Playing golf well is not easy. Neither is living with arthritis. I know firsthand about the challenges of golf— I want to shoot under 80, but I don’t…yet.
I know a little bit about arthritis from a personal perspective (I have some osteoarthritis in my back), but mostly I know how difficult it is to live with arthritis from the experiences my patients share with me. Each day people who live with rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and gout must determine to get up, exercise, work, play, have relationships, and enjoy life. And just as the game of golf has its ups and downs, its moments of success and times of disappointment, life with arthritis can certainly be unpredictable.
But we push on, we keep trying new approaches and working hard. Because it’s worth it. Golf is only a game, whereas living with arthritis is serious business. But both can be fun, full, and rewarding, if we keep trying. Or, we can give in, settle for bogeys rather than pars, focus on our disease rather than our health, and miss the joy of the journey.