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Leah Bird: Long-time Member still advocates being open and honest

Leah was frustrated by the lack of attention paid to psoriasis in the media. She had never read anything about it in her local paper, the Boston Globe, so she wrote to the paper and suggested the health columnist write an article about it, using the Psoriasis Foundation information she provided and telling her personal story. Her persistence paid off when the article, "No drug eases the inner pain," appeared in the paper.

The Psoriasis Foundation recognized Leah's efforts in the September/October 1994 Bulletin, giving her another opportunity to tell her story.

At the time the Bulletin article was published, Leah was in the midst of a serious flare-psoriasis covered 80 percent to 90 percent of her body. Now, Leah is successfully using Enbrel for her psoriatic arthritis, and her skin has also improved dramatically.

Much has changed for Leah in the past seven years, but her basic philosophy about how to deal with her psoriasis hasn't. She is still an advocate for openness and honesty. "Yes, I'm a proponent of 'coming out' about psoriasis," Leah admits. She still has enough psoriasis on her lower legs that people sometimes stare. "I'll catch someone's eye and say, 'This is psoriasis. It's not contagious,'" she says with conviction. She finds that most of these encounters end positively. "People are taking their cue from me, and the more relaxed I am about it the better they react."

Another thing that hasn't changed for Leah is her unwavering support of the Psoriasis Foundation. A Member since 1986, she has regularly given to the Psoriasis Foundation through the years. And she plans to continue to do so. "It would be selfish for me to stop supporting the Psoriasis Foundation just because I'm in a better place," she insists.