Hey everyone, welcome back to my little corner on Arthur’s Place, In my last blog post, I talked a little about how Arthur’s Place and Arthur’s Place Social have helped me gain my confidence back post-diagnosis.
So since my diagnosis, I have come to realise how uncertain life can be. There comes a time in our lives when we think about all the things in life that we have always wanted to do, but we think that we have our whole lives to do them.
Recently, I had been thinking about all the things that I had been meaning to do, but just hadn’t gotten round to doing and decided that I was going to start ticking some of those things off my bucket list. This is a list that I had put together when I was younger, of all the things that I wanted to do one day; such as bungee jumping, sky diving, travelling around the USA, etc.
So, whilst I was stuck in the hospital, as usual, lying on the moderately comfortable chair in the RA infusion clinic having my treatment, I realised that for the past seven years my life had consisted of either being in the hospital or being at home recovering from my treatments, therapies and surgeries.
So, I decided that I wanted to see some parts of the US that I had never seen before, but I had to get the ok from my medical team before my trip could be confirmed. Reluctantly, my doctors agreed to let me go on the trip of my dreams. I decided to go and visit my relatives in Washington DC, Chicago and San Francisco.
I was really nervous, as this was the first time that I would be setting foot on a plane since my diagnosis, and it was also going to be a long haul flight. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to cope with having to be in one position for such a long time. With help and great advice from my amazing therapists, I slowly regained my confidence and when the big day arrived, I loaded my bags in the car and headed to the airport knowing that this was not the only long haul flight that I would be boarding on my trip to the US.
Once I reached Washington DC, which is where my awesome visit to the US was going to truly begin, I knew that this wonderful journey around such a beautiful country was going to be quite a challenge for both myself and my joints.
But it was a challenge that I was excited about, looking forward to, and needed to accept. I knew that this was the only way that I could completely regain my confidence, after what has felt like forever, spending every week going from one hospital to another and becoming too familiar with hospital routines and environments. I wanted and needed to start enjoying my life again. After all, I am an RA Warrior.
Meet Anoushka and other friendly folk on Arthur’s Place Social, our Facebook Group
(Any opinions expressed in Anoushka’s blog are not necessarily shared by Arthur’s Place. Nothing that you read in Anoushka’s blog constitutes medical advice.)
