for me, it was helpful to get to meet and interact with so many other people who have day-to-day experiences similar to what goes on in our household - stiffness in the morning, pain throughout the day, swollen joints, unwanted side effects from all the medication. one woman, mary, told us that taking prednisone for years has caused her to develop medication-induced osteoporosis. we also met the walk honoree, a 4-year old named zoe, who has juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.
we also enjoyed getting to meet and chat with the helpful folks from the arthritis foundation and the aggies and arthritis club at texas a&m. many of them we knew by name from websites and emails, but i always enjoy getting to put a face with a name. even some of their moms came by to say hi!
it was also encouraging to see so many smiling happy people. i've been to similar events that felt depressing and hopeless...this was definitely not like that. now, it could have just been the free food from freebirds and cold stone, or maybe the moon-bounce and bungee-run, but i'm willing to bet it was really because the 150-ish walkers had raised over $14,000 to support arthritis prevention, research, and treatment.
after the walk (and naptime!), several of our teammates came over to our place for a cookout and a chance to just hang out and watch football. today has primarily been recovery time, both from the festivities yesterday and, for gabs, the usual flu-like effects of methotrexate.
thanks again to everyone who sponsored, organized, volunteered, donated, and attended the arthritis walk, both on our team and in general. it was a great first experience, and we both look forward to making this an annual event.
