County Arthritis Unit Celebrates 25th Year

Until this year, potluck at a private residence has been the get-together agenda for the Orange County branch of the Arthritis Foundation. But last week at the group’s 25th anniversary celebration, 65 members gathered at the Turnip Rose in Orange to sip champagne and dine on Caesar salad, chicken cacciatore and pecan torte.

“This is to say that we’ve done something together, and we want to honor ourselves,” said Michael Matsler, the group’s incoming president.

In his post-dinner presentation, outgoing president Ed Colburn told the group that fund-raising efforts produced $580,000 in 1986, compared to $13,000 in the group’s inaugural year, 1961.

The money goes toward arthritis research, support groups for sufferers and exercise programs with names such as “Joint Efforts” and “Twinges in the Hinges.” The group’s ultimate goal is made absolutely clear in the title of the organization’s slide presentation: “A World Without Arthritis.”

Can Start at Any Age

According to Dr. George Friou, chief of rheumatology at the UC Irvine College of Medicine, despite all the progress in recent years, little is known yet about arthritis. “We’ve had lots of breakthroughs and better diagnoses of different kinds of arthritis--the biggest changes (being) in the surgical treatment of arthritis--but we want to prevent it from getting to that stage. In women, arthritis is the largest cause of disability. In men, it’s the second, after heart disease.”

Friou added that rheumatoid arthritis, the most severe form of the disease, can begin at any age. Scott Warneke, 8, the group’s poster child, has had the illness since he was 2 years old.

Said Scott’s father, David Warneke: “It took several doctors and nine months before the diagnosis was accurate. He went from a typically normal 2-year-old to bedridden.” Scott, David and Scott’s mother, Lauren, were special guests for the evening.

Other noted guests included Municipal Judge Betty L. Elias; Dr. Leon Katz, a rheumatologist, and Dr. Sanford Anzel, an orthopedic surgeon. Before the program ended, all three were honored for their long-term service to the Orange County branch.

Both Katz and Anzel are founders of the chapter. Marian Fuller, who could not attend, was also honored for her work with the women’s auxiliary.