On Sunday, July 22, Abby woke up in Lake Placid, New York, a village in the Adirondack Mountains known for its picturesque natural environs—trees, trails and lakes—and for being the site of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympic Games. It was an important day for Abby, a psychologist from Alexandria,…...
Brandon Hudgins – Victory Over Vasculitis Update: Brandon Battles Back
On a hot, muggy evening in July, Brandon Hudgins competed in the Liberty Mile in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and finished third, ahead of one longtime rival, but behind two others. “My times weren’t very fast due to the sweltering conditions,” Brandon recalled, “but the effort was there. I fought off many…...
Ximena Romo Quintana – Raising Awareness and Impacting the Health Care System in Chile through Fundación Vasculitis Chile
Ximena Romo Quintana is leading the Fundación Vasculitis Chile’s campaign to improve early diagnosis of vasculitis in Chile. My name is Ximena Romo Quintana. I was born in Concepción, which is 500 kilometers south of Santiago, the capital of Chile, and where I have lived since 1988. I studied at…...
Gabby O’Donnell – GPA/Wegener’s Patient Blog Connects Her with Young Adults Throughout the World
As part of the recently celebrated National Rare Disease Day, I Skyped with Gabriella (Gabby) O’Donnell, a 16-year-old from the Netherlands who was diagnosed with GPA/Wegener’s over two years ago. She recently started a blog to talk about her experiences dealing with vasculitis, which you can read here: http://bit.ly/2FQh1up Hearing…...
Mark Street – An Australian With GPA/Wegener’s Tells His Story
My story regarding vasculitis is probably not dissimilar to many others with the disease. In late 2015, I acquired a rhinovirus infection. This then led into a bacterial sinusitis. Despite various antibiotic regimes, my sinuses did not improve. In fact, the symptoms worsened. Along with the sinus pain, I had…...
