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At age 50 I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis or RA, about which I knew absolutely nothing. It was pretty clear at the time that I had something as I couldn't turn the water taps or door handles and I hurt in almost every joint. RA forced me to retire from professional work 2 yrs later.

Since then I've seen the inside of a hospital more times than I care to remember and scarce a joint in my body is not either completely replaced or expecting to be replaced.

Now 68, I live comfortably alone in my own house which I have occupied for 26 yrs. Fortunately it's a 1-storey house but if it weren't I would have moved my bedroom downstairs. I would not have moved out. My home is yet one more "orthotic" and almost a part of me!

The last 17 yrs have been quite a challenge and, in the end, solving arthritic problems has become one of my "hobbies". I get a lot of fun out of it. Loss of function and ability was devastating at first but with time this has faded. It's as if my biological clock has slowed down to a different beat.

I enjoy trying to help other RA sufferers by sharing some easy do-it-yourself ideas that help me and even if they don't help you they may trigger an idea that does. The ideas are not always stylish but always functional - and always free!

As you can read in Mother of Invention, I was thrilled when I discovered that stacking one chair on top of another was all it took to sit me down so I could get up again.

I was amazed when I discovered that a narrow-nozzled attachment from the vacuum cleaner for cleaning between couch & armchair cushions (some call it a crevice tool) enabled me to open and close my casement windows once more, flush toilets, turn taps and move wheelchair brakes.

Another important lesson I have learned is that the house is to serve me and not the other way round. Unnecessary, unhelpful furniture has been eliminated. An arthritic needs SPACE not obstacles. Needs EASY ACCESS not cupboards and drawers filled with unreachable things. I leave daily-used articles out front and up front -even my photos. I hang a lot of things on hooks or hangers attached to binder rings.

Yes, I know all about reachers and all those endless wares sold to arthritics for keeping tidy. TIDY can also be a BAD HABIT when it introduces unnecessary handicaps.

I make my own reachers from bamboo canes and various hooks. They pick up, reach under beds, scratch my head, pull down the blinds, pull from the back of the fridge or clothes' dryer and put on my shoes...... to name just a few uses. They are all over the house on light-switch hooks. They won't reach a jar from a high cupboard but it shouldn't be there anyway!

Finally, I no longer BLAME myself. I am normal. - A NORMAL ARTHRITIC!.. Jan.