Comments on: If I Were Not Living with Rheumatoid Arthritis: 10 Things I’d Do

By: Kelly Young

Kelly Young — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:27:54 +0000

Awsome Tracy!!

By: TracySzulist_13096994956290664556

TracySzulist_13096994956290664556 — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:29:24 +0000

Thanks Kelly ..for all of your support and encouragements for all who suffer with RA ! This post was very easy for me to comment on because I am always dreaming ( NOT dwelling ) about all I would do if I could just be pain free and have energy again ..I have never stopped asking God to heal me and give me an energetic life again ..but for His reasons He hasn’t healed me yet and I accept it ..but I will always have hope that if He decides to He can heal me completely ..so I dream about it because in Him I have hope !
These are the top 10 things I would do :
1. THANK GOD and Praise Him for the miracle ! I already do this anyways ..even though I suffer in pain..just because of what His love has done to save us all ..and because of how much He has taught me and blessed me through having RA ..I sure have learned about having compassion on the old -the lonely – the weak and those who live with pain or suffering! And I’ve learned to be happy with the tiniest of things God has blessed us with here on earth !
2. I would CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN and ORGANIZE !!!! Every single thing in my whole home !!! And love every minute of it !
3. I would be so much more involved in my church ..I would volunteer for everything I could and join a bunch of Bible studies !! I would definitely become a youth leader !
4. I would start my own home Bible study and go on a missions trip !
5. I would do so much more for my Cottage Decor business !!
6. I would exercise every single day and ride my bike again !
7. I would also try to start up a support group for people with RA and be a better advocate and volunteer at more events !
8. I would remodel a few rooms in my house ..by myself !
9. I would get 2 new Sheltie puppies !
10. I would be a better wife and mother by making my family breakfast before they go to work..and make them nice lunches to bring to work ..and beautiful Gormet’ dinners for when they come home ! I would massage my husbands back when I see him stressed out..and I would go back to having game nights again with my family !And last something I miss so much ..I would entertain and have people over for dinners in my home again !

Oh how I dream about all of this ..and cry ..and pray so hard .. but very important one thing I do keep in perspective that this would not make me more complete ..or joyful or a better person ..NO I learned all of that through suffering and knowing Christ Jesus !
God Bless you Kelly <3 and all RA peeps !

By: Tracey

Tracey — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 14:25:50 +0000

Push my kids on the swings until THEY get tired.

It seems like a little thing, but explaining to them each time we’re at the playground that “Mommy’s hands have boo-boos” makes me more sad than anything else right now.

By: Nanette

Nanette — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 15:08:42 +0000

I’d only have one on my list. I want a baby. Grown in my own healthy body, If even I was just only allowed 9 months. Just enough time to grow one. I’d suffer through everything else.

By: tina

tina — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 11:25:52 +0000

Im feeling really low today so i know this will make me cry, my list is endless, some big things, some small……
1….have my grand daughter overnight more often, shes 10 months old and i struggle to put her to bed, bath her, change her or just pick her up.
2….walk the dogs with my husband. we have 2 rescue dogs, a boxer and a doberman, they are walked every day but i cant go with them.
3….walk barefoot in the sand, nice romantic walk instead of a painful one.
4….i want to see the lost city of the incas, macchu piccu and it hurts to think i will never do it.
5….clean my house, clean windows, change beds, mop the floors.
6….go to a concert and dance all the way through and then drive home.
7….sleep all night!!!!
8….wear high heels, or anything thats not a flip flop.
9….sit on the floor at my cousins grave, and talk to her for hours.
10….work overseas in a charity, donkey sanctuary maybe, or any animal rescue.
There are so many more but my brain is fuzzy from lack of sleep at the moment.
xx tina

By: Cindy Honaker

Cindy Honaker — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 22:01:25 +0000

I don’t have a long list, because I have made some good progress with meds, but I would love to take long walks with my husband again, and wear pretty shoes – never mind killer heels – just the ones with little heels would be exciting. (How long do you keep the shoes in the closet before you accept that you’ll probably never wear them again?) I would also love to be able to clean the house from top to bottom, and keep up with our very big yard – the weeds are taking over everything that isn’t lawn (hubby takes care of the grass.)

I am thankful that I am back to doing most of my pre-onset work – for church and homeschooling our teen-aged daughter. I do sometimes miss meetings for church responsibilities if I tire myself out too many days in a row. Husband and daughter do most of the cleaning that gets done and the cooking. I’ve survived grocery shopping again a couple of times in the last few weeks. A bonus: treatments have really helped my vocal chords, which had been easily tired for some years – so I’m singing lots more!

By: Janae

Janae — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 08:38:52 +0000

This was beautiful thank you God bless

By: Kelly Young

Kelly Young — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 02:41:34 +0000

Thanks Judy. I love your list, especially number 6 and 11.

By: Judy

Judy — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 20:06:44 +0000

Okay, you guys got to me. I know I’m a late commenter, but I only recently realized all I’ve lost. If I were to have the RA taken away I would:
1. Buy a new, custom made pair of ice skates and rejoin the skating club I lived for.
2. Audition for the next community theater show I thought I could do….and get the second lead(usually the most fun part) and sing and dance again.
3. Go ballroom dancing every weekend…and maybe during the week.
4. Get a big energetic Golden Retriever and walk, run and romp with her.
5. Fall in love again.
6. Have overflowing compassion for all who are ill with anything…and not be so self-serving/obsessed all the time.
7. Travel, sight see, hike, ski, exercise every day.
8. Love my life with an appreciation I never had before.
9. Volunteer and be able to follow through.
10. Substitute teach….I miss the little buggers!!
11. Thoroughly clean my house and move the furniture around.
12. Then drop into a clean, puffy bed and sleep for a straight 8 hours again.
13. Drive across country to see my kids in my new Beetle with the heated seats. Or even take a plane and be able to traverse the airport to do so.
I guess I could go on and on, but I’m tearing up too much to think any more.
I find it just so awful that we all have had to either not know these things or had to give them up, perhaps even humiliating ourselves in the process.
I’m 67 acting as if I’m 87….and I absolutely hate it!!
Thanks to you all for providing a safe place for me to vent and cry.
Judy

By: Taylor

Taylor — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 17:11:46 +0000

I’m also ‘a little late’ replying on this one but there’s definitely so many things I’d do if I didn’t have JRA.
I’m only 20 and was in remission for 4 years, from 15 to 19, which makes it even more difficult for me to grasp my *new* reality of living with JRA/RA once again.
1. Finish my undergraduate degree on time. Oh, how much I long to graduate on time.
2. Party. This one seems a little selfish but it’s something I long to do. I was legal drinking age here for almost a year before my JRA returned and I miss just having the option. My rheumy does allow me to drink for *very* special occasions with real moderation but I’d love to be able to go out to the bar until 2am, dancing with friends.
3. Have babies. I’m too young right now, that’s a given but I’m very aware of the very real possibility that babies may not be possible for a very long time, if at all. All I’ve wanted ever is to be a mommy!
4. Travel.
5. Gillian’s #8.
6. Go to all my lectures. I honestly miss sitting in class all day, taking notes and learning. I make it to about 50% of my classes and it’s disappointing.
7. Sleep for 8 hours and wake up feeling rested and ready to take on the day.
8. Skate. I’d skate everyday. Or walk. Or run. Or go to the gym. Right now, I can’t do any of that.
9. Play on the floor with the baby.
10. Lay with my boyfriend and not have to move every five minutes.. and not make have to upset him when I get hurt when he gently moves.
It’s hardest to have these things robbed from you without mercy. I’d love to skip back in time, just for a day. I’d do so much.