Taking control of arthritis with faith, positive attitude

[Guest guest]

Taking control of arthritis with faith, positive attitude

2005-04-25

by Braden Albert

of The Daily Times Staff

Charlotte son is a busy woman.

She loves to spend time with her granddaughters, nne , 10,

and , 5½, and their friends. She works puzzles, reads,

watches wholesome television programs, visits with family and friends.

She enjoys college and professional football and never misses an

Atlanta Braves baseball game. She's an avid shopper. Until her job was

eliminated, she worked as a telemarketer for a local newspaper.

``There are just not enough hours in the day to do all the things I

love to do,'' son said, a smile playing across her face as she

hugged .

son is a firm believer in taking anything life throws at her and

making the best of it. This positive attitude, combined with her faith

in God, keeps the 69-year-old woman active in spite of dealing with

rheumatoid arthritis, a disease which has deformed every joint in her

body and left her bedridden for the past eight years.

``I have found out that in coping with arthritis, you have to have a

positive attitude. You have to take control of your disease and not let

it take control of you,'' son said recently from the ville

home she shares with her daughter and son-in-law, Staci and Mike ,

and her beloved granddaughters. ``Stay busy. Just because you're

bedridden, doesn't mean you can't live an active life. If you don't

stay above this disease mentally, you're in big trouble.''

son was diagnosed with RA at the age of 30, and has lived with the

disease for 39 years. The first 18 years she was able to live a very

normal life and take care of her family in every way. She had a few

problems in her joints but nothing serious, she said.

Stress and emotional trauma caused son's RA to explode in her body

and progress more in a month than it had in the previous 18 years. She

went from walking with a cane to using a wheelchair, and when she was

no longer able to transfer from her bed to the wheelchair, she became

bedridden.

Arthritis Walk is May 7

Staci is her mother's primary caregiver with help from nne

and . She is also chairing the Blount County Arthritis Walk,

which will take place Saturday, May 7, on the ville College campus.

``Unlike other walks, we don't charge to walk so we get our money from

donations from sponsors and people like me and you,'' said.

According to the Arthritis Foundation Web site, ``arthritis'' is an

umbrella term used for a group of more than 100 medical conditions that

collectively affect nearly 70 million adults and 300,000 children in

America alone. The most common form is osteoarthritis, a degenerative

joint disease in which the cartilage that covers the ends of bones in

the joint deteriorates, causing pain and loss of movement as bone

begins to rub against bone. Other types include rheumatoid arthritis,

an autoimmune disease in which the joint lining becomes inflamed as

part of the body's immune system activity and is one of the most

serious and disabling types; gout; ankylosing spondylitis; juvenile

arthritis; systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus); scleroderma; and

fibromyalgia.

Dr. Marvin Beard, M.D., is a rheumatologist and past chairman of the

Blount County Arthritis Walk.

``Arthritis is very prevalent,'' Beard said. ``The CDC (Centers for

Disease Control) estimates that one in three adult Tennesseans have

arthritis in some form. It affects children, too. It's estimated that

there are 300,000 children in the United States with juvenile onset

arthritis.''

Treatment options include medication to control pain and inflammation,

and lifestyle modification, such as losing weight or otherwise

improving the person's physical condition. Surgery may also be an

option.

Beard said advances in diagnosing and treating arthritis are occurring

as new technology becomes available. This would not be possible without

events such as the Arthritis Walk.

``Any time you increase awareness, you increase the possibility of

funding,'' Beard said. ``That increases the possibility of finding a

cure.''

agreed.

``I really think someday there's going to be a cure,'' she said. ``I

think we're on the bridge of that with today's technology but we can't

do it alone. We have to have people come out and help us.''

A choice

Living with arthritis is not easy, said, but she and her family

do the best they can.

``Mom gives back to me as much as I give to her,'' she said. ``It's a

give-and-take situation, and I think we do really well -- we've never

thought of our life as being any different from anyone else's.''

nne and said it was fun to have ``Nanu'' living with

them. son helps nne with homework and her dancing and

singing, and watches cartoons with . The girls, in turn, help

Nanu.

``I help her get her cereal, and I help her eat her dinner, and

sometimes I help Mom fix her dinner,'' said.

son said the key to coping with RA or any illness is to dwell on

what you can do, not what you can't do.

``Everybody has a choice,'' she said. ``And I choose to be happy

whatever comes my way. That to me is just the secret of the whole

thing, and the love and support of my family. God has blessed me with

three special angels -- Staci, nne and .''