A Nail-patella syndrome story

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No thumbnails hasn't been a huge problem in my life, being male. The elbows have been though. Well, except for that time in 1971 when they kept me from being drafted into the VietNam conflict. 4F'd 10 minutes into the physical down in Detroit. The elbows may have saved my life.

Other than that one time, the elbows have been a source of embarrassment. I got used to always walking with my hands in my pockets. As we all know, kids in school can be cruel, and I didn't escape their wrath. I'm 62 now, but if I had to do life all over again,  I would refuse gym class. No matter the threat, I wouldn't go. It was physically impossible for me to do some of the required things. Like gymnastics...lol what a cruel joke that was. The elbows severly limit the ability to rotate my palms face up. This also made it virtually impossible to play the guitar. And on that note, I discovered just a few years ago, that not all my finger joints are normal. The only ones that are, are the little fingers, they can curl normally when I make a fist. The other fingers have an abnormal joint..the one closest to the nail. This also would handicap a desire to play guitar as the fingers can't curl over the strings. I picked up the ukulele last year, and have some success with that, so not all is lost. As the RA has creeped into my hands, I needed something to keep my fingers moving, even though they are very stiff. They don't hurt....just stiff.

My bowell movements were always normal as a kid. Around 1984 I started having a lot of IBS. It got so bad, I feared the worst..the C. I had all the tests and they were normal. Doc thought maybe an ulcer and put me on a no caffeine diet. As I've gotten older the IBS, if that's what it is, has gotten better. Much better, but if I'm going somewhere, I still always take an immodium to be safe, as I can still have an attack. I've suspected this may also be something from NPS.

It's been a cross to bear, but when I look at people stuck in wheelchairs I don't feel so bad about myself. It can certainly be worse.