Providing Answers, Support and Hope in Georgia

Thirty-One Faces of Hope: Garrett Stauff

The lupus community includes people living with lupus, friends, family, and supporters across Georgia. For Lupus Awareness Month, we would like to highlight some of our lupus heroes and champions. 

Meet Garrett Stauff - A young man who cares deeply about his mother's future.

My name is Garrett Stauff, and I wrote this story a few years ago when my family was learning how to navigate life with my mom’s lupus diagnosis. At the time, I was trying to make sense of something that felt overwhelming and unfair. Looking back now, so much of what I wrote still rings true, and in many ways, I understand even more deeply just how serious and life-altering this disease can be. As I’ve grown older, I’ve come to realize that lupus doesn’t only affect the person who has it. It touches everyone who loves them. My dad and I are always there for my mom, standing beside her through the good days and the hard ones. We are incredibly proud of her strength, her resilience, and everything she continues to accomplish despite the challenges lupus brings. But even with that strength, the disease is always there — a constant presence we can never fully forget. That’s why this matters so much to me. I love my mom more than anything, and it’s heartbreaking to watch someone you love continue to fight something so unpredictable and exhausting. Still, I believe in hope. I believe in progress. And I believe that together, we can make a difference. We need a cure. And we can get there by coming together, supporting one another, and standing alongside the countless families across Georgia and beyond who are walking this same journey. When we unite our voices, our strength, and our compassion, we move closer to a future where no family has to face lupus alone.

Meet Garrett Stauff

Hi, I’m Garrett Stauff. I’m the son of Catherine Stauff. I'm here to talk about how lupus doesn’t only affect my mom. It also affects the others around her, such as me. You might be like, how does it affect a kid? Well, I’m here to tell you it can and does.

There are many ways it affects others around her, such as me. I love my mom so much, and it hurts to see when she is sick, and the thought of her being sick hurts. Many days she has flares, and she doesn’t have enough energy to get out of bed. It hurts to see her like that. She is exhausted all the time. There are countless hospital visits, especially when she has a flare. It hurts to see my mom like this. This is how it affects people around her, such as me.

Even when my mom is feeling well, I still live everyday with the fear of her illness flaring up because it happens so quickly. I pray every night for God to make my mom well. I feel my mom is so brave and strong. Even through her illness she still takes care of me and tries her hardest. Sometimes too hard.

The closer we get to a cure, the closer I get to having my mom back. I miss having her at my lacrosse games. I miss spending quality time with my mom. I miss going fishing with my mom. Please help us find a cure not just for my family, but for all the families affected by this disease.

Thank you,
Garrett Stauff