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As some of you may know we lost my dad really suddenly in July 2018. After countless visits to the GP his condition went undiagnosed, he deteriorated rapidly and was eventually admitted to hospital. Once at the hospital even the doctors and consultants were at a loss as to what was making him so poorly. A post mortem concluded COPD was the cause of his death. 

After further research by a chest physician it was concluded that COPD was infact not the cause of death, it was actually an autoimmune disease called Microscopic Polyangitis. As a family we were and still are devastated that this disease went undiagnosed and untreated, whilst MPA isn’t curable it’s most definitely treatable. We asked questions as to why this disease went unnoticed and why a referral wasn’t made by the GP only to be told that the disease is so rare that it would be unreasonable for a GP to diagnose it. 

This cannot happen to another family, I want MPA to be in the forefront of not only people in the medical professions mind but also joe publics. Awareness is key, my dad would still be here if he was diagnosed within the first few weeks of going to the GP. 

MPA symptoms 

• tiredness 

• loss of appetite 

• joint and muscle aches 

Other symptoms will depend on the organs involved but include:-

• Lungs – breathlessness, wheeze, dry cough or coughing up blood
• Skin – rashes, ulcers, and necrosis (death of tissue)
• Eyes – red (blood shot) eyes, painful, dry or gritty eyes, visual loss or other changes in vision
• Nerves – loss of sensation, weakness, unusual painful symptoms in the hands and feet (hotness, pins and needles or “electric shocks”) and rarely paralysis or stroke
• Bowels – Diarrhoea, bleeding and abdominal pain.

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Thankyou for reading 🫶🏻