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Dorothy and I will have been married for 38 years on 24 February this year. She has had osteoarthritis since she was a child, but it didn’t really affect her in her 20s and 30s. She was pretty mobile really and we used to go ballroom dancing, skating and walking.
She can’t do these things now, but she does try. She’ll walk down to the hairdressers in the village, instead of taking the bus, to try and keep fit.
As she’s got older Dorothy has developed a number of other conditions, including spondylosis, scoliosis, Sjorgen’s disease, Raynaud’s disease and mild angina.
Lots of spirit
But I’m always impressed by her spirit, she’s very active. She’s just finished her 15th book on local history, she’s a parish councilor, she volunteers with the St John’s Ambulance, and she’s a governor of two local schools.
With her arthritis, we just have to live with it, so we get on with it. It’s not her fault, so you just have to give her some support. I do the shopping, make the bed, and carry the heavy things. We work as a team – she tells me what to do and I do it.
Get on with it
We used to go on holidays, but nowadays she physically can’t go out and about when we go away, and she gets bored if she’s sitting – she’d rather be at home. So it’s really a waste of money going on holiday.
We just accept that we can’t go away and get on with it, so it doesn’t get in the way. We both enjoy classical music, and that’s something we can do at home, listening to a CD.
I don’t think I’m any more patient because of her condition. I still get short tempered, but I tend to get short tempered with things, rather than people. I’m still fit and healthy and it’s my job to help her. She can’t do anything about it, so I just help her out.
Stanley Rand
