Most days, professional distance runner Brandon Hudgins wakes up with a burning desire to reach the goals he’s dreamed of since he was 15 years old. But there have been days when the obstacles seemed insurmountable. At one point, in 2013, he quit running entirely and threw his gear in…...
Balancing School and Vasculitis: Perspectives from Students and Parents
Lori Larson and son, Matt Being a young adult with vasculitis is challenging enough, but trying to navigate through school while managing the illness demands extraordinary skills. We asked a cross-section of young adult patients (and some parents) how they found the balance between health and academics. “One of the…...
Creating Vasculitis Awareness in a Remote Corner of Ontario
A personal and professional mission for Dr. Michael Fernando and his wife, Patti Kemp. Michael Fernando, MD, is a family practice and emergency physician who lives and practices medicine in rural southwestern Ontario, Canada. Following medical school in the UK (Bart’s and the London School of Medicine), Dr. Fernando trained…...
Brandon Hudgins Looks Ahead to New Season of Competitive Racing
Three years ago, professional runner, Brandon Hudgins, beat the challenges from his granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA, formerly Wegener’s) to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Trials in the 1500-meter run. Although he didn’t make the Olympic team, Brandon hasn’t lost his determination to race competitively and is keeping a hopeful eye…...
Ronnie Saunders – Student Athlete Inspired to Excel by the Vasculitis Foundation’s Victory Over Vasculitis Campaign
For our final Vasculitis Foundation Patient Profile of 2018, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Ronnie Saunders, a senior at Wheeling Park High School in Wheeling, West Virginia. Like many of the other young vasculitis patients I’ve met over the past two years working with the Vasculitis Foundation,…...
