Hello Don and everyone!

It has been a very long time since I have been on here but I think about this support chat all the time. The most un-exciting things I have been dealing with are surprisingly not Wegs! In March 2021 (for a 50th birthday surprise) I broke my right proximal humerus bone from a fall, followed by another fall in July 2022 and breaking my left distal radial/wrist and had surgery. I endured nearly a year of PT if you combine both. It's first time I have broken any bones in my life - just crazy! Oh and COVID twice in 2022! What! How I went all that time without, arghhh!

In better news! Guess what I have been doing this week? I have seen/visited with Dr. Mertz/Rheum at Mayo Scottsdale who also referred me to Dr. Mendez/ENT Mayo Phoenix. I've had all my blood labs, CT of Sinuses, and the camera up my nose (flexible Nasopharyngoscopy). I am so thankful for this recommendation here because I have finally found the experts treating, with their vast knowledge and expertise, about Wegs! I deeply wish everyone could be treated by Mayo doctors. At this moment, I am not on methotrexate or prednisone - went off in Nov'21 and remaining symptom free! However, my blood labs did come back Monday positive for c-ANCA and PR3 and will see what Dr. Mertz thinks at my next visit in April. I am cautiously optimistic because you have all warned me this disease can be sneaky and I heard that loud and clear!

If I have one thing to share it would be that if your Wegs is affecting your upper respiratory, you need to keep with an ENT doctor too, in addition to your Rheum doctor! The last time I had seen the ENT was in February 2018 and there are things they need to absolutely monitor for you that your Rheum doctor likely will not and I had no idea until now after visiting Mayo.

I hope each of you are doing well. Keep doing the best you can and better each day.

Thank you for having this support group because this week meant everything to me by getting to Mayo and the reassurance I needed from top medical experts. I am super thankful to you all.

Peace and Blessings,
Michelle