Knocking On The Gate Of Life

Dorothy Marks, accredited in July 1988 submitted the following article which appeared in Intercom Magazine, published by St. Luke’s Hospital, Kansas City, MO. Joe Wythe, Instructor, Dorothy Marks, Asst. Instructor at the hospital. Dorothy has a proposal to Independence Regional Hospital for a TCC class.

The phrase, “knocking on the gate of life” has a double meaning for 37-year-old Dorothy McKnight. Not only is it the name of the warm up in her T’ai Chi Chih class, it also describes Dorothy’s personality.

Dorothy takes a T’ai Chi Chih class as therapy for psoriatic arthritis, a disease of the joints, which she contracted in 1968 at age 17. It started in her knees, and developed rapidly. “One day I was fine, and the next I had arthritis,” Dorothy says. She missed more than three months of her senior year in high school because of her illness.

Dorothy’s arthritis went into remission when she was 20 years old, but by the time she was 26 it flared up again. Dorothy came to Kent Huston, MD, a rheumatologist at St. Luke’s Hospital, who checked her into the Comprehensive Rheumatoid Arthritis and Rehabilitation Unit. The program is designed to assess the patient’s condition, regulate medication and provide both physical and occupational therapies.

Dorothy has high praises for the Comprehensive Rheumatoid Arthritis and Rehabilitation Unit. She claims it taught her to cope with having a chronic disease. Dorothy thinks that one of the main benefits of the program is the opportunity to interact with other people who suffer from the same disease.

Dorothy’s positive attitude is one result of the program, and a reason why her treatment has progressed as far as it has. But she admits it “took her awhile to bend her will.”

Arthritis sufferers have a great deal of control over how much exercise they get, which is an essential aspect of treatment. A full range of motion in each joint is recommended daily. Dorothy realizes that she needs to exercise, although it’s painful for her.

Dorothy’s major form of exercise is the T’ai Chi Chih class she attends twice weekly at the hospital’s Center for Health Enhancement. T’ai Chi Chih is based on an ancient Chinese system of exercise consisting of a series of repetitive, non-strenuous motions. T’ai Chi Chih emphasizes meditation through movement, and is ideal for the arthritis patient because it provides greater mobility, coordination and flexibility.

Dorothy’s class consists of an instructor who leads the group in 20 movements whose names vary from Daughter on the Mountaintop and Passing Clouds to Pulling Taffy. The mood is casual and relaxed, and Chinese music plays softly in the background. Visualization and concentration tools are used to help the students “pull in their energy.” In one instance, Dorothy was told by the instructor to move with softness and continuity, as if she were in slow motion in a dream.

T’ai Chi Chih movements stretch joints and strengthen muscles. Dorothy, who has only been practicing T’ai Chi Chih for little more than a month, says that she has noticed a marked improvement in her condition since she has been going to the class.

“I’m a lot more limber than I used to be,” Dorothy says. She adds that getting out and going to class is a lot more stimulating than watching an exercise tape at home. The gentle movements of T’ai Chi Chih help alleviate Dorothy’s arthritis pain, which provides strong motivation for her to continue the class. “I know that slowly but surely exercise will ease the pain. I believe I wouldn’t be able to stand now if I hadn’t gone through the program,” she says.

Truly, Dorothy is “knocking at the gate of life” with both hands. She has learned not to let her disease become a stumbling block, but to work around it to reach her full potential, and enjoy all that life has to offer.