Rheumatoid Arthritis

What was the biggest challenge after being diagnosed? Show your Support by Sharing this Story! I was a female wildland firefighter. I spent summers in...

Hello everyone, my name is Sylvia. I have Rheumatoid Arthritis, Fibromyalgia, Chronic fatigue syndrome and back problems because of Arthritis. I already had a surgery on my back. I gave up drinking 17 years ago due to poor health. It’s the best thing I ever did for my sanity.

I was 15 years old and just started practicing Volleyball for high school, twice a day in the summer and every morning my feet hurt a little more. I thought I was just out of shape since it was summer, and we were doing a lot of running and conditioning in practice.

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I have both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, as well as Ulcerative Colitis and Asthma. Despite all of that at 63 I have a wonderfully full and busy life, But I do everything in pain.

In February of 2016, I underwent a surgery to remove a non-cancerous tumor growing in my abdomen. During the surgery, my large intestine was accidentally perforated, which resulted in 2 days of bacteria spilling out into my abdominal cavity. This is the event that my doctor believes triggered my Rheumatoid arthritis.

I had just turned 31; a year I’ll never forget. I was diagnosed with Lyme disease then two months later, my 27-year-old cousin was killed in a car accident from a distracted driver. A month later, I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid arthritis. I was in so much pain.

“How I long for them to empathize, not sympathize. And to simply ask me how I am doing now and then, and then really listen when I try to explain the struggle I have with Rheumatoid Arthritis (and NOT say, 'Oh, I feel that way too sometimes.')"