Diagnosed with Arthritis at Age 16

I was 15 years old at the time and on a mini vacation in Lake Katrine, NY with my family when I experienced my first flare up. I sat on the couch to watch tv with my grandmother. I remember having my legs crossed for about an hour. When I got up to use the bathroom, my right hip locked up and started to hurt as I took a step with that leg. I limped, but I thought it was probably from having my legs crosses for so long. About a month later, the pain went to my wrists, and then to my right hip a couple weeks later. The pain only increased as the weeks went by. That happened to be the last flare up I had before I was taken to the hospital. My mom was scared and hurt to see me in such excruciating pain. I couldn't even walk to the bathroom by myself.

When I first went to the hospital and described my symptoms to the doctors, they simply said that maybe I had "hit my bone without noticing," and one doctor implied that this was "probably all in my head." It was probably because I wasn't displaying any visible symptoms such as swelling or redness. I had no support from anyone but my mother and grandparents. My mom decided to get a second opinion from another doctor. When this doctor examined me, he looked at my mother and quickly said that what I had was, without a doubt, Rheumatoid Arthritis. He couldn't make an official diagnosis because he wasn't my primary doctor, but he said I was clearly displaying symptoms of arthritis. The very next day, I experienced another flare up, in my ankles this time. I had swelling, redness and I couldn't walk at all. I called my mom and she left work early to drive me to the hospital. We wanted to rush over to the doctors who said I had "nothing" that same day, given that we had visible proof this time.

I was sent to the ER that same day. I had to stay in the hospital for x amount of days to get blood taken, tests done, CAT scans, and I even got a liquid aspiration done because the CAT scan showed an infection in my joints. It took about 6 months for an actual diagnosis to be made. By that time, I was 16 and we finally found out that I did actually have arthritis.

My freshman year in high school was a blur, due to the fact that I was in and out of the hospital. I missed a lot of work from school. However, I had a social worker who helped me catch up while I was stuck in a hospital bed. Being diagnosed with such a debilitating condition at such a young age came with several bumps in the road. Aside from missing school a lot, I never really got to see my friends, unless they came to visit me. I became depressed, homesick, physically weak from lack of movement, was always fatigued, and I never wanted to eat. I lost about 20 pounds from not eating. I was released from the hospital eventually and sent home with IV meds. Since I was still in physical recovery, I still couldn't go back to school. I was home schooled by a tutor for a couple of weeks until I was able to go back, despite some left over pain.

Over the years, I've learned so much about my condition and so have the people I surround myself with. It took me a while to get used to not being able to do some of the things I used to do. Like running, opening jars without help, dressing myself with ease, and even my favorite thing ever, ice skating. I also have trouble with attendance in school and work because some people really don't understand how painful it is sometimes. However, it never stops me from trying my best. As funny and weird as it sounds, humidity is my worst enemy now. My grandmother used to say that I could predict when it would rain next before it even happened! And as the years pass, I'm still trying to look at and accept that there ARE some pros to my condition. For example, I can tell when it'll rain, I can walk in different ways, such as my "penguin" walk, my "I can make it... I think" walk, my "help me please" walk and more!

I'm 21 years old going on 22 very soon and I'm still fighting this condition. My arthritis is being controlled with meds. It's hard at times, don't get me wrong. However, I can't just sit and think about my pain all day. I have to try to do what I can to fight and show this arthritis that I can get through anything. I can't work right now, but I am working towards getting my degree in Child Psychology. I'm Tiffany, and I'm a Rheumatoid Arthritis warrior!