Some Arthritis Patient Story

Strong we can relate to ( in this case arthritis patient story) is something that can inspire us, learn lesson from or just plainly give strength that you are not alone in your woes.

Here are a few recent arthritis stories I found on the web, in case you miss it:

In an Indianapolis Zoo, a polar bear is suffering from arthritis in the legs and shoulders

Arthritis has settled into the bones of the 600-pound polar bear, the nation’s second-oldest in captivity. She’d probably be dead if she were in the wild, where the old and weak are often eaten or simply crawl away to die.

Instead, Tahtsa is one of about a dozen animals that are living past their prime in the back alleys of the Indianapolis Zoo — mostly outside the view of the general public and with special attention from a team of caregivers specializing in geriatrics.

Canadian singer finally feeling relief from nagging arthritis

Chantal Chamberland extends her hands for closer inspection.

“Look, no inflammation,” the Canadian jazz songbird says smugly. Her supple hands have looked like this for the last 18 months, and, she hopes, superstitiously knocking on the table in front of her, they’ll stay that way the rest of her life.

A joint effort in a woman’s fight against rheumatoid arthritis

An active mother of two sons, Laura Janson keeps appointments with her physician and her physical therapist, shows up for X-rays and tests and takes all the medications prescribed for rheumatoid arthritis.

Janson also is active in terms of self-care, working out twice a week to build muscular strength, which in turn reduces stress on her joints. She was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 2000. “We were living in Naples, Fla., at the time, and I was used to jogging three miles a day,” Janson says. “Then I started having trouble with my feet.”

MÖTLEY CRÜE Guitarist Says He Lost 6 Inches Through Arthritis

MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist Mick Mars is a prisoner of his own home when he’s not on the road with his band — because a debilitating form of arthritis has left him unable to drive anywhere.

Mars was diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) when he was 19 and reveals the degenerative disease has left him unable to move his head.

He tells Blender magazine, “If I could go places I would, but I’m stuck. This stuff I have won’t allow me to move my head, so I can’t drive. It’s quite an inconvenience.”

Wonder woman Jane’s life of pain

WONDER woman Jane Evans has defied doctors by overcoming a life of pain.
Crippled by rheumatoid arthritis for more than 30 years, she has undergone numerous operations to her joints.

Despite her condition, the 34-year-old has battled on to walk, drive and even have a child – all things experts warned she’d never do.

Just a few inspiring stories to let us know that arthritis need not be a life sentence. Have a nice read!

               

Joint Replacement and The Bionic Woman

The other week, I have been discussing rheumatoid arthritis to my mother. What it does to the joints and what are the possible and available course of treatment. I told her time will come that joints can be replaced and so humans will become semi-robots of some sorts. But then I really know that this isn’t a far possibility and must really be happening or in the works already in some parts of the world.

Since not all parts of the body can be replaced by a donor, simply because of the shortage of available compatible donor even in first world countries. This was when I just saw the documentary on National Geographic on the trade of body organs such as liver, kidney, etc.

Luckily for bones and joints - if it cannot be grown in the lab yet - it can be replaced by metal or other materials. Maybe not in all cases, but it is a workable possibility.

And then I read the story of this ‘bionic woman’: Eileen Brown, 49, of Boldon, South Tyneside, has had more than a dozen operations over the past two decades. The only joints that remain her own are her left hip and left elbow.

She was first diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in the late 1980s after suffering pain in one of the fingers on her left hand.

Three years later the pain had become so unbearable that surgeons decided to replace her knuckle with a plastic joint.

The operation was the start of a radical transformation. Her next operation was to have a metal knee replacement. Shortly afterwards she was given a metal joint in her left shoulder, and soon after that a similar implant in her right shoulder.

Five years ago she suffered a major setback after falling from a ladder. The impact broke the metal joint in her left shoulder and the bone in the upper arm.

Wow. I knew a guy in college who had metal in his arm that replaced a part of his bone. He got some discomforts. Not to mention the embarrassment when you pass by metal scanners in airports, for example.

Truly I am amazed by Eileen Brown’s story. I just wish that what was done to her can be done to everyone in the world that has got rheumatoid arthritis like her. All the surgeries and procedures done on her is for sure, not cheap.

But then, arthritis shouldn’t come to that — joint replacement and all. If screened or diagnosed as early as possible, rheumatoid arthritis can still be managed. I could be wrong, let us not forget that rheumatoid arthritis is a degenerative joint disease. However, it is good to know that in cases of worst scenario, there’s joint replacement as an option.

               

Giraffe Ailing With Arthritis, Put To Sleep

Earlier this week, a Maryland Zoo eutanized a giraffe suffering from arthritis. The said giraffe is 22-year old Gretchen - called ‘The Lady Of The House” - whose life was decided by the caretakers to end due to a fast moving arthritis.

Wow. Imagine a giraffe with arthritis?! The poor thing and her poor joints. It must have a very hard decision to make for her caretakers!

Gretchen was born at the Denver Zoo in May 1986, and had problems with her legs all her life. When she was little, she had shown bleeding wounds on three of her legs, which had been considered to be caused by her mother stepping on her, a common accident in the giraffe world.

Latter on, the caretakers had discovered that her hooves had been rotating inwards, instead of growing outwards, the way they were supposed to. Even though this condition made the animal feel uncomfortable, the Zoo staff’s efforts of periodically cutting her hooves had made her life a lot easier.

During the last years, however, Gretchen had begun suffering of arthritis, and had sometimes been in a great amount of pain. People at the Zoo had noticed that she was rarely leaving her barn on rainy days, and that her posture was starting to deteriorate. The caretakers have tried everything to cure the loved animal and ease its pain, but without success.

At least treatments have been tried! I don’t know how long a giraffe’s lifetime is….but 22 years for a giraffe might be pretty old.

Even though the decision was hard to make, the Zoo staff decided that it was better for Gretchen if she was euthanized. On Sunday, she was taken to a chute built for this occasion and was given a high dose of barbiturates. She died in her sleep.

Because of the condition that affected her hooves, ‘The Lady of the House’ had never been allowed to breed, for fear of passing the disorder to her children as well. However, the 4 giraffes that shared the same hill with her at the Maryland Zoo will most probably feel her absence in the days to come.

On Sunday, Gretchen died in her sleep after a high dose of barbiturates. I’m pretty sure she will be missed.

This story is not the first reported of animals suffering from arthritis. Most common are common house pets such as cats and dogs and are often related to the animal’s old age. Maybe was just extreme and worse with the giraffe’s case due to its unusually long extremities that must have taken toll on the giraffe’s joints. That must have been awful for the said giraffe!