If you were diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, Sjogen’s Syndrome and Osteoporosis at 16 and wheelchair-bound by 26, you would probably give up hope of ever living a normal life again.

Not for plucky Amye L. Leong, international spokesperson for the United Nations-endorsed Bone and Joint Decade 2000-2010, who was named one of ‘America’s 50 Heroes’ by the American Arthritis Foundation. Amye was instrumental in developing America’s education, support and advocacy programme for arthritic patients.

“As a teenager, I was in pain all the time when my peers were making friends and future plans. I went into denial for awhile, but I snapped out of it and decided not let my arthritis handicap me,’” she recalled.

Determined, she went from doctor to doctor to reconstruct almost every joint in her body to function like a normal person’s.

‘Basically what I did was to develop an action plan, which involved modifying my lifestyle to lessen the stress on her painful joints. That meant balancing my days with enough exercise and rest to lessen the attacks, she explained.

Another important thing is having a positive attitude. “Stop the guilt, and avoid self-defeating thoughts and habits. These include over-working, being overly-stressed, not taking good nutrition and resting enough. All these will weaken the immune system, which will lead to an arthritic attack,’ Amye advises.

Her biggest achievements include getting married and climbing the Great Wall of China with some arthritic friends. “It was a dream come true for me, as I never thought someone who has been through so many surgeries could do these. If I could, so can any arthritis patient!” she concluded.