Severe Pain and Arthritis
I am 39 years old and have been told I would need hip replacement surgery within five years. I thought I would have to spend the rest of my life crippled and in agony, and would likely be in a wheelchair very soon.
Upon rising in the morning, I would have to sit up slowly, rest on the side of the bed for awhile to ease the pain of sitting up, then with much difficulty I would stand and make my way to the shower, lurching Frankenstein-like, crashing into the walls, stumbling and stiff-legged, bones cracking and popping the whole time. Bathing, dressing, and using the washroom were all endurance tests.
My children saw me crying and doubled over in pain all the time, able to walk but slowly and with a very severe limp, while hanging onto something (e.g. a baby stroller or one of them) for support. I tripped all the time and have nearly fallen down more times than I can count, to the point where I became afraid to walk alone outside.
I have quite a distance to walk to my children's bus stop and found the trip there and back to be a real ordeal, painful and very exhausting, and after I returned home I had to go lie down and rest. It pretty much used up my quota of energy for the day.
Now, how can I even begin to tell you the difference RECOVERY has made in my life? No more pain (well, ALMOST none), no more exhaustion, no more tears, limping, tripping and terror of falling (winters are especially scary) I can walk my daily "quota" and then some, and still don't feel tired and in extreme pain. I've lost weight and hope to lose more. I have energy and feel happy and healthy once more. I'm looking forward to a much better future, medically-speaking, than I ever thought I would be able to have.
I felt my life was over, that it was all downhill from here. By the grace of God, thanks to RECOVERY I
am starting to have my life back and my six kids have their mom back the way she used to be. I've told my parents
about RECOVERY, I called my high school math teacher who has fibromyalgia, all my friends hear me rave about
it and next I plan to tell my family doctor, my diabetes specialist, my dentist and anyone else who will listen!
Next on my list of "patients" are my husband and one of my children who has asthma and psoriasis...If
I had anything to do with it, the whole world would be on RECOVERY!!!
With much gratitude,
Caroline Tilden, St. Catharines, ON
Update Nov 26, 2002
I am happy to report that I just keep feeling better and better all the time. The other night I actually JUMPED straight up out of bed and RAN down the hall! (One of my kids was running down the hall howling and ...well I won't go there; suffice it to say 5 of our 6 kids had stomach flu that night). I would not have been able to do THAT a very short while ago.
I find I also have increasingly more mobility in my right hip, which previously was as stiff as if it was welded at the joint. It is now easier to get dressed! Putting on my sock is no longer a form of refined torture.
Diana Rennie, Parksville, BC
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