Arthritis: Not just an “old person’s” disease.
I invite you to meet Danielle; a 21-year-old who has agreed to discuss chronic pain and arthritis from younger point of view.
Welcome Danielle!
This is Danielle’s first post:
Like most children, I was involved in a weekend sport. I was 7 when I enrolled in figure skating. Once my skates hit the ice, I was off and in a world of my own. Spinning, jumping, and gaining speed was what my weekends were all about.
I spent 4 years on the ice; did shows and competitions, but it all began to twirl in a downward spiral. The pain started when I was 8. The initial thought was that it was a sprain from a bad landing, but the swelling and heat radiating off my right ankle begged to differ. It got to the point where the only way to express my pain was through laughter. Tears were no match for this sort of pain. The simple cries of a child were not getting the attention they craved. I was always crying when I was younger, so my parents learnt to let them subside, eventually I would stop crying. When my parents finally took the tears and swelling into consideration, we felt it best to have this looked at by a professional. After many blood tests and x-rays, I finally found the answer to all this pain.
At the age of 13 I was diagnosed with arthritis, and although they could not categorize what kind, whether it be Rheumatoid or Juvenile, I finally had found the culprit to all of those long agonizing days and nights. Of course you try explaining to a teenager that she has the disease of an “old person” and see how she reacts. I learnt after that, just how closed minded people could be about such a common autoimmune disorder.
Technorati Tags: rheumatoid arthritis,juvenile rheumatoid arthritis,common autoimmune disorder
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POSTED IN: Children, Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, Rheumatoid arthritis, Young adults
3 opinions for Arthritis: Not just an “old person’s” disease.
Ruth Bjorklund
Apr 29, 2008 at 11:53 pm
Hello! I am a children’s author and am presently finishing a book on arthritis for readers in 4-6 grade. I would love to hear more of Danielle’s story. I have written several health related books for Marshall Cavendish and they can be found (hopefully!) online at Amazon or at your local library. Thanks very much for your post, Danielle.
Marijke Durning, RN
May 1, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Hi Ruth, thanks for your comment. I contacted Danielle to ask how she’s doing and she apologized for not getting back to us. She says that your post has spurred her on to get her other blog posts written out.
Stay tuned!
Danielle
May 21, 2008 at 2:01 pm
Hi Ruth, I want to apologize for not getting back to you sooner. I appreciate your comment, and this has definitely motivated me to continue writing more blogs :).
Thank you,
Danielle
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