Arthritis Society supporters Stephen Smith and Diane Blake.Supplied
Witnessing close relatives experience pain and suffering due to arthritis inspired a Toronto couple to play a key role in supporting the Arthritis Society’s research efforts.
When Stephen Smith and his sister were 12 and 10 years old, their mother, then 50, was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. She was bedridden for a year, received medication that caused side-effects and needed surgery to straighten her fingers.
“Although she was always a cheerful person, [arthritis] dominated the rest of her life and affected her family profoundly,” says Diane Blake, Stephen’s wife, whose mother faced a similar challenge.
“When she had pain in her fingers, my mother brushed it off as ‘just a bit of arthritis’ and didn’t go to the doctor,” says Ms. Blake. “She got diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in her 60s and ended up needing a wheelchair.”
While her mother’s generation often considered arthritis to be an inevitable part of aging, Ms. Blake strongly believes “we have to make an effort to preserve the quality of life for people in their later years,” she says. “With the proportion of older people increasing in our society, it’s important to create awareness of these types of illnesses.”
When seniors are healthier, this impacts their and their families' well-being – it also means less strain on the health-care system, she notes. “Arthritis is often perceived as being in a different category from cancer or stroke, for example, but it affects a significant number of people and is very debilitating, crippling and painful.”
This September, Ms. Blake is hosting a virtual gathering to introduce friends and neighbours to the work of the Arthritis Society and arthritis research.
“Hopefully, we’ll gain support and have a bit of fun. Due to our personal experiences with our mothers, and because we know that there currently is no cure, we feel that arthritis research can have a big impact,” she says. “Scientific discoveries also point to a genetic component, so if you have a parent or relative with an autoimmune disease like arthritis, there is this sense that you could be next.”
Produced by Randall Anthony Communications. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved in its creation.