Annie and Tom, from Chicago, are competing against four other couples in this year’s Today Show “Race to the Wedding.” Annie was diagnosed with lupus when she was 17 and, according to the email sent by The Lupus Foundation of America  she initially thought that she would never find true love. But she met Tom, who recently asked her to marry him. You can read about their story at http://www.annietom.com.  I think it’s great that a cute, young woman with lupus is getting national exposure and I’m rooting for them!

Here’s Annie’s discussion of her lupus on their website:

Greetings Friends! I’ve received several questions about Lupus and figured I’d tackle them here with a little Annie spunk. Like I said in our video, I was diagnosed at the age of 17 after years of chronic illness. Throughout high school I dealt with a serious head injury, vasovagal syncope and what I like to call a “lazy immune system.” Finally, after dealing with an unbearable amount of fatigue and pain, a doctor suggested I visit a rheumatologist, who determined I had Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Yeah, that’s a mouthful, so just stick to saying Lupus or SLE. Eight years later, I’ve learned to deal with the fatigue, pain, infections that won’t quit and overall annoyance of dealing with chronic illness. I still have bad days (and REALLY bad days), but luckily, with the support of Mas (Tom) and my family, I’ve had the opportunity to create a life where I feel like I hold the reigns over my disease and even managed to backpack around the world. Sure, I took a whole lotta naps and spent quite a few days curled up in a bed at a random European hostel, but still, Lupus won’t stop me from exploring life! I look forward to competing on Today Throws a Wedding and showing what a chick with SLE can do!

You can vote for Annie and Tom at:
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/24596237/