Hi all been off the grid for a little bit.  It’s great to be back and all is well.

Busy weekend behind me but also interesting weekend making discoveries about love ones that also have rheumatoid arthritis.  I must say it was eye opening and as well as a jolt of serious reality of the disease just in my family.

I must be honest, this is about my sister.  I’d heard for years her saying she has arthritis but not so much about rheumatoid arthritis.  Later on in years then got inklings of her saying she has RA.  Honestly, once I was diagnosed and the pain I felt and what I knew about RA, I figured, she can’t have RA, she would be in so much more pain or by now she would have some deformity because I knew she wasn’t getting the proper treatment.  “I must say by no fault of her own”.

Over the years of seeing her, she wasn’t so bad and I still thought RA??? Ummm. She still talked about the debilitating pain she was in and how her hands just didn’t want to work.  Finally, I thought, maybe she does. Maybe she does.

Fast forward to this weekend, seeing her for the first time after a long while and I was shocked to see just how far along she has developed with what I now know for sure is “Rheumatoid Arthritis”.  Unfortunately, she has the deformity that comes along with with it and a number of other health issues.  I felt her pain, I felt sad, I felt hurt, I felt Blessed she was still pressing along with spirit through it all but I must admit that I felt Blessed that my disease compared hers at this point isn’t as bad.  I cried with her daughter as we watched in awe at the changes that had taken place and saw how quickly this disease can change your life and take what you thought you once had and once knew about yourself.

I also have a niece that is going through her own issues with RA.  She is a trooper, showed a strong face though I know there was both physical and emotional pain there for her as well.  She is finding her way through this disease the same as we are and I wish her well.

As you can see from my blog, there is always someone close that has this disease whether it’s a family member, friend or co-worker.  It is closer than you think.  How do you cope, what would you think, what would you do and how would you feel.  Please realize this is a serious disease and it is not just “Arthritis”.  It can be devastating to an individual and it can change a life in a month, months or years.

Be Blessed