Arthritis Insight-Member Stories-Greg

Greg's Story (aka Woody)

I have AS (Ankylosing Spondylitis)for 16 years. I am 37 married with a great wife and a 10yr old daughter 2 collies and 3 cats I have been blessed in a personal way but not medically.

It started when I was 18 a senior in High School and No1. on the tennis team and looking forward to a tennis Scholarship at Ohio State University. I started having pain in my hip when ran. It got to the point were I had to drop off the tennis team. So the rest of the year went on and I said to myself now what do I do with my life.

I joined the AirForce I knew if I could make it through basic training I would be OK, I did with a lot of help from the people I met down there. I left Texas and got orders to go to New Hampshire, where I met my now wife the first day I got there. We got married 2 years later. Then just a month before a 1st Anniversary I woke up one morning I could not see out left eye so I got to see a Opthimalogist in the Air Force he said I had uvieitis in my eye which is an infection inside the eye. So with my wife by my side they had to inject steroids into my eye. My wife almost got sick so she left the room.

By the next appointment my knee had began getting a lot of fluid on it so he said something is going on they did a blood test for certain things one being a venereal disease which came back positive, so they had to test my wife and she came back negative. Now they have to retest me because there is no way she could be negative and me positive, I came back negative this time. Just think about what we were thinking who is cheating on who while they redid the test. They also tested for a genetic marker HLA-B27 which is this disease marker and came back positive.

The Air Force flew me down in a Medivac down to Texas to see the head Rhuemitoligist in the Air Force and after being there guinea pig for a week they told me about this disease and that my lower back had fused which is the biggest problem of this disease. I went home to a private doctor(Rhuemy)and thus began everything.

I have been on every auto immune suppressive drug there is, plus all the Ansaids, prednisone even transplant meds. So after 6 yrs in the Air force I got out and became a Electictian,two years later I had to have my hip replaced and in the surgery they messed up a nerve in my right shoulder so I can't lift up that arm anymore, they say they didn't do it but the neurologist said the blood pressure cup was to tight on my arm during surgery. Since I could only use my left arm to do everything my joint was getting worn out. Then I had to get my left shoulder replaced.

That is were I am 16 years later, Right hip replacement, paralized right shoulder, fused lower back, fused right wrist, legally blind in left eye due to prednisone and disease, left shoulder replacement neck is fusing and so is my left ankle and left knee always has fluid on it. Now I am on Enbrel and staying strong, but my left hip is going to need replacement soon unless

Enbrel is a wonder shot.

I am writing this on the day of my Diagnosis 16 yrs later.