Arthritis Patient Can Hold Wife’s Hand Again
| After suffering from a severe condition of rheumatoid arthritis, Teddy Jones is now able to walk again. For four years, he spent his time either in his wheelchair or hospital bed. He was unable to do any of the activities outside that he enjoyed doing such as gardening and fishing.
Teddy credits UAMS for his ability to walk again and be able to do the simple acts like fishing and getting what he needs out of the cabinets. He had multiple surgeries at UAMS, including surgeries on both knees, his wrist and his shoulder. The day after his surgeries were complete on his knees, he was able to walk again. Lying in the hospital bed after his surgery, he told his wife that he could move his foot and it didn’t hurt. “It was a big surprise to me,” Teddy said. The following day, he walked 75 feet down the hallway and then back. “I have been walking ever since,” he said.
After the surgery on his wrist, his most gratifying experience came when his wife reached to hold his hand, and he could feel her touch. “I was having a lot of numbing feelings in my hands and my fingers, and I couldn’t hardly feel anymore. My wife reached over and grabbed my hand. And when she grabbed my hand, I said, ‘Honey, I can feel your hand.’ And I hadn’t been able to do that in a long time,” he said.
Teddy also got to experience fishing with his four-year-old grandson. After his grandson saw Teddy walking outside one day after his surgery, Teddy’s young grandson issued Teddy a special invitation to walk down to the water and go fishing. He was elated to get to be able to experience those type of activities with his grandson because he was not sure that be able to be physically active again before his surgeries at UAMS.
Teddy said that 2008 was a miracle year for him and expects better things in the coming years with more surgeries planned at UAMS.
He said that the doctors and staff at UAMS became like family to him.
Rheumatology and Immunology at UAMS
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