Kathleen Ford of Solano County was a nurse for more than 20 years, until one day she squatted down to help a patient and, hobbled by terrible joint pain, couldn’t stand up.

Then in her 60s, Ford had been diagnosed with lupus years earlier. It’s a mysterious autoimmune disease that drives inflammation as the body’s own immune system fights tissue and organs instead of foreign intruders like viruses and bacteria. Symptoms are a rollercoaster, from hair loss to joint pain that afflicted Ford so badly that she had to quit the job she loved. Strange rashes also broke out on her legs — then quickly disappeared.

About 1.5 million Americans have lupus and almost all — 90% — are women There is no cure. Treatments may relieve symptoms, but the troubling side effects can include osteoporosis and e

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