Gary has gone with me to almost all of my doctor’s appointments. Since 1978, he has drawn my blood from home and kept a journal of every lab result. He is my caregiver after orthopedic surgeries, handling commodes, assisting in the shower and tirelessly pulling on thigh-high compression stockings after my total hip revisions.
I became a mother in 1981 when our daughter, Laura, came into our lives. I had a wonderful pregnancy, and my arthritis symptoms disappeared. To the joy of my obstetrician, I took no medicine.
Many people commented, “You should be pregnant all the time!” I cautiously hoped my arthritis could be gone forever, but six weeks after delivery, bilateral knee pain returned, and I knew it was back. I stopped breast-feeding and restarted my medication.
We adopted our son, John, in 1987. One day when he was 4, I was struggling to open a bottle of laundry detergent. John looked up with his blue eyes and freckled face and said, “Let me do it, Mom. You’re too unstrong.”
My children have grown into responsible young adults who are sensitive to the needs of others and do not hesitate to offer to help me. Having a mother with RA was actually a blessing.
I also have been able to continue to participate in activities that bring me joy, but with modifications.
I love music, and I play the baritone horn (euphonium). I can no longer carry it long distances, so I ask others to do that for me. My fingers have swan neck deformities and ulnar deviation, but since my horn has only three valves, I can still play beautifully. I also ring hand bells, but I ring only the smaller ones while wearing performance gloves. No one sees my deformed hands.
I had a wonderful pregnancy, & my arthritis symptoms disappeared. I took no medicine, to the joy of my obstetrician.
Lesson #3
Having RA does not exempt patients from other health problems.
I experienced a miscarriage in 1984 at 12 weeks gestation. Little did I know that another loss would occur just six months later. In September 1984, as I bent forward to move our daughter’s rocking chair, my vision blurred. A four-vessel arteriogram revealed a blood clot lodged in the distal one-third of the left posterior cerebral artery. This explained my loss of peripheral vision on the right, but the cause of the clot remained a mystery. I was prescribed warfarin, which I have continued to take.
