike rides, they jump from aircraft, to both raise research funds and awareness of the disease that afflicts 1.5 million Americans.
Lupus diagnosis
Brianna, 25, received her lupus diagnosis in 2004 and has gone through only one major flare so far. She said medications — seven pills a day — keep it under control.
“I just have to cross my fingers that nothing else happens,” Brianna added, though she at times deals with high blood pressure, skin problems and a high risk of blood clots.
Earlier this year, Brianna was thinking about what to give her father for his 60th birthday, which falls on Aug. 27.
She knew he entertained a lifelong fascination with skydiving. So when she learned of the Leap for Lupus, Brianna knew she had her gift.
This week, Brian is feeling a mix of excitement and apprehension.
“My birthday and reaching the sixth decade are certainly motivating factors, but I doubt if I would have been quite as determined if it were not for the lupus factor,” he said.
“Jump-starting my heart and helping my daughter, Bri, seemed like a perfect marriage.”
Brian knows, however, that the 60 seconds between his step off the plane and the opening of his parachute could seem like a rather long stretch of time.
“This is all new for me,” he said.
“I just thought: It’s time to jump.”
In order to make his leap over Shelton’s Sanderson Field on Sunday, Juel must gather at least $500 in donations to the Leap for Lupus Foundation, which in turn funnels the funds to the UW Rheumatology Department.
Promising drug
Another reason he considers this an opportune moment: A new drug for people with lupus is showing promise.
The medication, already named Benlysta, has proved effective in early clinical trials and, if approved by the Food and Drug Administration, would be the first new lupus treatment in 50 years. It’s the first drug ever developed specifically for lupus.
“While more research is required for FDA approval, the results are encouraging. The study provides new hope for people with lupus,” according to a statement from the American Lupus Foundation.
In November, Benlysta’s developer, Human Genome Sciences, is expected to release the report on a third phase of clinical trials; it could be available in late 2010.
Meantime, Brian is preparing for flight while personally matching every donation, up to $1,000, made in his name toward lupus research.
Supporters can donate before or after his Leap for Lupus on Sunday, he said, and 100 percent of their contributions will go to the UW Rheumatology Department.
Brian, a dentist, is gathering donations through Sequim Family Dentistry, P.O. Box 3430, Sequim, WA 98382.
Contributions may also be sent via the Leap for Lupus Foundation Web site, www.LeapforLupus.org.
Foundation President Valinda Mitchell, a skydiver and lupus sufferer, can be reached at Valinda@leapforlupus.org and 253-677-7483.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at diane.urbani@peninsula dailynews.com.
