My friend Reidy

Poor Reidy.

She's having a nightmare.

She's been diagnosed with Lupus, a really nasty form of arthritis that is caused and made worse by stress, that also attacks the vital organs over time- lungs, heart, liver.

It causes terrible stiffness in every joint, where she cannot stand up, and sometimes there is the awful symptom known as 'trigger finger'. She cannot unbend one or two fingers on her hand, and if she tries, agony ensues. She has had to have injections for this, bewteen the webs of her fingers. She tells me this is the most hideous pain she has ever known.

She is such a beautiful girl is our Jane - tall and blonde, with fine procleain skin and features.

She is a good person too, full of fun and frolicks.

A good cook, a great housekeeper, a hard worker and mum, and a loving friend.

There is no cure for this condition, and as far as I know, it is progressive. The less stress in your life, the better, but I think it still has an accumulative and ultimately devastating affect on the body.

She has been diagnosed for a year now, and due to a stormy, stressful realtionship (which she has now ended), it is showing in her blood more than ever.

Her doctor has threatened to commit her if she does not follow the programme that has now been set, not because she is mentally disturbed, but because she needs to be absolutely stress free for a spell.


We had a nice little talk last night, and I hope she will take me up on the offer of all the help I can give.

I'm best as a listening ear and a giver of love and support, and I am always happy to be a source of fun and relaxation for her. It's been prescribed by the doctor that we must go out and laugh lots!

So we are going out to a little club in Ascot tonight, just to hear some live music and drink copious amounts of brandy!