Email a copy of 'Summer Read for Rheumatoid Arthritis Warriors, part 2' to a friend
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When my bro-in-law Bill died, he was buried in Arlington. We heard something of this story on the tour bus thru the cemetery. The relation to Martha Washington, the sale of Arlington House, etc. I was only paying half-attention, given the reason we were there…..to bury a loved one.
A year later when Bill's wife Cindy (my sis-in-law) died, she was buried beside him. On the bus, we heard the story again but this time it was a different story for me.
I had become symptomatic several months before Cindy died and we researched my symptoms together and RA kept coming up.
This time beside telling us her heritage and lineage to Martha Washington, Mary Anna's RA was mentioned. The guide talked about her dibilitating disease and gave it a name…..rheumatoid arthritis.
I can't wait until the third instalment! Will we find out how the life of the lovely young Kelly is intertwined with Mary Anna? I'm very intregued (or however you spell it) to see if she is part of your lineage.
I meant to add this to my comment I left last night. I had to laugh and say, "well if I had 2 men to carry me around, plus servants, I'd do better too."
Kelly, do you have favorite book on Lee history?
Miss D,
Haha. Me too. But come to think of it, I'd rather have my Enbrel!
I love this 1 1/2" thick Personal Reminiscences of General Robert E. Lee by William Jones, full of primary sources (letters of the Lees and their associates). There are so many good ones, but I love getting into the real letters, journals, etc.
Thanks for the book title. I'm thinking that is the one Bruce read about 5 years ago. He is determined to prove his Lees are the Virginia Lees. I don't think so.
Of course, I have had OT meds, now Hydrocortisone, but nothing more. I can understand a bit how Mary Lee felt. I wonder if any of her children suffered from RA?
Dear Kelly,As I was reading your story,bits and pieces of it began to connect,but then when you mentioned it was WhiteHorse Harry Lee..The realization became so very clear…I am a direct descendant to the so-called scoundrel Harry Lee…His father was Richard henry Lee,who signed the Declaration of Independance….But,the interesting thing is,my dad was always compared to Robert E.Lee who by the way was my “great uncle”,because my mother had Rheumatoid Arthritis,as I do as well…But,how ironic that this would crop up after all these years…I had forgotten that story or bit of information from so long ago….It was nice to be reminded….Thankyou,Robin Lee Earhart
Hello Robin, Thank you for sharing your story. It was exciting to read it. I have read a lot about this family & thought the “so called scoundrel” comment was funny.
(We have some Lee connections too – did you read the other parts? Are we related? :-)) )
Really interesting, Kelly! I love reading and envisioning history “coming to life”,even the painful parts. As I read it, I kept thinking that despite our current medications’ limitations, there are still must better options to control the disease and related symptoms, than merely visiting special spring waters
.
Thanks for starting the summer off with this intriguing and true story. What has RA taught the loved ones who have cared for me?
this really hits home for me – and REALLY makes me wonder about the family connection involved…as we are descended from one of Robert’s sisters…my mother was diagnosed in her 50’s with a mild form of RA, and there are questions still if I have RA along with my fibro…could it have decended this far down the genetic chain…if so – how can we find a way around this devastating illness??
Dear Kelly,
I came to your site because I was researching my family history for my college speech class.
I was already marveling about the strength of character and generosity of Mary Anna Custis Lee. What a remarkable woman and how lucky to have such a caring husband like Robert E Lee. He was so wonderful to his mother.
I am related to the Custis family. My family is from Virginia and Maryland. I was born in Washington D. C.. My great great grandmother on my mother’s side was Ruth Custis. She was the great great grand neice of “Nelly” Cutis. She was the aunt of Mary Anna Custis Lee.(I have done a lot of research and I have more to do since there are records issing). I had no idea what I would find.
My father was diagnosed with RA a couple years ago. He is doing well and very healthy at 70. He only takes meds for the RA and nothing else. He walks his two dogs several times a day and has joined a bowling league with his wife. He has always been very healthy till he came down with what he thought was the flu. That was the RA.
I have had symptoms for the last few years, but I am lucky they have been fairly mild. We are lucky to have the meds we have now. I cannot imagine what those ladies went through back then.
I wish you well with your RA. This was such an inspiring discovery!
Thank you so much!
Dear cousin…I say this as we are bound by these bloodlines, I too suffer from RA brought on by AS. Ankylosing Spondylitis is genetic and there is a genome test that verifies this genetic condition. My suspicion is that Robert was a carrier of this due to his mother. I have found in my studies that autoimmune conditions run heavily in the females of the Lee-Custis bloodlines. Your story further confirms my research. Thank you for sharing.