Featured in this article is Sukanya Yogesh, who has opened up the story of her life and provided us with a glimpse into her journey of struggle, battling her own invisible condition.
Life is rightly about how one can make one’s journey from the ordinary to the extraordinary.
All hell broke loose in my life when a ligament tear on a finger lead me to be diagnosed with Arthritis, an auto immune disorder. Not having any genetic history, left me wondering what could have caused it, lifestyle, stress, overwork. It was shocking to say the least. I always thought Arthritis affected the elderly but came to know it can affect any age group.aArthritis is an auto immune disease where the immune system can go awry, mistakenly attacking the joints with uncontrolled inflammation, potentially causing joint erosion and may damage internal organs, eyes and other parts of the body. If pain is the most common and troublesome symptom of arthritis, fatigue runs a close second. Often the two are closely related. Dealing with pain on a day to day basis can wear you down and cause fatigue. Being fatigued, in turn, can worsen pain and make it more difficult to manage.
Things took a U turn in my life. From a go getter & a super active person, I slowed down in my pace and simple daily activities became a huge effort. For someone so active, a sudden change such as this can be very demotivating. It is a choice, whether you befriend the pain or let it get to you. Acceptance of one’s condition is the first and foremost thing that can help win over the psyche. Arthritis is commonly treated with steroids which are Immune suppressant drugs. Handling this genre of drugs came with its own baggage of side effects and the consequence of easily catching sickness from others which added to my woes further. All this typically translates to an unfavourable impact on the quality of life, ability to sleep, work, to participate in physical exercise and activities, and also to perform household activities and duties. The pain, stiffness and fatigue are just a small portion of what goes on in the life of someone suffering with arthritis. The physical and mental scars are invisible to most and that’s where it creates havoc in life.
Being a realtor by profession demands shaking hands with people which became painful. Life is not as it used to be. Driving my car, going shopping, lifting bags, lifting heavy utensils while cooking, everything has become a chore. I need a chair to sit in public places. It’s embarrassing at times when older people are able to function normally & here, I am looking with anticipation for them to vacate the chair, so I can rest my tired knee & swollen ankle. I sometimes need help to get up from a low bench. I walk with a limp & if I’m too tired my younger one is quick to quip, “Mom has started walking like a penguin, we better let her sit for a while”.
What do I do? I’m not in the retired age group. I’m in the functional age group. I need to function. I need to do chores. I have responsibilities that I cannot avoid. I have duties towards the people around me. I’m handicapped but no one treats me like one. When I complain about my pains to friends, they start telling me about their problems. No one understands, because this is my journey and I know I must walk this all by myself. I cry every day and often think, why me? Why all this suffering & pain.rticle is Sukanya Yogesh, who has opened up the story of her life and provided us with a glimpse into her journey of struggle, battling her own invisible condition.
Life is rightly about how one can make one’s journey from the ordinary to the extraordinary.
All hell broke loose in my life when a ligament tear on a finger lead me to be diagnosed with Arthritis, an auto immune disorder. Not having any genetic history, left me wondering what could have caused it, lifestyle, stress, overwork. It was shocking to say the least. I always thought Arthritis affected the elderly but came to know it can affect any age group.
Arthritis is an auto immune disease where the immune system can go awry, mistakenly attacking the joints with uncontrolled inflammation, potentially causing joint erosion and may damage internal organs, eyes and other parts of the body. If pain is the most common and troublesome symptom of arthritis, fatigue runs a close second. Often the two are closely related. Dealing with pain on a day to day basis can wear you down and cause fatigue. Being fatigued, in turn, can worsen pain and make it more difficult to manage.
Things took a U turn in my life. From a go getter & a super active person, I slowed down in my pace and simple daily activities became a huge effort. For someone so active, a sudden change such as this can be very demotivating. It is a choice, whether you befriend the pain or let it get to you. Acceptance of one’s condition is the first and foremost thing that can help win over the psyche. Arthritis is commonly treated with steroids which are Immune suppressant drugs. Handling this genre of drugs came with its own baggage of side effects and the consequence of easily catching sickness from others which added to my woes further. All this typically translates to an unfavourable impact on the quality of life, ability to sleep, work, to participate in physical exercise and activities, and also to perform household activities and duties. The pain, stiffness and fatigue are just a small portion of what goes on in the life of someone suffering with arthritis. The physical and mental scars are invisible to most and that’s where it creates havoc in life.
Being a realtor by profession demands shaking hands with people which became painful. Life is not as it used to be. Driving my car, going shopping, lifting bags, lifting heavy utensils while cooking, everything has become a chore. I need a chair to sit in public places. It’s embarrassing at times when older people are able to function normally & here, I am looking with anticipation for them to vacate the chair, so I can rest my tired knee & swollen ankle. I sometimes need help to get up from a low bench. I walk with a limp & if I’m too tired my younger one is quick to quip, “Mom has started walking like a penguin, we better let her sit for a while”.
What do I do? I’m not in the retired age group. I’m in the functional age group. I need to function. I need to do chores. I have responsibilities that I cannot avoid. I have duties towards the people around me. I’m handicapped but no one treats me like one. When I complain about my pains to friends, they start telling me about their problems. No one understands, because this is my journey and I know I must walk this all by myself. I cry every day and often think, why me? Why all this suffering & pain.A Life changing experience……
Recently, I had a hysterectomy (It was a near death experience as I experienced a lot of blood loss during the surgery & my oxygen levels had depleted. I had to have blood transfusion and was placed on oxygen support. I had several friends and well-wishers visit me at the hospital. The nurses told me how blessed I was that so many people love me. They were worried I won’t be able to get rest post-surgery, if I had so many visitors. When the doctor told me about what could have happened, it set me thinking. I realised, one of the happiest moments is when you find the courage to let go of what you can’t change. When I see others like myself, I feel I’m not the only one and there are so many others going through the same or even worse. I continue to help others, although I’m not able to do with the same fervour as before but I do. Dealing with my condition and staying above it required a fair amount of resilience on my part and I decided I am not a quitter.In my profession too, I gave my best, I got the multimillion-dollar producer award for performance at work last year in August (#40) & again in December (#18). I’m happy to better my own performance each time. Recently, I also got honoured as a “Global Goodwill Ambassador” Singapore.
SUKANYA1Sukanya Yogesh
Associate Division Director, Huttons Real Estate Group
Humanitarian at Global Goodwill Ambassadors (GGA)
Surftosurvive@gmail.com
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