Young and old sufferers will tell you it's not just limited to the physical discomfort it creates, there's an emotional and mental toll, too

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PARRSBORO, N.S. — Incapacitating joint pain that can turn tasks most take for granted into onerous obstacles to everyday living.

Oct. 12th is World Arthritis Day in Canada, a time to reflect on a sometimes debilitating condition that affects people from all walks of life.

We typically think of arthritis as something that impacts older people, but it can also impact people who are much younger.

Diagnosed when she was 12 years old, Emma Trottier of Parrsboro, Nova Scotia is one person who knows this all too well.

Having arthritis has impacted Trottier’s life in both negative and positive ways.

“It makes my activities of everyday life more challenging, as my day can be constructed around my medication schedule and when my joints are swollen and sore; therefore, making my work days more difficult,” she said.

Trottier is a nurse who works 12-hour shifts that take a toll on her body and to which arthritis adds additional challenges.

Arthritis is not just limited to the physical discomfort it creates.

“It is also mentally draining, as it is frustrating to take medications and many days have them not work, and constantly encountering hurdles,” she explained.

That being said, Trottier said her arthritis diagnosis has also impacted her life in a good way, firstly in giving her a unique perspective on the world as someone who lives with an invisible illness.

“Having arthritis has also afforded me many opportunities I would not have otherwise had. This includes grant money to attend university, with a deeper understanding of my body and inflammatory illnesses, and attending a summer camp for kids with chronic illnesses,” said Trottier.

One of the biggest positives from having arthritis, she added “was the opportunity to open a sandwich shop in the summers throughout my teenage years.”

“I was unsure of my ability to work a typical summer job due to my symptoms, so I created my own business. None of these things would be possible if I did not have a chronic illness.”

Overall, Trottier feels having arthritis has enriched her life and shaped her into the person she is today.

Read more Borden-Carleton, P.E.I. teen with arthritis, lupus gets wish fulfilled to go zip lining in B.C. Atlantic Canadians connect with virtual and local arthritis supports through the Arthritis Society

Borden-Carleton, P.E.I. teen with arthritis, lupus gets wish fulfilled to go zip lining in B.C.

Atlantic Canadians connect with virtual and local arthritis supports through the Arthritis Society

It took around 18 months for Trottier to be diagnosed with arthritis, which was, of course, frustrating because she was living with pain and no one could figure out why. She feels fortunate to have had a support system and a medical team that were strong advocates for her in getting answers.

It was also challenging for her from an emotional and mental standpoint.

“When I was diagnosed, I was only 12. This is such a formative time in one’s life, with so many changes, so it was difficult as my life quickly changed in many ways. I was different from my peers and had a whole new challenge to try to overcome every day. Being diagnosed with arthritis, which is typically a disease of the elderly, was difficult as a pre-teen,” she reflected.

"Being diagnosed with arthritis, which is typically a disease of the elderly, was difficult as a pre-teen." — Emma Trottier

“I could not talk about having arthritis without talking about one of my favourite places — Brigadoon Village, a camp for kids with chronic illnesses,” she said.

Brigadoon Village runs several camps throughout the summer, with each week focused on campers with different illnesses, including Camp Join Together, run each summer by the Arthritis Society. Attending these camps was an important part of Trottier’s life during her teenage years.

“It gave me the opportunity to connect with other kids with arthritis,” she said. “This made me feel included in a special community. At camp, you’re not different for having a chronic illness; it’s just the norm. You can’t understand how valuable this is until you experience it.”

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Camp not only made her feel included. It also taught her some life skills.

“I learned important leadership skills, grew in my ability to empathize with others and blossomed with confidence.”

Trottier also made lifelong friendships, built a bigger support system, changed her perspective on having arthritis and made her grateful for the diagnosis.

“I am so fortunate to have these experiences,” she said. “Everyone who can attend Brigadoon Village should! It is such a special place that has made a huge impact on my life.”

A post shared by Brigadoon Village (@brigadoonvillage)

Denise McSpadden from Sydney, Cape Breton was 26 years old when she was diagnosed with arthritis.

She says she’s in pain 24/7. Most of the time it's moderate, occasionally it’s severe and very rarely would she describe it as low-moderate.

“It's worse in the evenings and mornings, which makes getting dressed and undressed quite difficult,” she explained. “I usually have to wear clothes designed for comfort and ease of dressing and undressing and my husband often has to help me.”

McSpadden has to take strong painkillers, anti-inflammatories and antidepressants in order to have what she calls a bearable quality of life.

“I can't walk very far, even using my elbow crutch, can't climb stairs or stand in one spot for long, can't bend down to reach items on low shelves or on the floor and can't carry much (such as groceries), all of which reduces my independence,” she said. “I really don't like having to rely on others for assistance, but it's often essential and always very much appreciated when offered.”

Other people's compassion and consideration really matters and means so much to her, “even seemingly simple things such as people stepping aside when they see me coming towards them, rather than making me walk around them can save me a lot of unnoticed extra walking distance and extra pain.”

She said constant pain is very draining, emotionally, mentally and physically. It also affects her ability to focus and concentrate.

One of the most challenging issues McSpadden has had to deal with is being unable to have children.

“By the time my husband and I were financially stable enough to consider it, I was experiencing a worsening of my conditions,” she shared. “I could barely lift a newborn baby and knew that I wouldn't be able to cope after a few months, if that.”

Seemingly innocent questions were hurtful.

“Occasionally, people would thoughtlessly ask if I'd considered fostering or adopting an older child,” she said. “Firstly, fostering and adoption should not be treated like some kind of consolation prize for childless people. Secondly, childlessness is a deeply personal topic that should be treated with tact, compassion, and very careful consideration.”

When McSpadden and her husband moved from Northern Ireland to the south of England in 1998, her condition deteriorated rapidly and she experienced difficulty getting local hospital consultants to take her seriously.

“I ended up being admitted to hospital in severe pain and unable to stand, let alone walk,” she recalled. “After several days of pointless basic X-rays, being given paracetamol, instead of my usual dihydrocodeine, having the doctors dispute the results of a discogram and MRI scans that had been done in a private hospital in Birmingham, but sent from Northern Ireland along with my other medical notes, the hospital staff claimed that they didn't know what to do with me and suggested that I just go get a wheelchair from the Red Cross.”

McSpadden said her family doctor had to battle with the local National Health Service health authority for four years for her to be treated by a pain specialist in a neighbouring county. She spent four years in a wheelchair full-time from the age of 26, she says “because of the local hospital's incompetence and complete lack of care. Two weeks of intensive physical therapy and having a morphine pump delivering morphine into my spine and I was able to walk with just the aid of a walking stick (cane).”

Fast forward to the present.

McSpadden is now a mature student at Cape Breton University where she is studying for a bachelor of arts, which will be her fourth degree.

“Despite my constant pain, I find that it helps me cope if I make the extra effort to be cheerful, compassionate and convivial and I'm rarely seen without a smile. If I can brighten someone else's day even a little, then better still.”

Darlene Paton from Souris, P.E.I, was diagnosed with arthritis when she was 38 years old.

Although her symptoms started much earlier in her life, it did not impact her life until she was in her late 30’s.

“I had joint pain in my shoulders and fingers and the pain was very bad,” she said. “I have received multiple shots of cortisone in both shoulders and fingers and was diagnosed with osteoarthritis.”

Shortly after her arthritis diagnosis, Paton was told she had also fibromyalgia and bursitis in her hips.

“I have suffered greatly with all three,” she said. “The pain has stopped me from many activities I enjoyed, the most disappointing was not being able to play with my children in outdoor activities and games. I couldn’t bowl, skate, play volleyball and, eventually, it stopped me from walking five kilometres everyday.”

Paton then turned her hand to gardening.

“At first, it was all types of plants, but then I couldn’t weed or plant annuals, so I turned to perennials, which cut down on the work,” she said. “I could only garden for short periods of time.”

Eventually, this also affected her work as a resident care worker in long-term care.

“It was difficult,” she said.

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