Before RA, I was an active wife, mother, and elementary school teacher. In addition to those, I was the technology coordinator for my school, training other teachers how to use tech, as well as trouble-shooting minor problems. Plus… I was working on and received my Master’s Degree.
Shortly after earning my Master’s Degree, I resigned from teaching due to some family concerns. We decided to homeschool the children as well during this transition. About a year after that, my mom in NJ was having some health issues, so I drove to go get her and bring her to my home to recuperate.
A month after that, in November 2006, found myself unable to get out of bed one morning. I thought maybe I had the flu, except the pain just kept getting worse. I went to the family doctor a number of times and everything they told me to take was of no help (I also discovered I was allergic to NDSAIDS during this time). They eventually referred me to a rheumatologist, who ran some tests, and diagnosed me as having Rheumatoid Arthritis in January, 2007. I was actually relieved at first, because I was worried that I had lupus. RA is bad, it was excruciating around the time of my diagnosis, but it could have been worse.
I look back now, after RA, and wonder how on earth I had all the energy and strength to do it all! Sometimes now, just getting a shower and getting dressed is exhausting. Lol!
