The last few months have been some of the busiest I can remember for the charity. Sadly, Candy Horsbrugh, who had been our director for the last five years, left to pursue new challenges. I became chair of PMRGCAuk around the time that Candy joined, and it has been a huge pleasure to work with her. She has been an enthusiastic, supportive and innovating leader of the charity, and we have seen growth and considerable development during her time with us.
In our last edition, I talked about how encouraging it was to see our support groups meeting face-to-face and enabling people to meet others to share their experiences, good and bad. It’s something that Richard Cuthbert, my counterpart at PMR GCA Scotland, talks about on his page.
It’s hard to believe that we are at the end of another year. For many, there is relief that the worst of the pandemic appears to be over. There are still delays and problems accessing medical care but the social aspect – which is so important for mental health – is much improved.
It’s always nice reflecting back on the latest PMRGCAuk Week knowing that we have helped more people to learn about various aspects of PMR and GCA. Knowledge not only helps people to manage their condition better but can also be extremely beneficial for enabling a patient to advocate for themself and to manage their expectations. E.g. Should their PMR really be gone inside two years?
I’m delighted to be welcoming you to this spring edition where we have a particular focus on research. There is so much still to understand about auto-immune diseases in general, and PMR and GCA specifically, so it is always heartening to hear about scientists and doctors in the UK, and further afield, who are striving to learn more about these conditions and how to treat them.
It is hard to believe that we are drawing to the close of another year where covid-19 has dominated our lives. While we have been relieved that lockdown rules have relaxed, vaccines and boosters have been and continue to be administered, it isn’t a surprise that our helpline has been busier than ever.