Slow is a very apt word to describe how the year 2012 was for me! I woke up on Christmas morning, Dec. 25th 2011 and I couldn't walk. No really, I am not being dramatic, my left knee was so swollen and my right knee followed about four days later. My symptoms were swelling and pain in both knees and other random joints such as hands, feet, face. I also had a patch of dry itchy skin the back of my neck just above my hairline that I attributed to the winter weather. To explain the pain is still difficult, to sum it up I can only say I felt "disabled". I couldn't walk up my stairs, I would crawl up each night and slowly slink down in the morning. I couldn't use my hands, several fingers were swollen and changing a diaper was a daunting task! Sitting down on the toilet took courage to get down that far and stand back up again. I had to lift my legs in and out of my mini van to drive. Besides the swelling, I was in a constant state of pain.
It was a slow process to figure out what was happening to my body! After seeing a total of 7 doctors and 6 months I was given the diagnosis: Psoriatic Arthritis http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/psoriatic-arthritis/DS00476 ).
After a round of steroids my body began to bounce back, however it wasn't until Nov. 2012 that I was able to really use my knees again. We joined back up at the YMCA and I slowly got on the road to recovery! By the time 2013 rolled around I was in a place of my "new normal". I will live with PA for the rest of my life but it is up to me to control what I can, so began the next leg of the race.
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