Hello and welcome HMack.
My wife got early onset AZ, my 50th birthday present to her was to tell her to quit work, Id pay the bills.
I put it down to the menopause and buried my head in the sand, but did get her to see the doctor.
Once she quit work she seemed to get better so much so for a while she took a job at a local shop, then my mum became ill and came to live with us, mum got better as my wife got worst, mum late 80s became the brains of the operation.
I don't suppose the childhood illness helped, but early onset isn't as uncommon as people think.
Good luck and keep posting. K