The purpose of this blog is to inform you, (someone curious about autoimmune diseases) about my autoimmune diseases. But I want to tell you a little bit more about myself. The things that people who don't know how sick I am, know. The Good Things.
Being sick is a big part of my life but it is not my whole story.
Yes; having chronic conditions has made me sick. It controls how I eat and somethings that I do on an everyday basis. But it has unintentionally brought me good things, lasting memories, funny stories, and has helped me to realize what I want to be when I am older.
When you have rheumatoid arthritis, it can be hard to stay active. I deal with things like morning stiffness and achy joints all of the time. As a teenager and just as a human it is still important for me to stay active as much as possible.
When I was younger I used to dance. When my inflammation began to increase and my rheumatoid factor began to grow, dance became too much for me. My body didn't move the way that everyone else's did or even how it used to. At the end of class my hands would swell up and my joints would hurt.
My best friend and I began looking for something else to do. I joined my school's Colorguard team during my freshman year. Colorguard is also known as Drill Team and they are the halftime performers with flags and fake rifles. They come out with the band and also go to marches with the band. I love the way the flags look when everyone is together and I liked throwing the rifles but I am not a huge Colorguard fan and it began to hurt my hands so after freshmen year I began to look for something else.
I found golf. Golf is a low impact sport. It is a game of patience, technique, and walking. Walking is one of the best things an arthritic can do. If you have arthritis I definitely recommend walking when your knees start to hurt. Swimming is another great thing to do when you feel a flare coming on. It sounds counterintuitive and when you're having a flare it sounds awful, but it really does help.
My physical therapist also gave me exercises to do before I golf to help prevent any joint pain that could be caused by swinging or walking.
If you are on medicines, it can be scary to be in the sun for too long, especially chemotherapy. It helps me to go early in the morning when it is still cool, later when it is getting darker, or I wear UV protective pullovers and hats that cover my entire head.
Over the past three years that I have golfed, I have grown to love it. It has been very beneficial for me and has helped me to stay involved in school. I love my team and they have become some of my closest friends.
I also love to go golfing when I need to think about something or if I do not want to think.
It is great for mental health.
I have been teaching my two younger sisters to play and it is becoming so fun for all of us to play together. My best friend also golfs and the two of us have so much fun.
If you have arthritis, I know it can be hard to move, (some days more than other's), but if you think you may be able to walk for 1.5 hours to 3 hours (depending on the course), I think that you should!
(If you are 18 or older, or go with someone who is, you can sit in a golf cart and ride to each hole.)
If I didn't have arthritis, I don't think that I would have found golf. I don't know, but I probably wouldn't have quit dance or I would have tried a higher impact sport.
I love to golf and it is so good for me!
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