Sarah Kahler, 34

After 6 months of terrible pain in my feet, toes, hips and knees I was diagnosed with RA in early 2000 at the age of 29.  I had mixed emotions about the diagnosis.  I finally knew what had been causing the pain and it was a relief to know it wasn't in my head but at the same time I felt like I had been handed a death sentence.  How was I going to keep up with my then 2 year old?  Would I ever be able to walk a simple two blocks without horrible pain?
I was lucky to live in Denver and be surrounded by great Rheumatologists.  My doctor there was able to eventually stop the pain with doses of methotrexate and cortisone shots in my toes. 
He knew that I only had one child and I told him that I wanted at least one more.  He advised against it saying I would have to a very strong person to go through a pregnancy without my medications.  I WAS a very determined person and in March 2001, after being off of my medication for 3 months, I became pregnant.  Though many RA patients go into remission during pregnancy I did not go into full remission.  Several times during my pregnancy my hands would lock in position and I would have to go to the emergency room to have cortisone shots in my middle fingers to unlock them.
The pregnancy was not horrible but it was definitely not easy.  I made it worse I am sure by moving from Denver to Omaha, starting a new job and moving into a new house when I was seven months pregnant.
Understandably my body didn't bounce back after giving birth to my son in Nov.  The pregnancy had taken a toll on me and it looked as if the methotrexate was no longer going to work on its own to stop the pain. 
Six weeks after my son was born my mom died and the stress from her death seemed to cause even more pain in my body.  It was time to do more with both my mental health and pain control.  I began receiving Remicade Infusions and it made a big difference in the pain.  I also had come to the conclusion that I needed to count my blessings and not my sorrows.
Yes, it was not ideal that God had given me this cross to bear.
However, it was a pretty light load to carry compared to others around me who were far more effected by this disease than me.
In 2005 I began seeing Dr. James O'Dell, a RA patient himself and a researcher of the disease at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, NE.  He really took charge of my care and understood first hand what I was experiencing.  Under his care I began to feel the best I had in 5 years with Enbrel injections and the Methotrexate.
In the spring of 2008 I decided that I wanted to take up running. After consulting with Dr. O'Dell he gave me the green light and reminded me that it was good to keep those joints moving but at the same time to monitor my workouts so that I did not over do it.   I had not run in over 20 years so the training was very slow at the start.  I have several friends who are runners and frequently run 5K, 10K and marathon races.  After listening to them talk about their running and the goals they had accomplished, I decided that I too needed a goal.  A 5K seemed like the perfect place to start.
I trained over the summer and many days I trained through pain.  I think having RA my pain threshold is higher than an average person so that certainly helped.  The running also seemed to be easier on the pain than walking.  Mentally when I would get up and to the gym at 5:00 in the morning I told myself that this disease was not going to win, at least not that day.
Over time I was slowly seeing a difference in my running and eventually was able to run 3 miles.  Granted my time was not great, but it was never about the time.  I was going to be happy just completing 3 miles.
Today I am very happy to report that I completed my first 5K race and better yet I did it in 32:43, better than any of my training time!  8 years ago I couldn't walk more than 3 blocks because of the intense pain and look at me now.  I love the running and hope to complete another race next spring.

More Stories