Kelso, 69, has rheumatoid arthritis, which she developed when she was 40. “That’s when your immune system attacks your body’s tissues instead of protecting them,” she said. “A few years later, it attacked my organs.” Some treatments she has tried have led to complications, including abscesses that she said made her body “a ticking time bomb.” But while rheumatoid arthritis is terrible and painful, “I have a strong constitution,” she said. Last year, Dr. Alex Mihailovic presented her with the prospect of a nine-hour surgery to deal with the abscesses. She was told there would be a one-in-four chance of not surviving.