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S-lb. Cunadian Champion, Tuesday, Septomber 11, 2001 8-Te aada hapon *sdy Speb m p 11 20 CONtusa ,/Watki*ns hasn't Jet arthritis get better of her By FANNIE SUNSHINE The Champion Because Jan Watkins can no longer keep her body active, she focuses her energy on keeping her mind healthy. "Witb my satellite dish 1 cas travel around the world." The 67-year-old bas been battling with rhcumatoid arthritis for 17 ycars but hasn't let the disease gel Uic better of ber. At Uic age of 50, Ms Watkins' life began to unravel before ber cyca. The one-time athîctie cycliat awokc one moming and found it unbearable to get out of bcd. "I wokc up one day and couldn't use my banda, my kneea. 1 went to Uic doctor and a blood test sbowed 1 bad an advance stage of rheumatoid artbritis, to which thereas no cure. 1 didn't even know 1 bad a problem. 1 was very athletie and sometirnes 1 would bave aches and pains so maybe there were signa and 1 juat didn't know." Six months after being diagnosed with rbeumatoid arthritis, Ms Watkins went into full remisajon. That Iaated Uiree years. "It came back worsc than ever," she recalled. "it camne back with a vengeance. It ripped rigbt Uirougb me. Wbat made it worse was that 1 looked Uic picture of hcalth." Evcntually she had to, quit ber job as a tcb- nicai chemiat because Uic pain was 50, intoler- able and Uic staira were too bard to manage. Althougb frienda and famnily suggcsted time and time again she move out of Uic rural home in Milton abe loved, Ms Watkins was detcrmined to stay put. -Because 1 can't move my shoulders 1 bad trouble rcacbing thinga. Sot1 inventcd ways to help myscîf do some of Uic thinga I used to be able to do." Her inventions include using sticks with a rubber office finger on Uic end t0 push thinga (including ber glasses when tbey fall down too far) and various booka on Uic walls belp ber to get dreased. "These aren't juat things 1 feel like baving like a vase of flowcrs. These are things 1 can't live without.- Ms Watkins demnonstratcd how the books belp ber to put on ber akirts. "Il bang one end on one book and Uic other end on another. Then instead of wrapping Uic akint around mnyscîf, 1twrap myscîf around Uic akirt." And getting on and off ber aboca is no longer an obstacle. By uaing binder ringa attached to the end of thc Velcro strips, she uses her stick to move the rings to tighten or loosen the shoces. The electronic wheelchair that sits in her kitchen isn't used anymore. "1 used to, use it more but now 1 have two new hipa," she said with a smile. "You can't get mach worse than me. If 1 can manage, other people cao." In fine years, Ms Watkins has had more than 10 operations due to her artbritis. "I had my knees replaccd, toc joints removcd, my wrists and arties arc fused ap and 1 had bath shoulders donc. My neck is fuscd soI1 can't tam it and my jaw joints have slipped, pushing my jaw back. 1 hope it doca- n't get 50 bad that t won't be able t0 talk or cat." But having to face thc rcality of rbeumatoid arthritis had made her a stronger person and shte waves off any show of pity. "I live a veey happy, satisfymng life because I've adapted. By building gadgets I'm solving "impossible" probleros. 1 think of ways to gel around it and then I invent somcthing." Some thinga she can't solve, like thc con- stant pain and fatigue site muat live with. And she had to hand in ber driveras licence ycars ago. Volunteers fromt thc Canadian Red Cross Society and Uic March of Dimes pay ber vis- its five mominga a wcck to0 help with cooking and cleaning. And for thc past six years, Ms Watkins bas kcpt in touch with other suiferers of rbeuma- toid arthritis tbrough ber RAIV (Rbeumatoid Arthritis ln Ventors) reports. "It's a smail aal mail group of about 15 people. 1 scnd out quarterly reparts about ncw inventions or new medicines. It's an inforna- tion swapping support group." It did take awhile for Ms Watkins to comne to terma with ber disease. 11 had a terrible attitude at firat. Only when I cbanged my environmcnt my attitude toward Uic discase changcd." ln light of Arthritis Awarcness Month, vol- unteers witb Uic Milton branch of Uic Arthritis Society bave begun a canvassing campaign. lt's estimated four million Canadian suifer from artbritis. Between 1994 and 2001, Uic number of 54- year-olds diagnosed with arthritis will nearly double to 738,000 from 418,400. Juvenile arthritis (JA), also called child- hood arthritis, affects an estimated one i 1,000 cbildren under Uic age of 16. For more information regarding Arthritis Awareneta Month, cail (905) 878-915 1. Photo by GRAHAM PAINE Multon's Jan Watkins, 67, has taund Inventive ways ta cape wlth rheumatoid urthrltlu, whlch sh. was diagnas.d wlth ut ugo 50. u i COGECO 14 Programming Schedule - September llth - 17th, 2001. Nu kmlim U hai i -ulyi m, 1km, lm Na.PUsi h-EtuiyUsl m, 1k, lima k. PIjhi hI -taulskm lu, lama k.m Mmo hUiR EOR EORm tii -5* WukEONi K.eIng you tUmed EtJ. iEO EO tiyiMEdMM 5*1M O mhHaCa.ai L1in WÊ&ElqasyWa 5.1»M Tkhauhs uW. iÉaUYuuPt wjww.cogeco.ca t3u Off T IUUhp ih»yMh mmwe Ua.M1h M*tq tl. Ia whmaid, Ulm. às 6"M Cam, PIL2 7-111. lir han Cam"i 16240 kmqunsa NOM 14AI.TNSTJ mm su la~ iiahekm 21 Masn Siret North, Actas, ON4 L7J IV Foafa, OMs w..k: 1oUi TV &W, Tusiay a:SOp (519) 853-4700