A Dublin man revealed how he collapsed to the floor crying after suffering from arthritis and chronic pain for nearly three decades.
Rory Richardson, who is in his mid-40s, said he was looking at all the medication he had to take when he was overcome with a feeling of helplessness. He said: "In October of last year, I had been feeling pretty down because of the pain, I just felt beaten up and I was holding everything inside.
"Then on one Sunday morning I was standing looking at all the medication I had to take and I collapsed onto the floor. I cried like I have never cried in my life. It was horrible because the kids were upstairs and I didn’t want them to hear me or see me like that."
Read more: Irish health officials confirm 14 new cases of monkeypox
But he said his breakdown was the best thing that could have happened to him as he finally found the help he needed after nearly 30 years of trying. Rory was only 20 years old when he was diagnosed with arthritis.
He said: "I suffered from knee pains in my late teens and at the age of twenty, I discovered that I had arthritis in my right knee. I had four or five surgeries in the next four years."
The surgeries were a success and the pain in his knee cleared up but the relief was short-lived as Rory began to develop back pain that would cause him to lose the power in one or both of his legs. "It was really scary not knowing what it was and there would be no warning for it whatsoever," he added.
After ten years of constant pain, Rory was finally diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) by Professor Conor McCarthy in the Mater Hospital. Ankylosing Spondylitis is a rare type of arthritis that causes your spine and other areas of your body to become inflamed.
Rory said: "I was put on a drug for six months to see if that would help with the symptoms but unfortunately it didn’t. I was then moved onto a 12 week course of injections and after the first one I felt massively better.
"I hadn’t been on the injections long though before arthritis in my knee flared up again and that led to another couple of surgeries and ultimately a knee replacement in 2018."
After Rory found himself crying on the floor from the unbearable pain, he was taken back to the Mater to see a pain management counsellor. His consultant also made changes to the drugs he was taking.
He added: "I found the counselling really beneficial and now if I feel a little bit negative about something, I just think of my girls and all things that I do have.
"From the time that I met Conor McCarthy, right up to today with the team in Rheumatology, everyone in the Mater has been brilliant. They’re so attentive and they have been so reassuring to my wife as well.
"We can’t begin to thank them enough for all they have done for us, they are an absolutely fantastic team."
The Mater Foundation is currently running its The Longest Day fundraising campaign throughout the month of June to raise vital funds for the Mater Public Hospital. To find out more and to donate, visit www.materfoundation.ie.
Read next:
Dublin toddler left with life-changing injuries after car accident
Dublin grandad's plea for help to get beloved wife life-saving treatment
Friends rally together to raise money for woman's life-saving treatment
Inner city community rally together after sudden death of 12-year-old boy
Sign up to the Dublin Live Newsletter to get all the latest Dublin news straight to your inbox.
