Editor
Arthritis Today Magazine
In the Spring and Summer , 1999 editions of the Arthritis Today magazine you published an article about me and photos of some of my work. I was proud that you selected one of my works to be on the cover of the Summer issue. I thought that I would give you an update of my progress. I am currently still on levflunamide and they have added methotrexate to enhance it’s action. I changed Rheumatologists when I moved and my new Dr thinks that there is Enbrel in my future. This past Summer I started to have severe pains down my leg and when they couldn’t make that go away they did an epidural block using medrol. An MRI showed that a couple of vertebrae were out of line and surgery was out of the question since I had taken prednisone for so many years.
The epidural is usually a series of 3 shots, but I had a remarkable improvement after only one shot and combined with a chair back brace the improvement was so great that they put off any more shots. I still have pain, sometimes more than less, but except for long distance walking it hasn’t changed my life. Acetominophen seems to take the edge off. We are contemplating purchasing a transporter (a light weight wheelchair) so I can get to the distant places.
We are planning a vacation to Italy in the Fall. I still take art lessons twice a week and I try to paint a little every day. We have made a lot of improvements to our sailboat and we are looking forward to a summer of sailing on the Chesapeake Bay. We still babysit for our Grandchildren once a week.
Artistically I sold a few paintings and have had my works accepted in several “Juried” art shows. I have had a few orders for the informal notes that I make from prints of my works. A magazine here in the US has purchased 2 of my watercolors for their magazine covers. I have a Web Page that Irv made for me at
Life goes on in spite of Rheumatoid Arthritis!
Sincerely,
Barbara B Schaeffer