The Seated View

“Is this worth $5 of happiness?” This is a question my friend and sister-in-law Janet asks herself when tempted to purchase something slightly frivolous. It’s a great way to find out if you’re in the grip of an impulse that will evaporate the minute you leave the store, or whether you will actually be happy you bought this the silly little thing (or not-so-silly — good chocolate could qualify, as well). Today I’m asking you for five dollars. It can be the five dollars you didn’t spend on a trashy magazine or neon-coloured bandana. Or it can be the five dollars you spend on a coffee and a muffin, or the tips for the delivery guy. There’s nothing wrong with spending your money on any one of those things, but today - and just today - I’m going to ask that you spend them on research and support programs for people with arthritis.   On June 4, I am walking the 5K in the Walk to Fight Arthritis . And I’d love to raise $500 in donations of five dollars each. ...

There are so many reasons why I do the Walk to Fight Arthritis .  I grew up in a time when there were no treatments for RA and most ended up in wheelchairs with severe deformities, like me. These days, rheumatoid arthritis is becoming an invisible illness because of new advances in treatment and progress is being made in research to find the cause of RA. That’s a good reason to walk. I grew up in a time when little or no attention was paid to the emotional and mental health aspect of coping with arthritis. Like about a third of people who live with rheumatoid arthritis, I’ve spent a lot of my life with this condition being depressed. And like a good chunk of that third, I have been suicidal. The Arthritis Society offers a wonderful online course to help people minimize the impact of arthritis on mental health . That’s a good reason to walk. Six years ago, I listened to a speech by Dr. Edward Keystone in which he talked about the incredible advances that were ...

  The 2015 Your Life with RA team Someone told me that this year, I had the best reason not to do the Walk to Fight Arthritis, what with still recovering from the crazy health situation . To me, that means there are so many more reasons to do it. I’m alive. Having built up enough strength and stamina to do a 5K before I got sick had, according to my doctors, a lot to do with why I survived and am bouncing back pretty fast. I’m bouncing back pretty fast. A month ago, I barely had enough energy to sit in my wheelchair for two hours. This week, I went back to work. We’ve done the Walk for two years. That means it’s tradition! Earlier this year, I worked with The Arthritis Society on enhancing accessibility for The Walk to Fight Arthritis. I want to see our work implemented. With the exception of some numbness in my hands , I got through a traumatic health experience with very little impact in terms of my rheumatoid arthritis. That has a lot to do wit...