{"id":4732,"date":"2018-10-01T15:33:53","date_gmt":"2018-10-01T19:33:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/?p=4732"},"modified":"2018-10-25T17:13:59","modified_gmt":"2018-10-25T21:13:59","slug":"n-understanding-cane-myositis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/ponte-vedra\/n-understanding-cane-myositis\/","title":{"rendered":"This \u2018n That | Understanding the cane \u2026 and Myositis"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Mims Cushing
\n<\/span><\/em>mail@floridanewsline.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Did you ever think when you were in school, running around playgrounds, that you would be using a cane in later life? Did you think that, as an older person, you\u2019d be going to lunch with a good friend, both of you leaving a restaurant with a cane? Your pediatrician never told you that when you became a senior citizen you should use a cane, right?<\/span><\/p>\n

My monthly column, titled \u201cThis \u2018n That,\u201d lets me write about all things serious and not serious. I prefer writing humor and lifestyle topics, but this subject is one I\u2019ve been wanting to address for a while. The topic is the cane.<\/span><\/p>\n

I have myositis, a rare autoimmune disease. Only 50,000 people in America have it. Very little is known about it. Myositis means chronic inflammation of the muscles. Muscles weaken or even atrophy. My leg muscles collapse sporadically, which makes me fall, and can cause broken bones and sometimes surgery. I\u2019ve broken my ankle, pelvis, elbow, and both feet in the past 10 years. I\u2019ve probably fallen 20 or so times. In mid-July 2018, I fell against a wall, and broke five vertebrae and cracked five ribs \u2014 so for many weeks no swimming for me, which is my go-to choice of exercise. Until lately, I have done three or four sessions a week of stretching exercise in aqua therapy \u2014 in a 90 degree hot therapy pool \u2014 and do stretches at home as I watch the news. Physical therapy is an essential part of my day so I can avoid immobility. You can\u2019t be a couch potato if you have myositis. <\/span><\/p>\n

For years, my lab reports didn\u2019t show that I have osteoporosis; however, when you fall a lot you are automatically classified as having that ailment. (I do, also, have mild neuropathy, not from diabetes. Why I have it is unknown.) <\/span><\/p>\n

To get back to the cane, I don\u2019t feel the need to use it a lot, but when I do, people whom I barely know \u2014 or know very well \u2014 say, \u201cWhat are you using that cane for?\u201d or \u201cYou are too young to be using that?\u201d or \u201cHow come you have a cane?\u201d Worse, \u201cYou don’t need that thing!\u201d What a rude thing to say! Do people think I\u2019m using the cane for the fun of it? People say, \u201cYou look wonderful.\u201d That\u2019s nice, but the implication is you must be fine! You don\u2019t need the cane!<\/span><\/p>\n

In \u201cCoping with a Myositis Disease,\u201d written by patients, I read, \u201cOne of the most frustrating aspects of myositis is that your looks are deceiving \u2026 your looks do not portray your disability.\u201d You look healthy on the outside, but on the inside things are not so pretty. If using a cane prevents me from falling, I will use it. (Sometimes, however, a cane can make a fall worse.)<\/span><\/p>\n

A blood test and a muscle biopsy can point to myositis. To date, cures do not exist, although a few drugs such as prednisone and Methotrexate, a chemotherapy, can help. Hot weather worsens the symptoms. Extreme fatigue sometimes is so severe you need to nap a couple of times a day, but other days you are full of energy. The increased weakness causes you to fall and you can\u2019t get up because your muscles won\u2019t let you.<\/span><\/p>\n

Strangers might open a door and offer to carry packages or tote bags. It is hard to open some doors that never seemed heavy in former days. Yes, I can open my own doors; however it\u2019s nice that people are kind. So, when you see someone using a cane \u2014 smile and ask if they need a hand. Such a simple gesture, but so appreciated.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Mims Cushing mail@floridanewsline.com Did you ever think when you were in school, running around playgrounds, that you would be using a cane in later life? Did you think that, as an older person, you\u2019d be going to lunch with a good friend, both of you leaving a restaurant with a cane? Your pediatrician never […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4099,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[114,113],"class_list":{"0":"post-4732","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ponte-vedra","8":"tag-lifestyle","9":"tag-mims-cushing"},"yoast_head":"\nThis \u2018n That | Understanding the cane \u2026 and Myositis - Florida NewsLine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ponte Vedra NewsLineBy Mims Cushing mail@floridanewsline.com Did you ever think when you were in school, running around playgrounds, that you would be using a cane in later\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/ponte-vedra\/n-understanding-cane-myositis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"This \u2018n That | Understanding the cane \u2026 and Myositis - 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