Real life I I sat with my leg straight out so it didnt bend and hardly moved because it could give way at any time. I had so many falls, ending up with broken toes, fingers, and black eyes. I was embarrassed that I couldnt get up after a fall, so I hardly moved. If I moved, it hurt. I had written myself off I was no good to anybody, on the scrap heap at 49. The doctor told me it was wear and tear and gave me overthe-counter painkillers and no emotional support. I was done. An epiphany n 2014, everything happened at once: I lost my health, wealth, marriage, job, and eventually my home. I had a heart attack because of the stress, and it was during my cardiac rehabilitation that the joint movement in my hips and knees became very difficult, and my knees gave way. I was referred to the rheumatologist specialist and told that I had arthritis, and that I needed a knee replacement but not yet. That was seven years ago, and it still hasnt happened. I had to put up with it. Tracey is delighted to be able to help others It was my elderly mother, aged 70, who saw a sign in the doctors surgery for a Versus Arthritis self-management course and she said she would come with me. It was like an intervention. Having been so confident in my Tesco training manager role before, able to stand on stage and talk in front of 400 people without batting an eyelid, now I found it hard to walk into my local town hall. I went in with my head down, saying to my mum that everyone is talking about me, saying I have a limp. But after the first session I gained a bit of confidence, and with every week after that, for the next six weeks, I gained a bit more. I started to think that I used to be a good trainer; that maybe Im not dumb like I thought, that I do have something to offer. In the middle of the course I thought, maybe I could teach this, and by the end of the six weeks I thought I could do better than the trainer! So I volunteered to become a tutor for the Versus Arthritis course. Life changing It sounds dramatic, but it changed my life and I can pinpoint the turnaround. What the course does is give you tools and techniques to help you manage the pain to a level that enhances your life. Theres no cure for arthritis. If you are lucky, you spend 10 minutes with your doctor and then you end up living in a broken body. Its up to you to manage it. So, setting yourself little challenges to break the cycle of pain is the first move. I had given up, so my challenge to get moving again was to walk down the hall. 24 versusarthritis.org PP22-26_Inspire_Winter 2023_Real life.indd 24 14/11/2023 12:06