Friends, families and even dogs gathered at Cole Park Pier wearing purple to walk in honor of those impacted by lupus.Organizers said the Coastal Bend has many lupus patients but few specialists, and they hope events like this c ontinue building support.The walk brought the community together, with many sharing their personal reasons for showing up. Pauline Sepulveda walked in memory of her daughter, who died from the disease."Go check yourself so you can get the medication and the help you need because you can live with it, but you need to take care of yourself," Sepulveda said.Ruby Rodriguez, a lupus survivor, said the event helped her feel connected to others facing the same diagnosis."It felt really good to know you're not alone in this. It's not as lonely as it appears to be," Rodriguez said.This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.For the latest local news updates, click here, or download the KRIS 6 News App. Catch all the KRIS 6 News stories and more on our YouTube page. Subscribe today! ...read more read less