BRIGHAM & WOMEN’S HOSPITAL
ACORN GALLERY
JM LUPUS RIDE FOR A CURE FUNDRAISER
The Landing – Marblehead, MA
FEBRUARY 17, 2009
5:00 – 9:00 PM
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 2009 -- Acorn Gallery and Brigham and Women’s Hospital are co-sponsors of the JM Lupus Ride for a Cure Fundraiser that will be held on February 17, 2009 at The Landing restaurant in Marblehead, MA. All proceeds will be donated to the Lupus Research Center at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, where art teacher at theAcorn Gallery School of Art Debra Highberger receives her medical care.
The fundraiser will help support the JM Lupus Ride for a Cure – and raise awareness of the disease that still has no cure. Marblehead resident Jean-Mark Dykes will graduate from the University of British Columbia in May 2009 and begin the 4,000 mile bike ride cross-country from Vancouver to Marblehead.
The Landing will donate the venue as well as donating 20% of the food and liquor sales to the Lupus Research Center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. To attend the event, The Landing restaurant requests patrons RSVP directly @ 781-639-1266.
Debra Highberger, co-owner of the Acorn Gallery, was diagnosed with Lupus almost two years ago. She sought medical care at the Lupus Center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital – and the groundbreaking treatment enabled her to return to her work as an art educator at the Acorn Gallery in Marblehead.
“When I got to Brigham and Women’s, I needed a much more aggressive approach to my treatment,” explains Debra. “I was getting progressively worse with basically no mobility. I was losing the ability to bend my fingers and had to walk with a cane. I wore arm braces, so we put brushes in the braces for me to paint.”
Dr. Peter Schur, Senior Physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Debra’s doctor, will speak at the event about current research and treatment for the auto-immune disease Lupus that can involve many parts of the body including joints, kidneys, skin, heart, lungs, and the brain that can be very painful for the patient.
Debra will share her story battling and living with Lupus; Jean-Mark Dykes will present an overview of his cross-country ride for a cure. Tax-deductible donations made out to the JM Lupus Ride can be dropped off at the Acorn Gallery or at the National Grand Bank on Atlantic Avenue in Marblehead, MA.
Contact:
Debra Highberger
Acorn Gallery
