Meeting Info
Regan Birr is the founder of the Lupus Research Foundation, along with her husband, Todd Birr.
Regan is the executive director of the LRF team, comprised of people passionately working towards a cure.
Regan is a lupus survivor. With a diagnosis several years ago of severe kidney involvement due to lupus, she was facing a grim future. Her health needed immediate attention. The treatment was 2.5 years of a breast cancer chemotherapy called Cytoxan (even though Regan did not have breast cancer). The goal was to suppress her over-active immune system and prevent it from attacking her kidneys. Early diagnosis, and the right diagnosis, saved her life: the Cytoxan, along with high-dose prednisone, put her into remission and her lab results eventually returned to fairly normal levels. However, she still felt very ill. Daily, she experienced severe joint pain, the kind that kept her up at night and caused her to walk with a cane, and she dealt with extreme fatigue. Her fatigue was such that trips to the grocery store would exhaust her, and all she could do was buy groceries – not unload the car. Some days a load of laundry was too much; other days making a meal was all she could do. This period of time was mentally grueling. She is a mechanical engineer, and is always analyzing and problem-solving, so having a weak body only amplified the frustration and at times she was feeling depression and desperation. Her journey towards health took almost a decade. But because of the early diagnosis, along with diet change and exercise, she did recover, and now enjoys a high quality of life and remission. But she realizes that most others aren’t so lucky. That is why she is passionate about finding a cure, because that’s the best way she can help people living with lupus.
Together, with Todd, who is a competitive curler, they are focusing on the NEXT 5 years towards a cure. For more information about Regan and Todd’s teamwork towards a cure, visit “Lupus Spiel USA” and “Curling & Lupus”.
Service Above Self
Golden Valley, MN 55426
United States of America