How did You overcome the Pain? Share to show your support!
I am Kathryn and I am a special education teacher in the Philippines. I teach deaf children. Teaching deaf children requires not just a voice but also your entire body. There are lots of gestures required, sign language and even facial expression. In addition, I teach my students to dance. Dancing is one of my skills and passion.
One day in 2015 I woke up with an extreme pain in my knee. It was as if it was being pulled away by a truck and I also had very red soles that caused me great pain during walking. I couldn’t even stand. My hands were swollen and I could not communicate with sign language, because it was just too painful. I went to 4 RA specialist but to no avail. I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. I had to force myself to walk and I even cried in between walks because it was too painful.
Read more: Living with Osteoarthritis and Without Pain Killers
“I HAVE TO WORK, I AM A SINGLE MOM AND MY SON DEPENDS ON ME.”
I can barely bring food to our table since I’m always absent cause of morning pain and stiffness. However, I still manage to work, I have no choice. Drinking medicines that are expensive and also stealing money from my budget forced me to work. I finally found a good RA specialist Dr. Penserga. She advised me to lower my dose because when I arrive to her clinic all my medications are in the maximum level. Her advice to me was to eat right and stay away from sugar or sweets.
Although pain became manageable, the swelling is there. She told me not to stress myself, and decrease workload at home and in school. I find it impossible, but I tried. Then she also put me in biologics after 5 months, it was very expensive. I was able to get help in our charity section, every month I go and apply for my free medicines. I went from excruciating pain to manageable so I can manage to work well. One day, the pain was so light that when there was music I was able to dance. I was so happy because I could finally dance and people around me celebrated with me. Every step was so sweet and I was in tears.
Read more: Mom Helped Me with My Osteoarthritis Journey
