Faith and humor help arthritis sufferer cope

Her body may be wracked with the "pains of hell," but her faith keeps Mary Doris Egerton close to heaven.

Miss Egerton learned at an early age to bounce back from adversity. As a newborn, a bee stung her face as she lay in her stroller decked out in her Baptismal gown. Despite her screams and a cheek that was "swollen up like a balloon," a nearby doctor insisted she be taken into the church for the ceremony.

As a schoolgirl, she was once slammed into a brick gymnasium wall so hard during a basketball game that, in her words, "There's still an impression of my outline."

Later, as a pioneer in the vocation of guidance counselling, Miss Egerton disciplined herself to rise and shine with the roosters so she could attend daily Mass before work -- a way to recharge her spiritual batteries.

But by far her greatest test of endurance and resiliency has come during the past few years, as the retired educator has struggled to cope with a crippling disease: rheumatoid arthritis.

`Giant toothache'

"Some days, it's like your body has a giant, throbbing toothache that won't go away. Other days, it's even worse. You feel you are literally suffering the pains of hell," explained Miss Egerton, a long-time parishioner of St. Joseph's Church in Rensselaer.

Symptoms of the incurable disorder include inflammation and swelling of joint membranes as well as stiffness, fatigue and appetite loss. Since being diagnosed with the disease in March 1995, Miss Egerton has lost 60 pounds and become proficient in the use of a lift chair, walker and four-legged cane.

Even so, she insists the hardest part of having the disease for her has not been the suffering, but her loss of independence.

"I've always been able to be totally independent. Now, I can barely get out of a chair by myself. Some days, it takes me half an hour just to put on my socks; I can't even open a bottle of milk or soda. Sleeping some nights is impossible. But God sustains me. He's been my personal friend all my life," said Miss Egerton.

Faith a help

A devotee of the Sacred Heart and Blessed Mother and a frequent communicant at St. Michael's church in Troy (the closest church to her home), Miss Egerton relies on her faith to sustain her: "I remind myself that this is all a part of God's plan and try to put myself totally in His hands."

Having once served as a Eucharistic minister who brought Communion to those confined to hospitals and nursing homes, she is keenly aware that her plight could be worse. "Most days I force myself to get out of the house. I love life and I love to see people laugh. Wherever I go, I usually stop and try to say something cheerful, even if I don't know the person I'm talking to. You never know how people will react, but most times, they smile and that makes me feel good."

Active years

Miss Egerton's active past belies her present condition. After graduating at 16 as class valedictorian at Van Rensselaer High School, she attended New York State Teachers' College (now part of SUNY at Albany). She was a member of the college's Neumann Club and played on the tennis, ping-pong and basketball teams.

Miss Egerton earned her degree in three years and began her first teaching job at age 19, at a country school in East Nassau. Asked how she managed to keep order in a classroom full of students only a year or two younger than herself, she confessed: "I told them a whopper. I said I was 30 -- and I must have said it with great conviction, because none of them ever dared to ask my age after the first day."

That job was followed by a stint at West Albany Junior High School before she moved on to Colonie Central High School, where she taught English while working on her Master's degree in guidance counselling. After those credentials were secured, Miss Egerton was given an office from which she would counsel students over the next three decades. On the way to work each morning, she'd duck into St. Pius X church in Loudonville for daily Mass.

Early end

"I loved my work, but had to take an early retirement at age 55 because my legs were starting to give out and I couldn't manage the stairs and the long walks in the corridors anymore," explained Miss Egerton. "Leaving was hard because teaching and guidance had been my life, but I made up my mind to make the most of it and do other things."

Those "things" ultimately involved service to the Church as well as participation in retreats and other spiritual programs. Next week, for example, she'll be celebrating her 72nd birthday on a retreat facilitated by Christian A.M. Carr, O.C.S.O. in South Carolina. Miss Egerton has also volunteered her time for Mercy House in Albany, the St. Vincent de Paul Society and the Little Sisters of the Poor.

In God's hands

As a guidance counsellor, Miss Egerton preached the importance of goal-setting, and it's a principle she continues to practice in her own life."When I wake up in the morning, I put myself in God's hands and ask for the strength to get through another day. As often as possible, I get to Mass, and if I can't get to church in person, I try to find a service or religious program I can watch on TV."

Her greatest dream is to become a member of the Franciscan Missionaries of Jesus Crucified, a secular group for the disabled with Siena College ties.

"It may take years, but time has taught me to be patient," reflected Miss Egerton. "If it's in God's plan for me, it will happen one day."

Sidebar story...
Childhood chum a familiar face

As a child, Mary Doris Egerton found two special friends in her neighborhood: her brother, Jerome, and a Catholic lad named Jack -- better known today as Rev. John French, pastor of St. Mary's parish in Ballston Spa.

"Where I-90 is today was all woods in those days, and Jack and I used to love to build tents using blankets and chairs. We'd also go over to St. Anthony-on-the-Hudson and pick violets, ferns and Jack-in-the-pulpits," Miss Egerton remembered.

"I'd often ask Jack what he wanted to be when he grew up, and he always replied, `A priest.' It never varied. He'd ask me what I wanted to be, and I'd always reply, `A teacher.' It never varied. We both knew exactly what we wanted to do with our lives from a very early age." (AH)

(07-17-97) [[In-content Ad]]