So all you wonderful people out there, thank you for being amazing and all sending well wishes. It really is a huge help to both of us when we face these blips on the radar.. I am home and relaxing, as I have a procedure under anaesthetic today for Endo. Am second on the surgery list for that so should be home and an on my feet in a couple of days. My RA treatment is all booked in for next Thursday.
It kinda blind sided us, this RA blip – if only my frequent flyer points for Chch hospital gave me a free flight to a tropical island ! One thing we are pleased about is that a still have a week off work and because I work from home these days will be feeling ready to Rock! by next week. All the medical teams think my work keeps me well so looking forward to getting back to it.
In fact November and December were so busy that I didn’t even realise I was in a flare of my rheumatoid arthritis.
The writing was on the wall if I stop and think about it; I had been so focussed on walking without my crutches, enjoying the Summer Starter, doing my hydrotherapy and land based Physio that I put the morning stiffness and aching muscles and joints down to me overdoing exercise.
My fatigue and restless sleep put down to planning our exciting year of Leap in 2016′ and negotiating back and forth with lawyers as another company have been quite silly and made a huge mistake (their words) and hoped we would fix it for free for them (that’s a whole new blog post and will be written when we can share it all, and when we get our heads everything without legally putting anyone in the firing line). Recurring contributing factor is definitely stress good or bad!
Also I was dropping things and knocking stuff over… I kept saying I had lost sensitivity in my hands and today the awesome medical team pointed out the fluid in my hands and wrists was quite significant.
Any pain they asked said… Not really I said. Until she squeezed them…… Good golly missed that sign too…
Then came the elbows….
“On they are fine” says I – “They are feeling really good and moving great.”..
Are you sure? Says the team….
As we could all hear creptis that would wake up the dead and it turns out my “wobbly arms isn’t fat deposits after all….. it’s fluid on the joint.
We decided maybe I was a little more flared than I thought as I realised I couldn’t lift my arms above my head without pain. Then I giggled a bit as I realised my shoulders had ‘t been that good for a month or so. Key Giveaway – I was sleeping in my bra again on riwais night shifts (because i can’t undo my bra or do it up before he gets home from work!)
One squeeze of my feet and we had shoes and socks off displaying sausage like shapes where I am sure my toes used to be and a beautiful red patchwork quilt of scaring and swirls and random vascular spots. We pushed on those too and I nearly let out a yelp! Back, knees hips … Bloody flaming Nora! Even my head and nail beds are inflamed.
So after at least 30 seconds of deliberating and checking the blood tests from three weeks ago, I was off got another blood test, booked in for my treatment – read more here about it … And hugs from all of the team (we have been together for over a decade!) and then quick discussion on meds and my ensuing operation tomorrow (that’s with my gynaecologist team for my endo – never a dull moment around here!
We were off home …..
In the car was quite weird as this flare really had blind sided us both, until today if anyone asked me how I was it would have been great, less than a week ago I walked over the hill from where we were staying to diamond harbour, yesterday I was down the beach over stones with no crutches.
We decided that bodies are incredible, this blip will be short lived I am sure! My willingness to cope with life’s curveballs and stay positive, keeping active and following my leap philosophies really has contributed to keeping the effects of this awful and debilitating disease at bay and my pain minimised…… That feels like a win… And so worth celebrating!
Thanks always for being part of this crazy journey
Hugs and smiles
Cate x
