Kevin Beair
my name is kevin beair and i am 33 as of june 6th. i have developed the symptoms at the age of 19. the usual morning stiffness in the upper and lower back. i went to my pcp and he kept giving me muscle relaxers, and pain meds and said that he wants to figure out whats wrong with me. while in high school, i was an athlete and boyscout. i wasnt the type to complain about pain. after xrays and mri’s i finally got to the point around 2005 i finally asked my pcp to refer me to a speacialist. i have lower lumbar problems, my 5th is broken causing other problems. straight away the speacialist figured out that i had A.S. just to be sure, he sent me out for blood tests. the tests came back as positive for HLA-B27 antigen. i was then referred back to my pcp to be referred to a rhuematologist. i seen the RA doc first time june 25th 2005. thats the first and last visit as he was retiring. my next rhuemy, then was not a very good doc. took blood without a turny, wouldnt prescribe anything but enbrel or indomethacin. i for the longest time didnt even know how to take enbrel. after applying for ssd, i was told to find a differant doc as he didnt like to write people up for disability. i finally got with my current rhuemy, and he has been since. the pain i go through he understands. he also cares. i have the si inflammation as well as the shoulder, neck and achilles heal problems. doctors have also found scarring on my lung and i have a lung expansion of less than a cm. i ahve been diagnosed with gerd and ibs related to nsaid use and the disease. i try to take my negative and turn it to a positive. i was married in 2008 and divorced in 2011 and i have 3 children i adore. there are days i can get out and play or take them fishing when i have visitation, but there are days that i can barely get off the couch. this disease i can say in many ways is a curse and others a blessing. i pray with this being herditary that none of my kids get it or my kids kids. i finally was accepted into ssd in 2010 after 2 years of trying and i worked at a job for seven years before going on ssd. i miss working as i have worked since i was 13. first job was stacking hay bails and straw bails and dumb farm jobs. now that i am on ssd, i cant afford my enbrel and many other things i enjoy. my life is as it is and it is none other.A.S. can bring families together or drive them apart but either way must stay strong.
as i seen on facebook “i refuse to fuse”
kevin beair
Ohio, United States of America
HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEVIN!
Thank you so much for sharing your story with us.
Sincerely Cookie