Hello from a new Weggie in Canada

[Jack]

How long have you been dealing with this thing? I saw that you were diagnosed while vacationing in on a beach in Italy in a different thread. What a total bummer and a gross way to end a vacation...

Not exactly a holiday, I was working there at the time testing cars and the beach was just one of the perks of the job. That was 25 years ago.

[pberggren1]

Jack, what cars were you testing and for whom?

[Jack]

It was MG Rover at the time, but they eventually went bust and the name was bought by the Chinese. They still employ a few people in the UK and are about to release some new products. Luckily, I had moved on to work at Jaguar / Land Rover by that time so I was able to preserve my pension.

[marta]

Luckily, I had moved on to work at Jaguar / Land Rover by that time so I was able to preserve my pension.

I love Europe... everything, even a job sounds so glamorous on the other side of the pond. I lived in Bulgaria when I was a kid, and my entire family worked in the film industry... I practically grew up on set. Looking back it was quite the childhood, then we (my folks with my sister and me in tow) decided to run away from the Communists and got caught at the Austrian border, spent some time in an Austrian jail (when I was 10), then some time in the immigrant camp then off to a new life in Canada. See... it's always more dramatic on that side of the ocean.... ha ha.

25 years ago!!! Wow Jack!! That's a long time to deal with this but it also shows that it's doable. You are an inspiration.

[marta]

I didn't catch if your docs are actually Wegs specialists. (Those are docs who see hundreds of Weggies.) No matter how amazing your docs may seem right now, they will not be skilled enough to manage Wegs, especially if any complications arise. It can deteriorate quickly. My case was straightforward once it was dx'ed but within a few days took turns that put all my docs in over their heads.

Hi Sangye, I'm actually seeing a GP as my go to doctor - she's close enough to me (45 minutes) and I trust her with my life, she delivered my precious little monkey, she consults with the rheumatologist in Edmonton (4 hours away) and that's it. I see him (the rheumy) once ever couple of months or so. I don't know of any Wegener's doctors in this area. I'm my GP's only WG patient, and the rheumatologist has 14 WG patients. He was the one the Internal Med doctors hooked me up with when I was in the hospital and they diagnosed me. They were the ones that were absolutely amazing that I spoke of in my introduction. I know they were doing their job, and I was a curiosity, but they were still super unreal.

BTW, I peeked through your blog and it's great, as for my sense of humour... I'm pretty sure that it's much funnier in my head than it is once it's released out in the real world.