It’s a day like any other for Nisha Mapara. After visiting a family friend, the mother of two is heading home. She walks to her car, opens the door and sits behind the steering wheel. Nothing out of the ordinary, until she is suddenly overwhelmed by a stabbing pain in her right hand. She’s unable to grip the key and insert it in the ignition. Nisha panics. This is a sensation she has never experienced. Her friend observes her distress and rushes over to help, eventually starting the car for her and ensuring Nisha can drive home.
What Nisha endured some 40 years ago was no isolated incident. The next day, the pain travelled to her left hand. Her legs followed before her entire body was enveloped in agony. Arthritis had invaded her world with ferocity, and it would be a constant companion for the rest of her life. It would also be the catalyst for an exceptionally generous, $100,000-donation to Arthritis Society Canada in 2024.
New life, new diagnosis
Nisha and her now-deceased husband immigrated to Canada from Uganda in 1972. They were refugees, expelled from the East African country owing to their Indian background. “We didn’t have a dollar with us, only what we had on,” Nisha remembers.
The pair had done well for themselves – she was a chemist, he a pharmacist and business owner – but had to leave everything behind when they were forced to flee. Arriving in Canada, they had to start over from scratch. They were building a new life, but everything in Nisha’s orbit changed the day she felt the searing presence of arthritis.
Although she sought care, it was more than a year before Nisha received a rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis. She took several tests and even contended with one rheumatologist who was convinced she was “faking it” to seek attention. Throughout this time, arthritis accelerated its attack on her body, pushing her to quit her job as a chemist.
“I helped the family from home because I couldn’t work as a chemist anymore. I couldn’t stand on my feet all day, and my hands got crooked,” she says. “I was very fortunate that my husband had a good profession. It meant I didn’t have to go to work, and some people have to for income – they don’t have a choice.”
When Nisha was finally put on medication, her life turned around. It wasn’t that she was pain-free, but she could manage her disease and begin to give back to the community and country for which she was deeply grateful.
An enduring spirit of giving
For years, Nisha has volunteered with the Canadian Red Cross. For more than three decades, she has coordinated a walking group at her local mall – she believes walking and weekly yoga sessions in her basement for herself and a dozen others have been essential to managing life with arthritis. She’s also no stranger to Arthritis Society Canada.
During Nisha’s early years with the disease, Arthritis Society Canada was a steadfast source of support. With clarity, she recalls a staff member from Arthritis Society Canada’s Ottawa branch visiting her home to fit her for a hand splint. She remembers trips to the Ottawa office to pick up products. To this day, she tunes in to the organization’s webinars on helpful tips for managing arthritis, among other topics.
“Arthritis Society Canada has been there whenever I’ve needed something. I know all about the good work Arthritis Society Canada does,” she says.
Her positive experience with the organization and her desire to give back are what inspired her donation, which will specifically fuel rheumatoid arthritis research.
“Everything I have now is thanks to Canada. I’m grateful for all the good things Canada has done for me and my family, and I want to give back,” she says.
Narrowing her focus, she continues: “I’m in my 70s. I’ve been on injections for 27 years. They’ve helped, but the pain never goes away. I know what it means to suffer with arthritis. I want to give so more research can be done and more people can be helped. My goal is to ensure no one else suffers.”