My Fundraising Goal:
$5,000.00 |
Money Raised to Date:
$3,460.00 |
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If you are unable to donate online, please print out a donation form. |
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Show Us Your Moves! | | It Was 20 Years Ago This May ....
| Thank you for visiting my donation page for this year's Arthritis Walk. As many of you know, this year has special significance for me and arthritis. On May 25, 1989, when I was 12, I received my diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. That means that this May I will have had this disease for 20 years. In some ways, it's been a lifetime: In that time, I've grown up, gone to college, gotten married, published my writing, and found my way to my dream career of teaching. I've also had several joint surgeries, including three joint replacements and a revision surgery. In some ways, this 20 years has flown by. It seems like just yesterday I received my first fleeting visits of RA, back when "synovium" wasn't a household word, when Remicade hadn't yet been invented, and I was blisfully unaware of the millions of people who live with arthritis in its many forms. In my earliest days with arthritis, the pain and stiffness of arthritis meant many days of being left on the sidelines of soccer games, bowing out of ballet, and staying home sick from school.
Thanks to effective medication, life-changing surgery, and the unwavering support of my friends and family, I'm healthier now than I was then. I don't want to be a kid again! Being an adult sure has its benefits: Last year, in addition to raising awareness and support for the Arthritis Foundation by participating in the walk, I jet-setted to the Arthritis Foundation's Advocacy Summit in Washington, D.C., where I met with my congressmen and asked them to support the Arthritis Prevention, Control and Cure Act. I told them about the 46 million people in the US who have arthritis, our nation's No. 1 cause of disability. I also spoke to my representatives both as an adult with arthritis and on behalf of the approximately 294,000 children who have this disease.
Overall, I have to say my 20-year journey with RA has had more ups than downs, among them my three-year tradition of participating in the Phoenix Arthritis Walk with my dear old Dad and a gazillion friends and supporters at my side.
If arthritis has another 20 years in store for me, I can take it. In 20 years, I want to read that people are no longer being diagnosed with arthritis, that it's no longer a national crippler, that kids aren't sitting on sidelines because of it. Last year, our team, Chip and Old Block, raised more than $16,000 -- and I know we can do it again. But 20th anniversaries are special, and it seems like we should GO BIGGER: 20 years it's been for me. Do you think we can raise $20,000? I believe we can. |
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