PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Erin Faulhaber said she can remember in middle school having pain in her hands and feet. For years she didn’t know what was causing her pain, which led to depression and self-doubt.
“When your doctors tell you there’s nothing wrong with you, you feel a little bit crazy,” she told KOIN 6 News. “You don’t know why (you’re) in pain for no reason for it.”
Finally, she was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis, an incurable condition related to psoriasis that can cause joint pain, stiffness and swelling. When her insurance was about to change and disrupt everything in place, she shut down.
“The stress caused my arthritis to flare,” she said. “My joints stopped moving again. I went to bed and I just stayed there.”
Then she turned to the Patient Navigation Center in Southwest Portland, which turned out to be a lifeline for her.
“I’d always known it was there, but I’d never known I needed to use it,” she said.
Kathleen Carter, the associate director of the center, told KOIN 6 News they serve 600 to 1000 patients a month from all over the world. About 7.5 million people in the US have psoriasis.
“We really feel strongly that the personalized support that can be provided through a patient navigator can address any challenges that might come,” Carter said, “to treating side effects or affordability issues, knowing how to find a doctor in their insurance network.”
Erin got her life back.
“They didn’t have the answers, but they knew where to look for the answers,” Erin said. “They knew what questions I needed to ask to get the answers I needed.”
The National Psoriasis Foundation is holding a fundraiser on June 10. Get more information about the Team NPF Cycle in the Willamette Valley 2018 here.