A new experience

[Dryhill]

Well this afternoon I accomplished two new experiences. Firstly I was in a house full of people with Vasculitis and secondly, I met one of our forum members.

The Surrey branch of Vasculitis UK had a lunch-time get together and PWC51 was there. I know there are lots of us Vasculitis sufferers out there and that we on this forum chat most days, but to actually meet real people helped reinforce I am not the only one suffereing. I strongly recommend that you try and meet up others like ourselves.

Jim

[Sangye]

That is really great, Jim.

[annekat]

Jim, and the rest of you, you will be interested to know that I met none other than Al of our forum, last Monday evening! I was going to start a new thread about it, and I still will.

[Dryhill]

Anne, so did you sit in his rocking chair on the porch? Whenever I see a film/tv programme where there is a house with a porch and a rocking chair, I always think we Brits should publicly castigate our architects for not designing homes with porches.

Jim

[Fran]

........ and was the Live Oak in the yard draped in that Spanish Moss hanging stuff and were the crickets singing in the grass and the cicadas humming away in the trees.....mmmm Wish I had been there - don't you Jim ?

Fran

[Fran]

Anne: It sounds as if you had a lovely evening. I never did think Al was a genuine 'grumpy' - just a front when talking to Jim and Dirty Don. !!!!

Fran

[annekat]

Anne, so did you sit in his rocking chair on the porch? Whenever I see a film/tv programme where there is a house with a porch and a rocking chair, I always think we Brits should publicly castigate our architects for not designing homes with porches.

Jim

Actually, Jim, as you may have read by now, it was at the Governor's Mansion here in Olympia, and not at Al's house. However, I agree with you wholeheartedly about porches! And Fran, from the porch I do get to hear the nature sounds; here, it is various birds, frogs, etc., and I'm trying to get a basket of fuschias going to hang there, but the sunlight is a bit challenged on that side of the house. I'd love to have a wrap-around porch that would incorporate the sunnier areas.

[annekat]

Anne: It sounds as if you had a lovely evening. I never did think Al was a genuine 'grumpy' - just a front when talking to Jim and Dirty Don. !!!!

Fran

Well, your suspicions were confirmed; I believe he is probably only grumpy on paper, or in cyberspace.

[annekat]

Well this afternoon I accomplished two new experiences. Firstly I was in a house full of people with Vasculitis and secondly, I met one of our forum members.

The Surrey branch of Vasculitis UK had a lunch-time get together and PWC51 was there. I know there are lots of us Vasculitis sufferers out there and that we on this forum chat most days, but to actually meet real people helped reinforce I am not the only one suffereing. I strongly recommend that you try and meet up others like ourselves.

Jim

Getting back to Jim's original post about meeting forum members or others with Vasculitis:

I met a woman in her 80's who really appears to be in good shape now, but she has had a rough time with Temporal Arteritis, if I got that right, which is another form of Vasculitis. She went permanently blind in one eye, and was on such a high dose of methotrexate that she was like a zombie for awhile. I think she said 60mg./wk! Anyway, now she gets out there and does some really great gardening in her yard; I know how beautiful and well-kept it is because I saw it.

The next Weggie I will probably meet is Kirk of our forum, who lives maybe 15 miles from me and occasionally visits the Olympia Farmers Market where I sell pottery. I already missed him there once.

Jim, I agree, it is very worthwhile to meet other Wegeners and Vasculitis sufferers. Like the forum, it makes us feel less alone with our disorder, and a meeting in person magnifies that effect.

[Dryhill]

Anne, the other thing I found beneficial from Sunday's meeting was chatting to a lady who is attends the same hospital as me but has a different rheumy who she trusts as much as I trust mine - re-assuring to know that if anything happens to my doctor that there is another good one available.

Jim