Video 1
Rena
There isn’t any area of my life that it doesn’t impinge on, it’s a chronic condition, it’s a life long-term condition and it is with me all day every day and the way I describe it is that it has to be built into every equation. You know there is the extra little bit as well as the finances and everything else and you think how will this affect my arthritis. Emotionally, it can have quite a profound effect.
David
Being involved with Arthritis Care certainly changed my outlook in life at that stage I thought being a man I can’t go and complain about this because men don’t do that, men don’t cry, men don’t open their hearts to anybody - that’s the way I felt. When I got involved with Arthritis Care I discovered I wasn’t on my own. There was other people there who were just the same as me, some were younger than me, some were older than me and there were other men as well. It taught me to cope with my arthritis and I’ve never looked back since.
Gillian
I became involved with Arthritis Care first of all by subscribing to the magazine as a postal member. I found that the Arthritis Care magazine provided me with a tremendous amount of information in a form that I could easily cope with what they were telling me either about facilities, opportunities and information about the illness itself. I became aware of all the support and information that they offered.
Rena
I think getting involved in your own treatment can be very empowering and it was only when I became actively involved in my own treatment that I stopped feeling like a victim so to speak. It gave me an element, well I don’t have control over it, I’m not in control, I can’t will it away, I can’t make it go away but at least when I’m taking some active part in the management of my condition I do feel more empowered.
Shane
I like to think I’ve got a strong mind. I have the help of my friends around me, my partner Wendy and my son and Arthritis Care of course. All the way through it they were there asking me if I needed them and it was nice to know that being part of an organisation that Arthritis Care wasn’t just there for me as a volunteer but there for me as a friend.
Nancy
People who have this disease and have been diagnosed with this disease are very frightened and they want to speak to people who know what it's like who’ve been there and have done that and want a positive outlook and that’s what they get, a very positive outlook when they come to the Challenging Arthritis course and its one of the best things I did in my life.
Niall
I find by playing guitar and bass and everything it helps the exercise of your hands, your hands are never as bad as when you're not, if you leave practicing for a week or two you find they’re not the same again so it’s good to keep mobile, walk a bit.
Rena
I got involved with Arthritis Care about 18 months ago and I feel it's been a turning point in the management of my condition. From a point of view of self-help and self-management. Initially when I met other people with arthritis it was wonderful to know that I wasn’t alone. That there were other people feeling the same way I was feeling.
David
It gave me a whole new outlook on life. It taught me that I can go out there, I can’t do everything but I can do some of the things that I want. It taught me how I can manage my pain, how I can manage my disability, how I could manage my depression and that gave me a whole new outlook on life that I decided as they’d given me so much, Arthritis Care had given me my life back, I just wanted to repay them in some way and the way to do that was to become a volunteer. As for the course I would recommend anyone who has arthritis in any form to contact Arthritis Care and avail themselves with the courses and availability as they will certainly give you your life back.
Video 2
Brian
My wife saw an advert in the paper saying ‘Don’t hurt alone’ and this was being put on in Flint by Arthritis Care and the course was called Challenging Arthritis.
Lillian
The courses they ran certainly helped me to overcome the battle to be an independent person.
Brian
One of the best things about the courses by Arthritis Care is talking to a group of people who have all got arthritis and who know what you were going through. There’s so much empathy in the room you can feel it.
Lillian
I think anyone with any kind of disability; their first priority is to maintain their independence and through Arthritis Care and becoming a volunteer I’ve achieved that independence.
Mary
I’ve learnt very good self-management skills such as pacing myself, looking after myself and the fact that exercise can help. When I was first diagnosed I just thought I had to sit there and do nothing. Now I know that if I’m having a flare up, I know all the things to do. I can do relaxation, do some exercise.
Brian
I was just being controlled by whether it was a good day or a bad day or whatever. From that course I decided they were going to be good days from now on. I took a lot more control of my life.
Mary
It’s so much more powerful when somebody understands and knows what you’re going through and has done all the things you're going through as well.
Brian
The courses that I have done since have been very rewarding. There is a self-help group, everybody is so supportive of everyone else in the room, and it’s quite amazing.
Mary
It’s the absolute best prescription for arthritis, it beats any drug on the market, and it really does.
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