 Aruni's
Story
Aruni
Ratnayake is Arthritis NSW's Branches Officer.
This is her story:
A few
years ago, I needed to undergo abdominal
surgery.
Since recovering from surgery I continued
to have a neck pain. Since it was not related
to surgery, my GP investigated and found
out that I had osteoarthritis in my neck.
I wondered what to do. I browsed the
local paper and found the local branch
of Arthritis NSW. I attended
a meeting and met many with similar problems.
I received a lot of information sheets
on the disease. I followed the six week
Arthritis Self Management program and
attended the hospital physiotherapy unit
hydrotherapy sessions. I joined branch
hydrotherapy classes after that.
Today, I continue with my daily neck
exercises and have managed to be pain
free most of the time. I do avoid some
neck movements and neck positions which
bring on pain. I even got back on the
tennis courts and now I enjoy a friendly
game.
Jill's Story
(Jill is a member of Arthritis NSW)
I was first diagnosed with Rheumatoid
Arthritis in 1991 at age 35. In a bid
to get relief and find out more about
it I joined the Warilla/Shellharbour
Branch.
To my surprise I found out that Arthritis does not only effect older people
but also can be a huge problem for young children and teenagers.
As time went on I began to cope a little better, but at first I had to rely
on family and friends to do things for me, which I used to take for granted.
The use of the Hydrotherapy Pool at Port Kembla Hospital has eased the pain
and increased my mobility. I would recommend Hydrotherapy to anyone.
Carol's Story
(Carol Barnes is Arthritis NSW's Education
Officer. Her own life with arthritis
has inspired her to help others.)
 I
was initially diagnosed with inflammatory
arthritis at 19 but it wasn’t until
I was 22 that Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)
was confirmed. During this time I was
a student nurse at a large teaching hospital
and not only did I have to deal with
the symptoms of RA but also the lack
of understanding and caring from some
senior nurse executives who focused on
the amount of sick leave I was having
and acted like it was all in my head.
Nurse training in the 1960s was tough – shift
work, lectures in your own time, split
days off, rigid rules and hard work.
I coped with the work and my illness
however my social life was somewhat affected
because I was often extremely tired ‘like
the energy plug was pulled out’.
My nursing friends, being young, working
hard and wanting to enjoy life, didn’t
understand that I just couldn’t
always keep up so I often didn’t
go out with them. I loved nursing so
I was determined to complete my training
which I did in 1969. Unfortunately clinical
nursing was not an option for me so I
developed a career in nurse education
and later staff development.
My own experience has led to my ‘passion’ to
inform health professionals and the community
as a whole about arthritis, its impact
on a person’s life, treatment strategies
and the support and resources available.
While belonging to Jaycees (a community
service club) in the late 1970s, I coordinated
a national project called ‘Self-help
for Arthritics’. This partnered
local Jaycee clubs with the various state
Arthritis organisations and was the start
of my work with Arthritis NSW.
Over the years, my work with Arthritis
NSW has involved public speaking, health
professional lectures and conferences,
and developing and implementing various
patient education programs. More recently,
I have been involved with phone advice,
co-leading the Arthritis Self-management
program, and the development of Challenging
Arthritis and a new program for people
with a chronic illness. Arthritis NSW
has given me an opportunity to contribute
professionally, develop and utilise my
skills and help to improve the lives
of people touched by arthritis. Personally,
even though I am a health professional,
sometimes I need to seek support from
my colleagues. This support may be something
physical or giving feedback and/or advice
or emotional support. They are always
there for me as they will be for you.
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