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June 2, 2002Arthritis can't stop her from competingTRAVERSE CITY - It all started with "golf camp" with her grandparents. That is where Traverse City Central senior Sarah Lewis developed her love for the game of golf. It was nurtured through junior golf and blossomed during three years on the high school team.Nothing was going to keep her from playing during her senior year. Not the fact that she needs to ride in a power cart. Not the fact that it can be a struggle to get out of bed in the morning. Lewis suffers from psoriatic arthritis, which leaves her joints swollen and sore. She was diagnosed with the condition in January, after waking up the previous October with the index and middle finger on her right hand swollen "like sausages." "One day I was fine and the next day I woke up and my fingers were all swollen," Lewis said. "I'm like, 'What is this?'" But give up the game of golf? No way. "It's my last year," Lewis said. "I haven't played golf all these years to not play my senior year of high school. If I don't play this year, it's kind of like a waste, all the time I put into it and all the money I put into it. "Yeah, I have to make a few changes, but it's a game you can play your whole life. It's not like football or soccer." "Sarah can't give up right now, not in golf, not in school and not in everyday life," said her mother, Mitzi. "The day she gives up is the day she's done living everyday life. She has the strength and the courage to beat this." Lewis is on different types of medication for her psoriatic arthritis. She takes an anti-inflammatory to keep the swelling down and an anti-rheumatic drug to stem the tide of the disease. "I'll always have it," she said. "Right now we're trying to get it under control so I don't damage my joints any further - and then keep it under control." In the meantime, Lewis has had to alter her golf mechanics. This spring she had arthritic grips put on her clubs. The grips are bigger around and easier to grab without squeezing harder. The limited flexibility and strength in her hands also forced Lewis to abandon the standard interlocking grip on the club. "That got to hurt so bad," she said. "Now I just grip it like a baseball bat." Psoriatic arthritis also affected Lewis' backswing. She couldn't take the club back as far because of her shoulders. "I don't have full range of motion," she said. "I have a three-quarter swing now and it gets shorter as it gets colder outside. Shorter but still steady. "She doesn't hit the ball as far," Central golf coach Lois McManus said. "But she's very consistent and right down the middle, which makes her a very consistent golfer." Then there's the power cart. In high school golf, players are required to walk the course and carry their own bag. But doctors told Lewis that walking would sap most of her energy, leaving her little left to execute at least 36 swings during a typical 18-hole round. So she rides on a cart during tournaments. McManus contacts courses where the Trojans play ahead of time, letting them know a cart will be needed. Special permission from the Michigan High School Athletic Association was also needed so Lewis could ride during regionals and this weekend's state finals. "Lois has been flexible and willing to make some adjustments so Sarah can be part of the team," Mitzi Lewis said. Other than a few unknowing glances, Sarah Lewis said nobody minds that she rides in a cart - especially when Lewis or one of her teammates explains why. "They've all been real nice," said Lewis, who added she would give up riding in a second. "The (other) coaches think I'm just doing great and that it's a miracle or something that I'm out there." It may not be a miracle, but it's certainly courageous. "I'm very proud of her," McManus said. "It takes a lot of guts for her to go out there and practice as much as she does in all the cold weather and never say a word. "The only thing she says is, 'I need another hand-warmer, this one is cold.'" To someone with painful joints, cold can be the biggest obstacle. "The more you move, the better you feel," Lewis said. "But once you stop, that's when you start to get stiff." That's why the a.m. is such a p.m. (painful moment). "Mornings are probably the hardest time, right when I roll out of bed," Lewis said. "Right when I first roll out of bed is the most painful part of the day. Then I shuffle to the bathroom, crawl into the shower and let the hot water run over me for half an hour. "Then I'm as loose as I'm going to be for the day." During the season, Lewis has not dropped out of the starting five for the Trojans. And her score is usually one of the four counted by the team. Sarah's contribution to the Trojans has not been overlooked, either. What she has done this season is appreciated by her teammates and even her opponents. At the end of the regular-season, Central and Traverse City West have a friendly match and cookout. The West team presented Lewis with a group of pictures. Signed by the Titans, it now hangs in the family's basement on the "Golf Wall." "That was an acknowledgment from our team that says, 'Hey, you've been a part of girls golf for seven to eight years - in junior golf and through high school,'" said West coach Todd Brown. "We're all friends. They practice over here all the time in the spring. "Even though we like to beat each other's brains out on the golf course, we feel sorry that she's not capable of playing at the level she's accustomed to and we understand that. Here's a nice mural, because we care." Lewis plans to attend Michigan State University in the fall, where her sister Betsy will be a junior. Sarah, who has an internship at the Acme Veterinary Clinic, is considering studying pre-veterinary medicine. But she might switch to pre-med now. "I really like (veterinary medicine) a lot," she said. "I've learned a lot. But I also realize that there's a lot of things I can't do like the surgeries because I don't have the hand motor skills to do all the intricate surgeries and the stitching." Whatever Sarah decides to study, Mark and Mitzi Lewis are confident she will succeed. "It really makes you put life into perspective," Mitzi Lewis said. "Your health, family and doing the things that you love are the most important." |
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