The disabled status is because of chronic joint, back, and muscle pain.

The reason for the pain can be summed up as follows:

Back surgery twice for a herniated disk in the same location, knee surgery on both knees for Osteoarthritis (grade IV = bone on bone, almost no cartilage left), surgery on both shoulders for impingement syndrome and hypermobility (they found osteoarthritis here as well), joint pains in fingers, hands, wrists, elbows, shoulders, knees, ankles, mid-foot joints and toes (I only have arthralgia, diffuse joint pains, as a diagnosis, but I suspect damage due to hypermobility, maybe hypermobile EDS but the only way to tell is to wait. (Rheumatism, fibromyalgia, and seronegative have all been excluded.), and muscle pain in my back and neck plus scar tissue.

99 % of the time, I’m smiling and doing fine. I’ve lived with this condition since my early 20’s, about 25 years or so, so I’ve found ways to adjust, adapt, and take my mind off it. Creativity is my main escape, so that’s what I do the most.

It does cause fatigue, and an energy level which suffers under tasks I don’t like doing, so I’m going for a future with more of what I love, and less of the boring stuff (like housework, bookkeeping, and repetitive tasks).