Neil Creek – Photographer

I hope I didn’t cause any of you too much concern with my post yesterday, I’m aware many friends and family follow the blog. I’m just going to give a quick update with a little more information in the time I have.

My wife Naomi suffers from juvenile-onset rheumetoid arthritis. One day, at age 12, she got out of bed and collapsed, unable to stand. Eventually she was diagnosed with arthritis, and since then has lived her life on various drugs and in constant pain of various types. As of today she has had five total joint replacements – two knees, two hips and a shoulder – and is on a wide variety of anti-inflamitory, steroidal and painkilling drugs, as well as participating in a leading edge drug trial.

With the bad hand she’d been dealt, you might expect her to often be down or depressed about her life, but to the contrary, shes cheerful, creative, relatively active and enthusiastic about life. These are some of the reasons I love her so much.

There are times, however, when things get worse, and the cruel and harsh nature of the disease really hits hard. This is one of those times. At the moment, Naomi is having a terrible time with her hip. What started with a very sore back a couple of days ago has moved into her hip, and she is now unable to bear any weight, and moving it causes various degrees of pain, often excruciating. She’s okay if she can find a comfortable position and sit there, however.

Yesterday her specialist said to increase the dose of one of her drugs and rest. Today it has become worse, not better, so another call to the specialist has recommended she go to the hospital. So right now we’re waitinig for the ambulance to arrive.

Thank you to those who showed their concern and wished for our health. I want to reassure you that there’s nothing particularly “dangerous” about this minor medical emergency, but with a disease as serious as arthritis both the pain and the potential harm to ones body and quality of life demand to be taken seriously.

I’ll keep you up to date.