As I said lately it’s been and up and down thing. This morning was a way down day. I had a hard time sleeping last night because every time I tried to move it hurt. My knees have really been bothering me these days and unfortunately I need them to move in bed.
So after a very long night, I struggled down the stairs to shower and start the day. The warm water helps to ease some of the stiffness. My hands are not where I want them to be but overall really not that bad. My feet are doing really well, but my knees are really swollen and painful. The shower helped, but it was only a small improvement.
As I got to the bottom of the stairs I took a deep breath. It felt like I was about to tackle a mountain. Those 13 stairs may as well have been a mountain; it was going to be a challenge. I needed to summon up the strength to make it up those stairs. One at a time. Slowly and painfully. Before I could brave this project, I turned and said to my husband “I need wings.” He laughed and said he thought that was a great idea.
It got me to thinking how nice it would be if every time I needed to go from one floor to another or even one room to another I could just flap my wings and glide to my destination. When I am still there is no pain it is just the movement that is the problem, so a method of transportation that did not involve pain would be amazing. A girl can dream, can’t she?
I know that this is a temporary situation and that with time I will again figure out what works for my body. I am reminded though, that it takes a great deal of courage to have rheumatoid arthritis and keep moving forward, despite the pain. Even if it is only going up and down a flight of stairs.
Tags: arthritis, courage, feet, hands, kness, pain, RA, rheumatoid, rheumatoid arthritris, stiffness, strength
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I SO empathise with you! My home is on a single level now, but when I was first diagnosed, I lived in a third-floor flat — LOTS of stairs, every time I went in or went out. I wished for wings, too. I often had to take those stairs one at a time; there were times when I took them sitting down. This is one of those “teaching” moments, when you realize that you just have to go slowly. No point in getting upset over it. Just take it easy and be good to yourself. Here’s hoping that your current flare will ease soon so you’ll be able to go up and down that flight of stairs without a thought!
Me too, Joanne, me too. I am sorry that you are not feeling well. The unpredictable weather does not help either. I hope you feel better soon. Thank you for visiting my blog and wishing me well.
From your lips to God’s ears
I hope you are feeling better soon too Lana!
I know that knee pain so well. Until your knees are swollen and in pain you never realize how much you use them while sleeping. I still wake up every single night to move myself because the pain in my knee is too much to sleep through. It does take courage and we will make it through this! But those stairs, yikes. I know what you mean.
I do believe that it is within me to find a solution to this. The way I see it I can do any worse than modern medicine has for me.
Walking up or down the stairs backwards can help. I also try to have everything I need during the day downstairs, and double-check what needs to be brought along so as to save myself an extra trip.
Perhaps you could use a heat-pad in bed in the morning to soften things up before you start your day?
I actually wrote a post about going down the stairs backwards a long time ago. It does help with stability and center of balance to go down the stairs backwards. The heat pad sounds like a good idea. I try to move around a bit before I even attempt to stand up. Thanks for the tip, I will try the heat pad in the morning and see how it goes.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Holistic Health News and Jo-Ann Colburn, Ginger Garner. Ginger Garner said: RT @MBHolistic: Blog: Rheumatoid Arthritis: I Need Wings http://bit.ly/9cCx84 #Health #Arthritis [...]
I agree that it takes courage to live with rheumatoid arthritis. Climbing up a flight of stairs can seem like climbing a mountain some days, and I really like your wing idea! I use mobility aids to help me cope with my arthritis, especially ergonomic cooking utensils and specially designed computer accessories. These help with the pain in my hands, and luckily my knees are not as badly effected. I do hope that you find a way to climb that mountain.
Thanks. I am stronger and tougher than RA.