RA AND THE FAMILY FIT

Pain-Physical suffering or discomfort caused by illness. Our definition of daily life with Rheumatoid Arthritis.

That definition sums it up for us. When we can’t open our hands, bend our knees or barely walk because of pain, don’t think that’s us pretending.  Pain, pain and more pain this is what our lives are comprised off.  Too many places to pinpoint and too many places to say which one is hurting the most.  Because we are crying out in pain is that wrong?  Does that mean we are attention seeking or trying to get out of doing things?  Not with what we go through each and every day we wake up facing this disease known to us as Rheumatoid Arthritis.  It means we are hurting and we are in constant pain, a fact of our lives that can’t be erased no matter what others may think.

I‘m sure there are many that gets tired of hearing about our pain but guess what, we are surely tired of feeling IT.  There is pain in the morning when we wake up, pain throughout the day as we try hard to make it and yes it’s still there as we lay down at night.  It’s like we’re going around in circles because no matter where we turn, there is pain.  It is our most constant and consistent companion as we watch others come and go on our journey down this long road.  Some may think we talk too much about our pain but when we have to deal with it 24-7 it is hard to ignore it or to concentrate on other things the way we should because the pain has the ability to cloud our minds in a way that it becomes our ruler.  It has the ability to stop us in our tracks, cut off our words in mid sentence or if it’s one of those really terrible moments, it can bring us to our knees where we find ourselves crying and praying for relief.  Many may think “It Can’t Be That Serious” and we’re here to tell you, yes it can and yes it is.

No one wants to be in pain and many don’t endure pain constantly but we as chronic sufferers endure pain and that has become a normal part of our day.  What it does to us mentally can be devastating because dealing with physical pain as often as we do, it’s natural to fall prey to the emotional and painful breakdowns we so often face .  Though many may think we are seeking sympathy for expressing ourselves, it does not, it simply means we are chronic sufferers of pain who needs someone to understand just how bad our day is and how pain bounds us to suffering.  Suffering that needs to be heard about even at the expense of rejection.  You see, handling this alone can be a burden too hard bear, so we find ourselves trying to reach out for what may not be possible “a little understanding”.  Even with understanding, pain always seem to rule.

When your pain smothers you and others think talking about it makes you weak, the truth is, handling the pain the way we are forced to do shows exactly how strong we truly are.  People do not know what this pain does to us but this is what our world looks like.  To look at your hands and wonder how in the world can you move them when they hurt so bad;  You take a step and you feel like your feet are on fire;  Your hips scream when you walk or when you roll over in bed and you winch from the radiating pain that stops you even though you know you still have to  move and you find yourself wondering can I do it;  Your determination keeps you going as every joint is bursting with pain and you know at some point you will give in letting the pain take over but you know you’ve given it a good fight.  You’re not giving in because you want to it’s because the pain is relentless.  You fight, it wins.  You may get a reprieve, it strikes back harder but deep down you know you are fighting the fight of a Warrior but this disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis is a force that gives us all it has. The pain is etched in our brain reminding our joints that we have a fight for life on our hands.  So we hurt more than words can say and it is REAL.

Walking a few steps in our painful shoes will show what we feel, how we suffer, how we have lost, how we yearn and how we cope.  Then there will be a show of knowledge and  respect for what Rheumatoid Arthritis really does to the human body and mind.  Be mindful of those that hurt, it will make a difference whether you see it or not.  Pain is no one’s friend but make no mistake, for those of us that suffers everyday it is our number 1 enemy.

P-PATIENCE
A-AGONY
I-INDESCRIBABLE
N-NEVER-ENDING

Be Blessed

photo credit:  glady/pixabay.com