A.S. Face 0763: Amanda Rhudy
My name is Amanda Rhudy and I have Ankylosing Spondylitis. I also have Rheumatoid Arthritis , Sjogren’s Syndrome, and possibly Chron’s disease. Despite all of these diseases with their fancy names and high-tech treatments I am still just a girl, trying to smile every day, and be happy for the love I’m surround with in my life.
I am engaged to A.S. Face 633 – David Heyden. We live in Mill Creek, WA which is just North of Seattle. When we met neither of us had heard of A.S. and as we began to see doctors he was diagnosed first because his A.S. symptoms were much worse. I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis first because my R.A symptoms were much worse. As time went on though, and against the odds, it was discovered that I also have A.S. as my S.I. joint and hip, and back pain became unbearable and the Humira that I was taking for my R.A. wasn’t touching the new symptoms. Imaging showed that I in fact have A.S. too. This fact blew the mind of our Rheumatologist (who happens to be one of the best there is on the West Coast). To find two unrelated people with an active HLAB27 gene is “pretty weird” and makes his doctor mind go into overdrive.
I have followed the faces of A.S. page for a long time now…since David joined…and felt that it was a good time for me to join and tell my story as both a person struggling with A.S. and a spouse (almost) of someone with A.S. I am always inspired by all the faces of A.S. and I hope that I can be an inspiration too. I would like to help people and am open to any questions about any of our crazy story and our lives living with these autoimmune diseases as well.
Thank you, Amanda Rhudy
Washington, United States of America
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