Thank you so much! I don't want to be seen as a wimp. I'm so glad to have found somewhere that there are people like me who understand.

My mother has had rheumatoid arthritis since she was 30, but she'll miss out on things like the county fair or being able to go shopping when she's at the coast or anything else like that because she refuses to use a wheelchair. Personally, I think that's false pride. Anything that will allow for mobility seems much better to me. She just has to hobble in and sit somewhere, which keeps her kids and grandkids from enjoying things, too, because they feel guilty just leaving her behind and it's just because she refuses to be in a wheelchair.