1,825 On the Bounce

 

There's an expression often used in sports, "on the bounce".  It means in a row with nothing between. "That team has lost 9 games on the bounce." 

It feels like that expression applies in spades to daily dealings with rheumatoid arthritis. 

That person has lived 1,825 days with rheumatoid arthritis on the bounce. Feels appropriate given the string of nearly unrelenting challenges that accompany this condition.

The difference between sports commentary and living with rheumatoid arthritis is that eventually, the streak breaks in sports. Whether winning or losing, the streak in winning games or losing games will change. 

For people with rheumatoid arthritis, science and medicine have produced lucrative and somewhat effective drugs for some versions of the condition or pain, but not for all. 

What's more, a cure does not exist. Although we would love to hear a story of someone with n number of days on the bounce with RA and then the streak breaks and she lives pain-free forever---that's fantasy, not reality.

So what happens with teams that experience loss in streaks? Many times coaches focus on process and practice. 

Instructive? Possibly.

Exhausting? Almost certainly.

Disappointing? Nearly always.