Today I went to my client's where the gentleman passed away. I had lunch with an employee to celebrate my leaving that clients office at the end of the week. While at lunch we ran into some of her co-workers and I found out more about this gentleman's passing.
It turns out that he had an autoimmune disease. He had dermatomyositis, an uncommon inflammatory disease marked by muscle weakness and a distinctive skin rash. It kind of threw me a bit when I heard that a person I knew that had an autoimmune disease seemed fine one day and three months later was dead.
Then I did what we all do, I came home and Googled dermatomyositis. The condition can affect adults and children. In adults, dermatomyositis usually occurs from the late 40s to early 60s. There's no cure for dermatomyositis, but periods of symptom improvement
(remission) can occur. Treatment can clear the skin rash and help you
regain muscle strength and function. Two of the complications are aspiration pneumonia and breathing problems. He contracted pneumonia and ended up on a breathing tube in the end.
This really scared me more than I thought it would. I always knew that having RA made me more susceptible to getting more dangerous diseases and I take precautions when I get a cold or the flu but this really put a scare in me. To think a young guy could go that fast.
I will say that when I get even the slightest cold or flu, I take it easy and take it seriously. But it makes me think, do I take it seriously enough?
Anyway, it was disturbing news and my mind has been elsewhere.
Until tomorrow...
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