National Arthritis Month ~ Guest Post ~ Carrie Fancett Pagels & Giveaway!

*Microsoft Images (I added the frame)

May is National Arthritis Month

By Carrie Fancett Pagels

Last month when my debut novella “Return to Shirley Plantation: A Civil War Romance” released, was national Autism awareness month.  Having a son who started out fine, moved onto the spectrum, and is making his way off it (praise God!), I did a couple of posts about disorder.  This month I want to thank you, Anne, for giving me a chance to post about arthritis.

Arthritis is one of those tricky things that in many cases develops slowly, insidiously so that the person doubts that it really is there—until it begins to linger and make more frequent visits.  Because at first that is what it seems like—an unwelcome guest.  As a child I oftentimes had backaches doing some common family activities—such as working in our large garden located behind my great-grandparents farm (same place my upcoming Snowed In: A Northwoods Christmas story for Guideposts Books is set.) Of course my siblings thought I was just whining and was fine.  Same thing when we did blueberry picking in the summer. Any activity where I had to bend very much.  However, I was a very physically active child and teen and I think that all benefited me.

When I was sixteen I began having ongoing issues with fatigue and a general feeling of being unwell.  The episodes came and went but were worse under stress—as though I had the flu or some infection yet didn’t have one.  At nineteen, my back went completely out after lifting boxes full of the college magazines that I was the keyliner for (back in the day we had to print out copy, cut it, wax it, and set it up on the galley and that was my job.)  I found out then that I had scoliosis and a shorter leg. So we addressed that. A few years later, in graduate school, I developed bone spurs in my feet and for someone slim and a runner my doctor seemed somewhat concerned because they seemed more like that associated with arthritis. 

Unfortunately, I could go on and on as to how my disease progressed.  Rheumatoid arthritis is different from osteoarthritis.  It can attack many parts of the body including the heart.  People suffering from RA can have episodes of fatigue that do feel much like having an episode of the flu.  Can you imagine having to take care of your children, your home, etc., while having a case of flu that normally would put you in bed?  And having these reoccur on a regular basis?  People with RA can range from being in remission and having few if any symptoms to being so incapacitated that they are in bed most of the time.  Three years ago I found myself in the latter case although some of my problems were from side effects of the biologic I was on that suppressed my immune system. Praise God, I am doing much better now even though I’ve had trouble walking for the past two years—I’m still much more functional than then.

Do you have a loved one with arthritis or do you have this diagnosis?  Does reading or writing help you cope with your disease and if so, how?

Abducted against his will, Matthew Scott is conscripted into the Confederate army because of his Copperhead father's political leanings. Injured at Malvern Hill, Matthew is taken by the Union army to Shirley Plantation in Virginia where he is tended by seamstress Angelina Rose, a freed slave. Given an opportunity to leave the South and start a new life for herself, Angelina remained for the sake of her sister's orphaned twins who are still enslaved. Will Matthew's return to Shirley Plantation settle a mystery concerning his father's past? And help Matthew find the family he longs for.

Thanks Carrie, for visiting with us and focusing our attention on National Arthritis Month. Readers, Carrie is offering a Kindle copy of her novella Return to Shirley Plantation: A Civil War Romance, and a dozen beautiful note cardsfrom Shirley Plantation. 

Answer Carrie's question above to be entered to win. Include your email address formatted something like this,  jo[at]place[dot]com. A winner will be drawn on May 15th.

Be sure and check back in during the week. Carrie loves connecting with readers!

_________________________________________________________________________

Carrie Fancett Pagels, is Owner/Administrator of Overcoming Through Time - With God's Help. Carrie writes "romantic" historical fiction, often with colonial and frontier Americans overcoming their limitations, with God's help.  She is represented by Joyce Hart, CEO of Hartline Literary Agency. 

Carrie is the Zone Director for the MidAtlantic Region of American Christian Fiction Writers. She is the founder of the Colonial American Fiction Writers Yahoo Group and owner and administrator of the Colonial Quills group blog. Carrie is a columnist for the My book Therapy E-zine.

Holding a Ph.D. in School Psychology, Carrie has over twenty-five years’ experience as a licensed psychologist. She focuses now on her writing.  On occasion she will put her "Psychologist's hat" back on for a commentary but no longer works as a psychologist. 

Carrie lives in the historical triangle of Virginia with her wonderful husband and sweet little boy. She and her husband also have an adult daughter who is an engineer like her father!

Prayer warrior is a valued title and a compliment and Carrie covets your prayers as well. 

You can connect with Carrie on the internet at:

Facebook
Twitter
Google+
linkedIn
Pinterest
Website