Cathy Saito
My name is Cathy Saito and I live in New Jersey. I am not a doctor but I figured out what was wrong with me thanks to the efforts of people like Michael Smith (Spenser), Michael Rakosi and Cookie to raise AS awareness.
I am a 52 year old woman diagnosed with AS on August 20th , 2013 after decades of seeking a diagnosis. In this photograph, I am standing behind my beloved aunt who passed away before my diagnosis. I suspect she had undiagnosed AS and sometimes wonder whether she could have been helped if we had known about AS earlier. I was her primary caregiver in the end.
I became aware of Ankylosing Spondylitis as a result of the stand-up comedy shows produced by Michael Smith and Michael Rakosi at the Comic Strip Live in NYC to benefit and raise awareness of AS. As I read the symptoms of this disease for which my friends were hosting benefits, to my surprise, I realized I had many of the symptoms. After being made aware of AS, one of the first places I looked to for information was your faces of AS website. Your site reinforced my hunch that I might have AS. It’s one thing to read a list of some AS symptoms, but reading firsthand accounts of people dealing with AS was like a light switch being turned on. So I sought out a wonderful rheumatologist experienced with AS, had blood work and new x-rays and an MRI and finally finally finally I had my diagnosis.
Now it is time to kick AS!!!!
New Jersey, United States of America
Dear Cathy,
Thank you so much for sharing your story with us. I have no words, to express the amazement I feel in knowing how you were able to finally come to your diagnosis. Please accept my sincerest condolences on the loss of your Aunt.
Sincerely Cookie