The story of Patricia
Over twenty years of joint pain and debilitating headaches lead me from rheumatologist to rheumatologist, shuffling from one prescribed medication (that was frequently pulled off the market for some horrible health risk) to another, usually in multiples. I have good jobs with benefits (thank God!) and wanted to keep working, so I went to doctors. Fast forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas 2013. I was sleeping if I wasn’t on my feet, I was so exhausted. My rheumatologist had been monitoring my SED rate, which had become 50 – 60 over the past could of years, as my “normal”. It suddenly jumped to just over 100. She gave me the name and phone number of a local nephrologist would couldn’t get me in for another 4 to 5 months. My amazing husband decided we shouldn’t wait and had me call Cleveland Clinic in Weston, FL. The doctors took me in, ran a couple more tests, and within the week, confirmed the diagnosis of Microscopic Polyangiitis. They put me through three days of infusing high doses of Prednisone and then started 6 months of oral chemo. Another two years later (right now), I’m pain free, off the Prednisone and on maintenance meds, and IN REMISSION. They saved my life. I’m still fighting with sleep issues, but at least I got to keep my kidneys and they are functioning better than before. It’s a day-to-day management and impulse travel is a thing of the past, but I’m alive. I still have things to do on this planet and I’m not giving in. Just making different choices about how I spend my energy.