“When anyone is diagnosed with a chronic disease or illness they often go through a grieving period, almost as if someone died. Relapsing Polychondritis (RPC) is no different. It is even harder when you consider how few people have any idea of how a person with RPC feels. There is such an emotional toll that we pay with this disease. Often we know there are problems and the medical community cannot find them, they can run test after test and still come up empty handed. This does not make the problem any less real. Without the validation of the medical community, many family members and friends begin to think that you are having other problems or are mentally off somehow. Many doctors unable to find the problem will tell you that the problems are all in your head and send you to a psychiatrist. However, with RPC the problems are very real. There are not tests that can prove you have this. That alone is mind –boggling. There is no cure, but there is hope.”*
The following pages tell of personal stories of real people who have RPC. While their lives are forever changed, many are leading very normal and happy lives. Not every story has a happy-ending. However, some have gone through the most feared problems with RPC, have met the challenge, and continue to love life.
We thank each story contributor for having the courage to share.
