With her energy, easy laugh and gracious manner, it’s no wonder the Arthritis Society so values Anne Riddick.
The South Surrey woman has been volunteering with the Arthritis Society BC & Yukon Division for more than 25 years in a number of capacities, such as being a board member, facilitating arthritis self-management programs, and teaching master trainers.
For Riddick, the self-management work is a labour of love. For the Arthritis Society, she’s an inspiration. She was instrumental in taking the program across Canada and has trained most of the program leaders in the province.
It’s no surprise then she was given the Circle of Honour Award, the society’s highest honour for volunteers presented to only one person each year.
“It was such a shock,” Riddick said with her customary laugh. The award was announced at the 2009 Roundtable on Arthritis Research.
Riddick was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis when she was 14 years old. It’s a condition involving the fusing together and inflammation of the spine, although it can affect other joints as well.
“One of the benefits of volunteering is you get to learn a lot about your own disease and how to manage it,” said Riddick.
“There’s a lot to learn actually. People often think if you have arthritis, there’s nothing you can do about it.
“There’s a lot you can you do.”
She admits that when she started the self-management program in 1989, she did so with a “really closed mind.” After all, she said, she’d had arthritis since she was 14 and she was sure she knew how best to manage it.
“I was blown away,” she admitted, with a laugh.
Riddick said she not only learned a lot of useful information and coping skills she still employs, she has made plenty of new friends. “One of the best parts, too, is making friends. That’s a huge benefit.”
She encourages anyone with arthritis — or any other chronic illness — to make a point of getting out and socializing, “even if you only get out on good days. Even if you have to force yourself.”
For people who have any one of the 100 or so forms of arthritis, Riddick said it’s important to learn about it, to read, to meet others who are dealing with the same issues and, as a caution, to be careful of where you get your information on the internet.