Home Community Member Stories Pat

Pat

memoli@montana.com 

Hi, My name is Pat. I am 42, with a 14 yr old son and a sometimes supportive, rather uncomunicative hubby. Reading everyone's stories has been wonderful. I wish I had read them when my RA first started, about 7 years ago, because I fought the diagnosis every step of the way instead of treating it aggressively at the beginning. And now it has effected my heart and lungs, often making it difficult to breath, laugh or cry. My greatest pleasures used to be in hiking and backpacking, and now I can barely walk around the block or play frisbee with my son. I'm on oxygen at night and have to sleep in a recliner with my head elevated until we can afford an adjustable bed.

My Ra hit very quickly after 2 surgeries I had. Apparently all that stress on my body brought it out of hiding. Before the surgeries all I had been noticing was some stiffness in my shoulders that I had been seeing a chiropractor for. About a week after I started feeling pain that seemed to double on a daily basis. Then one day I fell at home and was unable to move and in immense pain. I laid there all day until my son came home from school, poor fellow. It took a week of tests in the hospital before they figured out I had RA. I guess I didn't respond normally to them. Serum-negative.

After all this time I am beginning to learn to take responsibility for managing my RA and other problems, but still have a long way to go. I do wish I had more support and understanding among friends and family, but have found a great deal in the e-group I belong to, and hope to here as well.