.S<.. e.. to give hOPE W h t y r e Pr s , W e n s a mbe 8 1 9 a ge Sepgternber -ARTIIRmis MCyH THE7 1 ARTHRITIS Afaml ýpulls together* to igt om s ath ritis 'jt ARTHRTS SOCIETY bingo com- Bingo Country bingo put on by the mittee chair Bilan Leyes at a recent soclety Phto Dbv Mark Reesor, WhltbY Fiee Press B3ingo aids ar'thritis research By Mark Reesor leyes, chair of the bingo committee. For eight years B Lyes ad seven Funds raised are used for research into or Bioounsry nat have bPoinheading ff finding a cure for arthritis and on better to ing Contr atFiv PontsMalIn ways to treat it. Oshatie a w ege. luh Leyes knows how it feels to live with Inystead o testinter luck, hoever, arthritis. He had an operation ln 1985 to Leyeis asocoma* ris oe for the eplace both hie hips, which had been Arhrti Scity ravaged by the diseae, "and ve been a The groupa1 vo1unteers, run charity volunteer ever since." bingos at Bingo Country every Thursday Bingo volunteers are gvn a smal at1:30 p.m. and Sundays at either 1, honorarium to recognize their efforts u p.m o 1:3 p.. alerate weeks)e only keep haif of it, h. says. They use à Each bingo raises between $400 and the rest to buy shoe and sock horns for i $800., after expenses, for the society, says needy arthritis sufferers. - - - By Luci T. Perri Being a working parent le challenging under the best cir uma anc s. dda chronic disease like arthritis to the equat *ion and things become even more complicated. 3irnPle tasks such as PickIng up Your child or opening a jar of baby food become 1 painful and sometimes impossible. At age 21, six montha after the birth of hier first child, Judith Glyn Williams was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. This autoiminune disease causes erlous pai and ~~ swlg in the joints that can lead to, deforned and disabled joints. Organization, planning and co-operation are key ingredients that have allowed Judith and hier &imily tormaintain control of hier arthritis. They have structured their daily routnesfam!Iy activities and woring schedules to try to' limit the impact of this, disease on their lives. arud te hue Ta-king control o! the cisease By Mark Reesor The first step ini learning to live with arthritis h undeërstanding what's hap- pening to your body. The Arthritis Society offers a self-management course for arthrltis suit. ferers and their families, designed to help them con- trol the disease instead of letting the disease control them. «They learn what's ha- pening to their body (and 'what the sym tomslaeu" says instructor etty Claf, "and from that knowledge, they have less fear and les. anxiety. "They iearn that fear and depression are symptoms of the disease... the impor- tance of the roi. that medi- cation plays (and)' com- munication skills." Clark uses her husband, who has arthritis, as an example of how the'course can help. "(Suppose) I said to hlm, 'Oh, you're always late, youtre aîways slow. I. get tired of waiting for y ou.' "What he learns from the class is to say 'I feel bad when you are impatient.' g -changes his attitude about Fthe whole exchange; in- stead of it being anger, il corrects that.» F The course also teaches tamong other *things, how ta' plan visits to the doctor to etthe maxidmum benefit, thKe importance of nutrition and exercise, how to build an individuai program, how to as o.lep and symp- toms that indicate you are overextendingyourself. Group, members "con- tract" with each other to achieve short- and long- terni goals they've set for themselves, Clark says. For example, some set a long-termi goal of being able to play the piano again "but the short-terni goal i. to play. one song," she epains. 'e m akeacommit- ment tKat between now and next week they will do (for example) 20 minutes of exercising, 10 minutes of walking or swimming. "By achieving succes with those small goals, they leamn that they can in- crease those larger goals.» for people who mouler fran, People '0 e MRDICHAIR. e Wheelchairs & Seating Systems 0 Scooters, Walkers & Rollators. e Power-Lift & Recline Chairs e Bathroom and Safety Products e Aids to Daily Living Products We M ,k I Ho i al. 110 Dunlop St. E. , Whitby 666-5001 Toll,,,e 1-800465-5028-- t; The contracts are read te t; other members of the group -when the goals are set, she tsays, «and next week they'll read ifi again and give us a report on how well they did (and) what problemns they had. it's a little bit of peer press- ure."i Participants find they're not alone ini their suffering and often not nearly as bad off as the person next door, she says. "9A 11) of times they corne in feeltn that hife doesn't have a l ot left -and they beave feeling that they can take charge; that theyre going te manage." Arthritis sufferers often look very healthy but "hurt 50 much» and peple aren't for how mueh they hurt, se says. The. course, which is based on The Arthritis Self- Help Book, is offered when and where demand war- 4Give, generousl &1 1»SupportI The Arthritis Society FREE PRESS 900 Hopkins Street, Whitby ____ 668-6111 everyone pitches in. Darcy, 11, helpa with the cooking and bakcing, while Aaron 9, bas a schedule for when ho i available to do the laundry. Judith's husband, Ian, doe. more of the gçocery shopping and meal preparations. It is a real team effort. "Darcy and Aaron have taken on a larger roi. in running the household than I think they would have if I did flot have arthritis," says Judith, 'but I think they are better people because of it. They have a head start on most id their age. They appreciate what they have. and understand that people SEUPAGE27 Dr. Cecutti and Dr. Nathoo welcome Dr. Phil Walsh to the practice. Dr. Nathoo and Dr. Walsh are accepting new family practice patients. EXTENDED IIOURS- Monday to Friday 8:OOam - 9:OOpm Saturday & Sunday 9:OOam -_5:0Opm prescribé Hearing Aids., FOR MOR INFORMÀTInON, CONTACT Ajax-Pickermng AuoioIogy Ciinic Telephone: (905) 831-8311 1885 Glenanna Rd., Suite 104 Pickering, Ontario LiV 6R6 (Close to FAh FC at o I N.Î exil) Whitby Heairing, Centre Telephone: (905) 666-7726 < 1032 Brock St. S-, Suite 4 j. j, Whitby Free 1 Press, Wednesday, September 18,1996, Page 9 - - - -mal-