My greatest fear about having rheumatoid arthritis has always been linked to my son. Being pregnant, I was afraid of passing the trait to my baby. Since his birth, I have feared the day when [or should I say, if] he is diagnosed.
Throughout his life, it has been my personal mission to raise awareness about the severity of arthritis. My goal has been to erase the myth, “Arthritis is an old person’s disease.”
People who are not affected by arthritis often view it as minor aches and pains in a person’s fingers or how it gives grandparents the ability to predict the weather with their hips. For anyone who has lived with arthritis (whether it’s you or a loved one), you know there’s more to it – much more!
For two decades, it has been my dream [as a group effort] to find a cure for arthritis by the time my son reached the age at which I was diagnosed. We have four months remaining to make my dream come true.
While I’m not giving up hope, I do not believe there will be a pill, shot or potion produced by February 2010 that will literally cure rheumatoid arthritis. However, I do not view my dream as being shattered. If anything, I am encouraged and will continue with my mission.
In recent years, we have made great strides in the way arthritis is treated and controlled. When I say “we,” I’m referring to medical care providers, scientists, researchers, the staff of organizations, advocates, donors, volunteers and everyone who supports our cause.
Approximately five years ago, my rheumatologist (who in my opinion is one of the best because of his dedication and involvement within the arthritis community), made a comment that still jazzes me today. While discussing the advances in medicine, he said, “Annette, if these meds were available 10 years earlier, most likely you would still have all of your body parts.”
How exciting! His statement empowered my outlook and confirmed our efforts are making a difference!
If a cure is discovered tomorrow, it will not affect me physically. My condition is permanent and cannot be reversed, and I’m OK with it.
The part that excites me the most is knowing ‘if’ my son is ever diagnosed, today’s treatments have the capability to contain the disease and limit the bodily damage. This means the odds are in his favor rather than against him! With early diagnosis and proper treatments, he can live his life without the fear of loosing his physical abilities to the extreme, like I did.
Although today’s advances are not the equivalent of a direct cure, I’ll take them!
Knowing those who are diagnosed today will most likely have their body parts tomorrow [in comparison to my personal history], means we are very close to having my dream come true. While I continue to fear the possibility of my son inheriting this beast, I am grateful to know we are better equipped to fight the battles and eventually, with a group effort, we will win the war.
I am in constant pain and I fear it will never let up.
I work full time but fear that I may lose my job due to cognitive and physical limitations.
I have a wonderful husband and step-son but I fear I am a burden on them.
Most of the time I have the strength to endure day in and day out, but I fear that one day I will not be strong enough to fight this, to stay positive, to stay in control.