Meetings offer education, encouragement, emotional support, and allow for open discussion about managing and living with spondyloarthritis.
Saturday, November 16, 2024
2:00 PM Pacific Time
Location: In-person meeting
Mercury’s Coffee
13102 NE 20th Street
Bellevue, WA 98005
(On Northup Way, near BECU)
Meeting schedule: Most of our gatherings are held on the FIRST Tuesday of every month at noon PST. Whether you’re seeking advice, support, or simply a listening ear, you’ll find it here with us. Don’t miss the chance to connect with peers who understand what you’re going through and can offer real, lived experience and support in the Seattle area and beyond.
Please register to join our next meeting and become a part of our supportive and empowering community. Let’s come together to share, learn, and support one another in our journeys with spondylitis.
Join our social media channels:
Facebook: @spondylitis
Twitter: @spondylitis
Instagram: @spondylitis
YouTube: Spondylitis
LinkedIn: Spondylitis Association of America
| Date | Topic | Zoom Registerstion Link |
| Feb 22, 2024: | Philip Mease, MD, MACR presenting “Axial Spondyloarthritis: update on disease state and treatment” with 1 hour Q&A | https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcqde-vqzssHNKfG4Yn47B1i_srSWcMsmrI |
| March 5, 2024: | peer support discussion | https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAkcOihpj8vHdRGYHIY9InFxQIfpQr2kmck |
| April 2, 2024 | Virtual movement class with certified holistic personal trainer & lifestyle coach: Enqing Li | https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIvcuqsqDwsEtHPHPUQIryLHZ13MciehNdo |
| May 7th, 2024: | Nurse practitioner, Esfira Shakhmurova, presenting “integrative medicine approach for rheumatoid patients” with 30 min Q&A | https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYqfu2opz0uGNJz3DcTVP5-OR9B1R6D_qCs |
| June 4, 2024 | peer support discussion | https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAkcOihpj8vHdRGYHIY9InFxQIfpQr2kmck |
| July 2, 2024 | peer support discussion | https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAkcOihpj8vHdRGYHIY9InFxQIfpQr2kmck |
| September 3, 2024: | peer support discussion | https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAkcOihpj8vHdRGYHIY9InFxQIfpQr2kmck#/registration |
| September 19, 2024 | Rheumatologist, Dr. Philip Mease, presenting “Psoriatic Arthritis: update on disease state and treatment” with 30 minute Q&A | https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0lc-qorjorGtzMv6oKW6FgL1zgxejQvhDX |
| October 1, 2024: | Physical Medicine & rehabilitation Doctor, Rakhi Sutaria, presenting “pain management for rheumatic conditions” with 30 minute Q&A | https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMsceiqpzMuHtUuM6wxlyPxdVt0rP51DHJx |
| Nov 16, 2024: | peer support discussion | in-person meeting (Mercury’s coffee in Bellevue ) 2pm |
| Dec 3, 2024: | Rheumatologist Dr. Ravi Sutaria presenting “managing multiple rheumatic conditions” with 30 minute Q&A | https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYlcumrrjMqHtSIKHxyCyHY9zgSMMtKmzEm#/registration |
Jin Lee, Ph.D Bio
As a caretaker of family members living with various spondylitis issues, Dr. Jin Lee is the founder of IMIdeology, a virtual care clinic dedicated to diagnose and treat patients with Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Diseases (IMIDs) such as Ankylosing Spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis. With a PhD in NeuroPsychology from the University of Oxford, she is a strong advocate of integrative care for chronic illness patients. Having worked across various sectors, including hospital systems, health insurance, and pharmaceuticals, she understood the complexity of healthcare. Dr. Lee served on the board for many nonprofits such as the American Heart Association.
John Wald Bio
I spent my early years in Santa Clara California. (San Francisco Bay Area – in the heart of what is now Silicon Valley.)
I went to college in Northern California at a Calif. State University where I received my BA in Communication in 1980, and my MA in Training and Development in 1984.
My first job out of Grad. School was Supervisor of Medical Training at Good Samaritan Hospital in Portland Oregon.
Two years later I accepted a position in Seattle at the Boeing Company where I was a technical trainer for Customer Airlines and for Boeing professional employees.
I spent 30 years at the Boeing Company in Seattle during which my wife and I raised two girls in Seattle, both of who went through school in Seattle and then went off to college and now are now working in professional positions.
I was diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis when I was 27 and in college. During that time I had multiple cases of serious back pain and spasms one that put me in the hospital. At the hospital a very good physical therapist who understood the disease worked with me for multiple visits and got me on a program that helped me maintain the daily pain and flares.
Over that period I have lived with the regular issues involved with AS. Including 4 or 5 cases of Iritis, and needed to have spinal surgery in 2019 for spinal stenosis of vertebra in the lower back and then again surgery in 2020 for stenosis of neck vertebra. (The medical support in Seattle is very good.)
I retired from the Boeing Company in 2016. My wife retired from teaching in the Seattle schools in 2019.
We have tried since to stay active with long walks a couple times a week, and cycling. I have had a few different Physical Therapists over the years who have help with maintenance of the disease with a prescribed daily schedule of stretching and exercises.
I was excited to find SAA a few years ago as I spent many years with the disease without a community of support for people with AS. I am truly thankful for the help and support that SAA provides.
We’d love to have you join our team of passionate volunteers leading our spondylitis educational support groups! Learn more about how to get started here, and reach out to programs@spondylitis.org
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