Aiden Gallagher

Ms. Gallagher, 19, is a freshman at the Dutchess Community College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. She has lived with a very severe form of lupus since age 11. She is a spokeswoman for the Lupus Foundation of America and helped launch the Foundation’s purple wristband, a symbol for lupus awareness.

Aiden has been hospitalized more than 100 times because of complications due to lupus. Her initial treatments included heavy doses of chemotherapy and other strong medications, including steroids. The medications caused her weight to shoot up from 82 to more than 150 pounds.

Aiden was homeschooled by her parents because her school district would not accommodate her special needs. She started a website, www.beatinglupus.org and formed a group called “Aiden’s Angels” to help raise awareness and funds for lupus research and education. She looks forward to the day when people with lupus will no longer have to answer the question, “So you have lupus? What’s that?”