Eileen Brown has had just about every joint replaced that is possible in her body. Her shoulders, knees, knuckles, right hip and left elbow have all been replaced. Mrs. Brown suffers from rheumatoid arthritis. She has had over 12 operations and now has so much metal in her body that she sets off the alarms at the airports. Brown tries to keep a positive outlook on her situation although she says she experiences her days of extreme pain, however she says she has to maintain a positive outlook on her life. Rheumatoid arthritis does not normally begin to affect people until they are in their 40s, however Brown began to become afflicted with symtoms in her 20s.
Mrs Brown’s operations began in the late 1980s after rheumatoid arthritis was diagnosed in the fingers of her left hand. About three years later, the pain had become so unbearable it was decided her knuckle should be replaced with a plastic joint. By the 1990s her wrists had fused together, leaving her unable to bend her hands, then her right knee started playing up.
Her medical problems took a twist when fell from a ladder while cleaning in 2003 – breaking the metal joint in her left shoulder and the bone in her upper arm. Unfortunately, Mrs Brown contracted septicaemia, and her metal shoulder had to be removed. The infection spread down the left arm, so the upper bone also had to be taken out and instead filled with a special type of padding. To make matters worse, the infection then spread to her right shoulder, and a section of damaged bone had to be removed too. Despite being pumped with antibiotics she became critically ill and doctors didn’t expect her to survive. She was read the Last Rites in hospital but miraculously pulled through and made a full recovery.
As a legacy of her problems she can no longer raise her arms above shoulder height. ‘It’s a pain wearing bras and strappy tops. They just slip down because my shoulders cannot keep them up.’
Posted by focopo 
Unusual People 