Friday, February 3, 2012

Living With Rheumatoid Arthritis is Not a Losing Battle pt3.


Suffering in Silence
By DMK 
View pt1 & pt2 

Installment #3:
My goal is to inspire and inform, concerning this disease. Education is the way my wife Susan has made positive changes in her efforts to overcome. Thank You for following this series. DMK

I cannot emphasize enough that anyone suffering with RA or any disease for that matter, you are not alone. Today’s discussion is a touch of real life with Susan. For those first visiting, my wife Susan was diagnosed with RA approximately seven years ago.  

Suffering in Silence

The alarm goes off; it is nearly daylight and time for Sue to begin the day. Propped on her left side she looks at the sounding alarm. The task simple, reach with her right arm and shut it off. In an attempt to do such, accompanied with great pain, she is unable to move her arm.

Tears form, helplessness consumes, only in her late thirties and she can’t turn the alarm off.
New attempt, need to sit up. Extreme burning pain, she kicks both legs off the bed, a moan of pain and shivers in agony. I have gone to work already so she is on her own. The task, stop that alarm! Then get ready for work, huh.

A push to sitting position, reaching with her left arm the alarm, silenced. All that effort for the alarm, a deep sigh, she puts her left hand to her head and continues to cry.

For me, it was a different suffering:

I was losing my wife, day-by-day, unable to brush her own hair. Clothing for her became anything loose, no ties, snaps or anything. Nature only viewed through a window and television programming became her only friend. Physical relations not even a consideration.

 "Divorce is certainly a potential consequence of having a chronic disease like rheumatoid arthritis," says Kristin Flynn Peters, PhD, a clinical health psychologist and clinical assistant professor at the School of Health Professions at the University of Missouri in Columbia. In fact, the divorce rate among people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been reported to be as much as 70 percent higher than that in the general population. *Rheumatoid Arthritis and Divorce 

Guilt grew rapidly, how could I even consider my own feelings? Truth is we are human. I chose fight instead of flight. Hand in hand, we moved forward.

“You can fight without ever winning, you can never win, win without a fight.” Neal Peart.

This is only one of the ways you can begin your journey to winning the battle. I Google searched “RA treatments, Tucson,” you can do the same for your neighborhood. In our case, a study at the University of Arizona was looking for individuals such as my wife for an experimental drug.

We had hoops to jump through, however, we did it and years later, the drug worked for her and is known as Actemra. She is not completely healed; management of the disease is possible, and continuing.

Please note though, not every drug works for every individual.

There are many treatments out there as previously published. Pt1 
Every day is new, don’t give up, face each day together, DO NOT SUFFER IN SILENCE.

Thank You for Stopping in.
By DMK 
View pt1 & pt2 

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