Daily Routines

Has arthritis forced you to make adjustments?

By Annette Beach

In my blog, “Mountain Climbing” (8/23/10), Angela’s post is one I’m sure we can all relate to and understand. I like how she separates the activities into two categories, “hills and mountains.” She states:

“My everyday activities are my hills and mountains. Getting up, showering, dressed and making lunches is one. Working fulltime is another. Making dinner, cleaning house, stretching. These are my hills. My mountains would be the more physically challenging activities … grocery shopping, family reunions, vacation, yard work.”

When I considered my own hills and mountains and the challenges of having to climb them over and over again, I wondered, “Are they’re really worth it?” Then I was reminded of a conversation from many years ago.

In 1995, I ran into a friend and immediately noticed she’d changed her appearance, drastically! Having a friendship dating back to our teen-age years, I was always envious of her very long, blonde hair and the stylish clothes she wore on her tiny frame. But on this day, my reaction upon seeing her was different!

Doing a double take, the first words out of my mouth were, “What happened to your hair?!” She replied in a sad yet assured tone, “I cut it off – I’m tired of dealing with it! (‘Tired’ being the key word.) My arthritis has gotten so bad, I have to focus on simplifying my life and letting go of my looks.”

As tears filled her eyes, she explained how difficult it was to perform routine activities of daily living and to repeat the same tasks day after day. Said by the time she finished her morning routine, she was absolutely exhausted and felt worthless the rest of the day. Washing, brushing, drying and styling her hair was a chore requiring an effort that caused her arthritic hands and arms to deteriorate at a faster rate. She’d already had multiple operations to repair the repeated damage and felt it was time to make a change.   

Since her kindergarten pictures, her hair was the length of her back and always in place. The decision to cut it above her ears was traumatic, but necessary.

Then she took a step back to point out her plain clothes, asking, “How do you like my new wardrobe? I have a shirt like this in every color.” Her entire closet consisted of simple, stretchy clothes and slip on shoes instead of the fashionable styles she’d worn her entire life.

Although I completely understood the reasons for these drastic changes, I was sad because they obviously caused her emotional pain. Being diagnosed with juvenile arthritis at a very young age, she always presented herself in a confident manner. On this day, I noticed arthritis not only changed the outward appearance of the girl I’d known for 20 years, it robbed her from the joy she felt to look her best for those she loved.

A few years later, she died from complications caused by her arthritis. Many times I’ve wondered, if she had it to do over again, would the changes have been so drastic?          

Have you had to make adjustments to your daily routines? What changes did you make and how affective are they? Have any been extreme?