I was diagnosed with RA in 2001. I was pretty sick at the time and it was a struggle to get thorugh each day. At work they suggested I start using a cane. I guess I wasn't moving so good. Pain and fatigue were center stage in my life and all my energy was directed toward getting through each day at work.
I had been an active boater during the decade before my diagnosis, but I put the sailboat on the market that year. My sailing career was officially over, thanks to RA. I remember sitting in the cockpit of my boat on the last day I owned it and lamenting the dowhill slide my life was taking. What a dreaded disease!
Now fast forward to 2010. I just returned from an 11 day cruise on my...yes...sailboat! There is life after RA, thanks to the miracle drugs out there that allow me to manage my RA. I "got better" beginning in 2004 and we purchased another boat. I have been actively sailing ever since. OK, maybe I can't do all of the same things I used to do, but hey, who can? I have the boat set up to help me manage in spite of RA and have had many wonderful sailing adventures in the last 6 years! So don't let RA get you down!!! Better days lie ahead!!!
Steve
Thank you so much for sharing your success story!
I'd love to hear more about how you've set up the boat to accommodate your RA and more about you trip, too. If you're up to it down the road, would you mind posting about it? I think a lot of users would benefit from not just hearing about that living well with RA is possible, but also the "thinking outside the box" can enable you to get back to doing what you love.