Hurricane Ida & My Psoriatic Arthritis

Today, I sit here and all I can think is "Here we go again." There have been just so many challenges lately. Eight years of living with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) have definitely been no walk in the park. This month has been rough. For the second time this year, I have had to undergo a procedure on my knees. My recovery is going slower than I anticipated.

As an added bonus, my PsA is flaring. On top of all that, my home state, Louisiana was once again in the eyesight of an incoming hurricane. It has been the one, two, three punch that was definitely not needed.

Living with the fear of progression

As the years have progressed, so has my psoriatic arthritis. It's hard to ignore. I struggle mentally with facing the truth of how much my disease truly has progressed. Don't get me wrong, I know there are those struggling and have it far worse than I do. But it shouldn't minimize my own journey and my own pain. It just really makes it hard when year after year it keeps progressing.

So far, it seems as if all the treatments I have been on to stop or slow progression simply have not worked. Adding injury and surgery on top of my psoriatic disease has not helped either. Every day is a constant pain somewhere in my body and a constant struggle to live like I want to.

PsA, meet Hurrican Ida

Living in Louisiana, one of the things you learn and learn quickly is that hurricane season is something to take seriously. Last year, during hurricane season, Louisiana kept getting hit time and time again with hurricanes. So far, this season things had been different. That was until Hurricane Ida.

Hurricane Ida came inland at a Category 4. Days before it came inland, I could feel the change. The barometric pressure shot so high. The pain in my body told me this storm approaching was intense. My knees, my back, my hips all screamed in pain.

The mental turmoil

Last year, 2020, was a horrible year. With the pandemic and being ordered to stay at home, it was really hard to deal with mentally. Add all the hurricanes in the mix of last year's turmoil and living with psoriatic arthritis was maddening. Here we are in 2021 and not much has changed. Louisiana has seen a spike in COVID-19 cases yet again.

This hurricane has decimated part of our state. My health seems to be getting the better of me. How much more can someone bear? Before the hurricane, my psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis medicine were set to be shipped. Of course, because it comes from a Louisiana specialty pharmacy it has been delayed. How long is anyone's guess at this point?

Life gets hard, we all know that.

Living with psoriatic arthritis definitely has its challenges. I really just want to offer encouragement to anyone who is reading this. Maybe offering encouragement to others will help in my own struggle.

Louisiana and other areas affected definitely need your prayers. All of us living with this disease need each other. In Louisiana, we like to say we are Louisiana Strong. Well, living with psoriatic arthritis makes us a superhero of sorts. We all just need to remember that and that goes double for me.