RA Blog Week - Day 3 My Knight in Shining Armor in a 2011 Crown Victoria with Red and Blue Lights on Top

What Others Need to Know About the  Battle Living with Rheumatoid Arthritis

May is Arthritis Awareness Month!  As a rheumatoid arthritis patient, I am using this month as an opportunity to promote education and awareness of this debilitating disease and provide some much-needed insight from a patient’s point of view.

With RA, it’s not easy to live a “normal” life.  We must overcome a myriad of challenges every day.  In my case, I take a lot of medication just to be able to get up and move every day.  In fact, I typically wake up two hours early every morning just to allow enough time for my rheumatoid medication to “kick in.” And every day tools, such as a shower chair, cane, modified cooking utensils, brace or sling, are essential to get through the day and make daily life more manageable.

Most RA patients learn to adapt and can rearrange their plans on a moment’s notice.  The reality is that it’s extremely difficult to make plans as the nature of the disease causes extreme fatigue and varied pain levels throughout the day.  Plans that are made in the early morning hours often have to be cancelled or changed just a few hours later.  It’s the nature of this debilitating disease.

The truth is: just because someone looks “normal” or “well” on the outside doesn’t mean that they aren’t in pain or their internal organs aren’t damaged.  And, it’s not just the disease that causes damage to our internal organs, but also the medications we take daily.  I, like many other patients, am no longer able to work my full-time job in spite of receiving aggressive treatment.  I miss my career and the positive feelings it gave me.

Rheumatoid Arthritis is a disease that can affect anyone, anywhere at any age.  I recently lost a friend to the complications of the disease. Another friend had complications from the medication and inflammation from the disease affected her eyes and permanently lost her sight in one eye.  I have reached a point that I am fed up with the disease and tired of dealing with it and seeing the damage it can do to young and old. 

However, support from family, friends and colleagues makes it a bit more tolerable.  It is important to educate others about the ravages of this disease and maybe, just maybe a cure will be found!  The disability that ravages our bodies is a part of us, but certainly does not define us!