Catherine Manning, our Disabilities Liaison for London, talks about National Arthritis Week.
If you weren’t aware this week is National Arthritis Week. I’ve had arthritis since I was 12 years old. I have 3 forms of arthritis and a number of other conditions thrown into the mix just to make life a little more interesting and challenging.
Arthritis is not just an old persons disease. It affects any age at any time. If I had £1 for every time someone has said “oh you’re very young to have that ” I’d be a rich woman. Another misconception is that it only affects joints. Rheumatoid Arthritis can and does affect joints, lungs, lining of the heart,connective tissue, eyes . I have RA in all joints and nodules in my lungs caused by inflammation.
Living with arthritis affects every part of my life from waking to going to sleep at night. It causes pain, swollen joints, extreme fatigue then you add the side effects of the medication into the mix…..nausea, sickness, thinning bones, weight gain. We take medication to counteract the side effects of the medication!
My life is made up of countless hospital appointments, physio and blood tests. My hubby helps with my day to day care. ….washing, dressing, cooking, cleaning. He’s an amazing gentleman but our relationship changes when he became my Carer instead of my lover. I know he’s worried and frustrated too and there’s not enough support for carers out there. Our wedding vows “in sickness and in health” are so true.
The hardest thing is to watch my 8 year old struggling and be in pain. He’s going through tests as it’s strongly suspected that he has Juvenile Arthritis. I can relate to everything he is feeling from worry to frustration to anger.
I had a wonderful job in the city but 2 years ago my contract was terminated because I couldn’t sustain my role due to pain, fatigue and hospital appointments. If I do something one day like taking the kids to school i then spend the rest of the day recovering.
Things that you take for granted, I struggle with such as holding a pen to write, cutting up my dinner, holding a cup of tea, brushing my hair, getting dressed. The list is endless but I won’t give up, arthritis will not win.
My name is Catherine and I have arthritis, arthritis doesn’t have me.
#nationalarthritisweek #nras #arthritisresearchuk
Catherine – District Disabilities Liaison for London
This post originally appeared on our first site, dis-spelling.org.uk in 2017