The spondyloarthropathy that showed up in Longview resident
Doris Meese was
triggered 30 years ago, when she pregnant.
Meese, 54, has lived with ankylosing arthritis ever since.
According to the University of Washington Department of Orthopaedics and
Sports Medicine, ankylosing arthritis primarily affects the spine or back. The
joints and ligaments that normally permit the spine to move become inflamed and
stiff. The bones of the spine may grow together, causing the spine to become
rigid and inflexible. Other joints such as hips, shoulders, knees or ankles also
may become inflamed.
Former state Representative John Pennington was diagnosed with ankylosing
spondylitis in 2001.
The gene is present in 8 percent of healthy white Americans. About 300,000
Americans, less than 1 percent of the adult population, have ankylosing
arthritis. The disease is three times more common in whites than in African
Americans.
Approximately one in five people affected have a relative with the same
disorder. A gene called HLA-B27 is present in more than 90 percent of people
with the disease. Ten to 15 percent of people who inherit the gene will develop
the disease.
Meese's spine is fused and she has limited motion in her neck. She said she's
in a lot of pain when her joints fuse and she is on medication.
She has limited ability to reach above her head. Her shoulders stoop and her
neck isn't straight. She shrunk from 5-foot-2-inches to 4-foot-10-inches.
"I will always do as much as I can as long as I can," she said. "I've lived
with the pain for so many years, I have a high tolerance for it."
Meese works part-time for the Longview Parks and Recreation Department as a
data entry clerk.
In 1996, she had hip replacement surgery. She is facing another hip
replacement, but plans to keep working at a job she loves as long as she can.
"You don't give up," she said. "You've got to keep doing."