The Joanne Violet Foundation was inspired by an amazing woman by the name of Joanne Violet.
Joanne Violet led a very typical life by today's standards. She was born and raised in Wichita, Kansas. Except for a brief period in her life when she lived in Garden City, Kansas, she called Wichita, Haysville, and Clearwater home. She was noted for her contributions to hard work and detail for her efforts in the aircraft industry in what is known as the air capital of the world.
Joanne Violet had a magic that ran through her veins. She was able to create fantastical situations out of the often less than gracious throws of life. She is remembered for her kindness and her giving. There was not a person that knew her that she did not give to. Her heart was always on her sleeve, and it was a huge heart.
In her 20's, Joanne began to suffer from an illness that the doctors were unable to diagnose. After almost ten years of misdiagnosis and uncertainty, Joanne finally found a diagnosis. The doctors diagnosed Joanne Violet with lupus as well as vasculitis. She went through treatment after treatment with local doctors, only to find herself worse off than when she started. She then ventured to the Mayo Clinic in the hopes that they would have cutting edge treatments that could give her hope. While they did introduce her to a better informed situation which empowered a stearn treatment, Joanne spent the better part of her 30's majorly afflicted with these diseases.
Having gone down hill with her health, the doctors continued treatment without further possibilities. They had exhausted every avenue they knew of. At this point, it was all the doctors could do to simply make life as bareable as possible for Joanne Violet.
On April 24th of 2003, Joanne Violet faced her last day of suffering with lupus and vasculitis. Due to complications and the inability of her body to heal itself, she developed a blood clot that went straight to her brain. At the ever young age of 43, Joanne Violet gave up her fight. She lived long enough to see a few grand children born. And she also lived to see her father diagnosed with Vasculitis and die from complications as well only a couple of years before her struggle ended.
It is believed that there is a hereditary aspect to certain autoimmune diseases, such as lupus and vasculitis. Joanne passed these genes on to four children and their children. As of the beginning of 2006, Joanne and her father both suffered from what proved to be terminal vasculitis and/or lupus. It is also known that her two oldest children have been diagnosed with lupus. The eldest of her children was last diagnosed as no longer having any sign of lupus but had been diagnosed with fibromyalgia upon his latest medical reviews.
Joanne Violet's family suffered for well over ten years to a mystery disease that has slowly taken on a face. However, that face is still a very mysterious one. It is the purpose of The Joanne Violet Foundation to bring people and resources together to help overcome lupus and vasculitis. The foundation is interested in helping to raise funds to assist in paying for research as well as bringing a much greater public awareness to this hideous set of diseases. The foundation is determined to help bring peace of mind to the families that suffer because of lupus and vasculitis as well as hoping to help discover a cure for these diseases.
