Take heart | Arthritis Information

Hello

Over the years I have read these entries reflecting the challenges of r/a, and the courage of those of you who deal with it on a daily basis.

For my two cents worth i wanted to say i have had r/a for 25 years. like most of you, i have been in some degree of pain every day 365 days a year. in 2003, on a short run, i fell over with a pain in my chest. two angiograms later i had a stent implanted in my chest. the stent failed. i fell down again. i had another stent implanted. a few months later i ended up in the cardiac unit of the nearest hospital and had a heart bypass. i never thought i would recover from that bypass. i picked up a lung infection and was hospitalised for a long time.

when i came out of hospital i decided r/a was NOT going to nail me. a year and a half

later i climbed mount kilimanjaro. two years later i climbed to mount everest base camp.

i'm not saying this to suggest i'm better than anyone of you out there. it's been a long, lonely and painful journey, but i think deep down we have reserves we can pull on, and the belief that no matter how bad it gets, we will handle it... i've read of so many of you who have shown such great courage in the face of this shocking disease... i am moved by your strength and your endurance

Congrats on the climbing!!! Love mountains but have never had that kind of stamina.apple.... that's a wonderful post.. I'm so glad you've found the strength to over come..

may you be the inspiration for many.......

best to you,

babs

Yes I agree with Babs that your post is inspirational and shows what can be done.
You have visited some awesome places, I'm a little envious.
How inspirational. Where did you find the strength? You can't just decide to do something like that and then go out and do it. Did you spend much time training? How did you get ready? Do you feel better in spirit now that you have done such amazing things? Does any of what you have done translate to less pain, or being better able to deal with the pain?

I have trouble staying wih the easiest of excercise plans or diet plans. I would truly like to understand where you found the resolve to fight past the normal obstacles RA patients deal with. A lot of questions . . . sorry.

Flower Mama

Thanks for sharing your story. Your journey in the foothills of the Himalayas sounds like a dream come true.

To vigour, stamina, and health! Best wishes for continuing to climb those mountains, Shug
Dear Flower Mama, fellow posters

You asked a good question. How do we do what we do?

In the case of r/a I know there is no universal answer for

handling this uncompromising disease, but i understand the depth

and depravity of this disease that tries to rule us.

After I had my bypass in 2003 I had complications. The meds I

was prescribed to keep my bp down were causing me

to black out. I remember getting up one morning and

falling down. Another time, also after my bypass, I'd

had two cortizone shots the previous day. I was on the

phone and I just blacked out. It was a scary time. After

my cardiologist sorted out the low bp prob. i decided

to go walk in the forest. I remember walking 50 metres

and being totally exhausted. Gradually, i extended the

distance, 50 metres -- 100 metres -- 400 metres. Eventually

a kilometer. I clearly remember walking up steps on a mountain.

i used to say to myself: today you are going to walk 13 steps

without pausing for breath. i would walk 13 steps. then a week

later it would be 20 steps. i extended the goal very slowly.

eventually a good friend invited me to join him on kilimanjaro.

my mantra always has been: "r/a, I am not going to give you permission

to kill me." so i established my own strategy: positive thinking,

exercise, and a determination not to succumb to depression

and pain. i know this is not possible for everyone, as i have been

through that gate where you wake up mornings down, unable to move, to get

out of bed, to even think.i still have huge battles with r/a. i greet it every

morning when the pain in my shoulders and elbows wakes me up at 3 am.

but, to answer your question, Flower Mama, i think the answer is to believe

you can build a bridgehead (even if you can't!). and to call the construction

engineers of your mind in to get to work.

Post Script

Since my trip to Base Camp I have had a wrist fusion and synovectomy on my left hand,

a shoulder operation, a chest infusion, and an operation to remove a basal cell carcinoma.

i am still breathing and still walk in the mountains.

Aren't the mountains great??Thank-you for your words of inspiration and a blueprint on how not to give in to this disease! I will think of this in the weeks to come and while I have no desire to climb a mountain, I have a strong desire to go one more step today and even further tomorrow!

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