From a young age, Leila Lagandaon always had a passion for helping people. At 8 years old, she was diagnosed with immunothrombocytopenia (low platelet count). She spent a lot of time in the hospital trying different infusions and therapies; including prednisone - yuck! Rituximab ended up being the biologic that saved her life. From that experience, she knew that she wanted to be able to help people just like all the healthcare workers at UCSF helped her through that difficult time. As a Filipino-American, Leila always thought she would become a nurse, just like her mother and grandmother. Before moving from the Bay Area to start her freshman year at California State University, Long Beach as a pre-nursing major, Leila experienced her first major lupus flare. She was tasked with battling this flare and establishing new doctors by herself at 18 years old. Due to the heavy workload, and all the symptoms of her recent flare, she was unable to complete the prerequisites for the nursing program and found herself switching her major to Health Science - Community Health Education. There she discovered her love for health education and promotion. She learned the importance of access to quality healthcare and the need for patient advocacy. She brings those values to her work here at AiArthritis. After graduating college, Leila worked in senior care providing education and guidance to families in need of care options for their aging loved ones. Now Leila is working as Health Education Manager at AiArthritis. Leila continues to live in sunny Southern California and when she is not working, you can catch her watching Golden State Warriors games, playing board games, watching reality TV, or singing her heart out to some R&B.