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| STORIES FROM OUR PEOPLE | 
| Linda Proudlock | My
life drastically changed 17 years ago when at the age of 23 I was
diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. It is not a heredity
condition – no one else in the family has it. It is hard to
pin-point why I got it. I am just the unlucky one I guess.
It’s
a very painful inflammatory condition that affects all my joints,
taxing my strength and mobility and leaving me feeling battle-fatigued
every single day. There is no cure for it, only limited
management through medication, exercise and (as my husband, Andrew
would say) sheer stubbornness.
I have tried lots of different
exercise regimes and find water therapy the most effective and least
damaging on my joints. It is amazing how much more movement you
can get in warm water because your muscles are relaxed.
For the
first 8 years I travelled to the Waikato Hospital twice a week to use
the physiotherapy pool but eventually got so frustrated trying to find
suitable parking and with the limited times I could attend. I was
working full time then and there are only 2 half hour sessions a day
for outpatients and none were after hours so I made the decision to
stop going and try to find an alternative pool to exercise in. I
have not been able to though, as many other issues arrived like: water
temperature being too cold, which causes muscle spasms and shivering;
difficulty getting in and out of the pool by myself; inadequate
changing rooms; and the pool in Te Awamutu is too far to travel.
Not
exercising in the water has definitely been a factor in my mobility
worsening and at the age of 28 the need to have a hip replacement
operation.
I am now 40 years old and besides being a Mum
of a 2 year old daughter, Holly I run a part time Beauty Therapy
business. In the future it is possible more children will
come along, so it is imperative my mobility is the best it can
be.
A hydrotherapy pool is hugely vital for me.
The warm water gives me such relief. I will definitely use the
new hydrotherapy pool at least 2 to 3 times a week and I am looking
forward to being able to use it on the weekends too when perhaps we as
a family can enjoy being in the water together.
I am
only one story of many Hamiltonians that desperately need this
hydrotherapy pool built for their quality of life. There is something I
need to get across and this is, that the Hydrotherapy Pool is not just
for people who have disabilities or arthritis. I have no
doubt that everyone in the city will, at some stage in their life, need
this facility whether it’s for recovery from surgery, sporting
injuries, illness or maybe old age creeping up.
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