The NC/Raleigh Chapter of the Vasculitis Support Group consists of vasculitis patients, family members and friends who have joined together to share experience, information and support in their journey with vasculitis. This group meets twice a year and meetings include updates and discussion on vasculitis health are topics and study updates, as well as time for one-on-one and small group conversations. Its most recent meeting took place on May 2, 2015 in Durham, NC.
Written by Elaine Holmes, Chapter Leader.
We met at the John Hope Franklin Center on in Durham, North Carolina on May 2, a beautiful spring day with 27 attending including 15 people with vasculitis.
Dr. Elizabeth Brant, Vasculitis Fellow in the UNC Kidney Center at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine was our speaker. Dr. Brant is the first Vasculitis Foundation fellow and her talk was “True Tales from a Vasculitis Foundation Fellowship.” We loved the humor and her insights as a physician treating vasculitis patients along with an update on her research as a fellow in deep vein thrombosis. We learned there is an increased incidence of this for people with anca associated vasculitis and how important it is to note symptoms such as sudden onset of shortness of breath and seeking treatment quickly if these occur. It brought home to us the importance of the Vasculitis Foundation fellowships in training physicians and doing vasculitis research.
We also heard an update from group member Dianne Shaw on the Vasculitis Patient Powered Research Network. After lunch we met in small groups to share our stories and experiences. Our next meeting will be in the fall.
For more information about the NC chapter, contact Chapter Leader Elaine Holmes at eholmes18@nc.rr.com.