Ps 150

Thanks so much for both of your posts. I, since I found out I have arthritis, have noticed that I enjoy doing the dishes now, just for the comfort. I'll do a batch at each meal and even my daughters' afternoon snack, just for a boost of relief where as before I would just do them all as dinner cooked and then after dinner (I homeschool so that was easiest).

There are days when it's harder than most and other days where the pain comes and goes. My only relief is that I'm blessed to have a simple arthritis and nothing like RA or even some other condition. I have mild ailments, to say the least. I have asthma but that rarely gives me any real concern and I have Reynaud's Syndrome, which a lady in my quilting group says her Arthritis magazine says is a cousin to arthritis. With Reynaud's, as your body feels cold, the veins in your extremities (for some it's their hands, or their feet, or both) clamps down so that the blood flow is slower in those areas. My doctor has this syndrome and says most people exhibit signs of it, such as hands that turn white or red when cold or stay cold longer when they're inside. I have sores from mine and swelling. My youngest DD (only 6) was first diagnosed with it at 2 when she went outside to play in the snow for the first time. After 15 minutes her hands were purple. I rushed her to the doctors and the she was tested and diagnosed. Her syndrome is so bad that she gets open sores, muscle tissue infections and swelling so bad she can't hold a writing implement. Last winter our doctor suggested the best course of action might end up being to move to a warmer climate. They said hers was the worst case they had ever seen or heard of in a child and in some cases, if it got too bad and was left unattended, they've seen the need for amputation. Thankfully, we make sure she's taking care of herself with precaution but when I asked the doctor about the condition being related to arthritis, she said that my DD will most likely develop arthritis. :( Of all the things for her to inherit from me, she got my asthma, Reynaud's and now perhaps the arthritis.