How I Dealt with Rheumatism

by Kazuko Kuboyama (Headquarters)

In about 1992, I fell down and was bedridden, which caused my rheumatism to suddenly become worse. I went from one hospital to another, but I continued to get worse. It got so bad that it was painful just to breathe. It seemed as though I would be bedridden for life. Rheumatism is said to
be due to a disorder of the immune system, and neither the mechanism of the disease nor the best treatment are completely understood. Steroids and tranquilizers give relief for a few hours, but they have terrible side effects affecting the stomach and other organs. I felt as though the medicine it_self was killing me.
At that point, in order to receive the best and most up-to-date treatment, I went to the U.S. But even there I got nothing but symptomatic therapy. But rehabilitation programs there are much better than those in Japan, and I started to be able to exercise and gradually got stronger, but I still couldn't walk more than 100 yards unaided, even with leg supports. I couldn't dress my_self, and couldn't even squeeze the toothpaste out of the tube. I realized that it would be difficult to return to an "ordinary" life.
Depressed, I asked my American doctor what I could do, and he recommended that I begin practicing T'ai-chi, whereupon I returned to Japan and started taking lessons at AJSMAF. At first, I just couldn't practice for a full 90 minutes, so I had to keep taking breaks during class. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to continue. But I kept coming to practice, mostly because I felt I should.
After practicing T'ai-chi for 3 years, I became very healthy. My fingers and joints have straightened out, and I seem even better than before I suffered from severe rheumatism! (Laughter.) And I don't even get colds any more. My doctor says it's very rare for rheumatism to be cured completely, but he also says that I appear to be better. T'ai-chi seems to have strengthened my immune system and helped suppress the disease. So I can heartily recommend T'ai-chi to anyone suffering from the torture of rheumatism and to anyone else who wants to enjoy a better, healthier life.