A Day in the Life of a 90 Year Old Mum

A Day in the Life of a 90 Year Old Mum

Wake ups to me are frustratingly hard. Instead of feeling refreshed after my 8-10 hour sleep (pre-baby), my5.30am wake up calls (thanks son) are filled with shoots of pain through my crippling hands and cracking knees as I slowly stretch them open. This of course followed by dull muscle aches in my arms as I try to pull the covers off, slip my feet into my slippers and slide my dressing gown on. Next mission standing….many thoughts go through my head at this point, how bad from 0-10 is my pain going to be will I manage the aching in the souls of my feet all of this before I have even left the bedroom. These are the daily thoughts of Carlie Stewart.

Sounds pretty dramatic, however this is her reality. This is her everyday, this is her partners everyday, this is her sons everyday, thanks to pregnancy/birth/hormones/stress/genes whatever the cause, she was one of the lucky ones to gain rheumatoid arthritis after the birth of their son.

“What I thought were new mum aches, pains and severe fatigue turned out to be arthritis and anaemia” said Carlie.

“There is a sad reality of having arthritis for my son. We had to stop his swimming lessons, we can no longer go for our walks each day, I cannot carry him for long, sometimes I struggle lifting him out of his cot or even change him. We move very slowly, my pain levels control how far we drive, my mood changes dramatically (the more pain, the more irritable and frustrated). We also have to think ahead with family outings, for example, how much walking is involved? How far to drive? How many items we have to take? If it's just me and my son etc. Life for my son is now restricted and that breaks my heart”

Carlie is now trying new and she is hoping this works. She also enjoys sharing stories on the Arthritis New Zealand Facebook sessions, its important to know she is not alone and that others are sharing her pain and along with the Arthritis Educator offering advice.

20th – 26th September is Arthritis Appeal week and if you miss one of our collectors please visit arthritis.org.nz

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