Floyds Knobs resident Emma Didat doesn’t complain — quite a feat considering the hand she has been dealt. She is retired but works longer hours than many who are employed full-time.
Though she is nearing 70, her aches and pains aren’t typical and don’t come and go with the change in the weather. Didat suffers from lupus, a chronic inflammatory disease that can affect several parts of the body, specifically the skin, joints and organs.
Yet, she still remains positive.
“[Emma] is just incredible,” Maria Schulz said.
Schulz is a registered nurse at Southern Indiana Rehab and a neighbor to Didat.
“Anytime life deals you a blow, it’s up to you to rise above,” she said. “Emma encourages others.”
That is why Schulz nominated Didat to be honored during the recent 2009 Arthritis Walk in Louisville. The walk raises money for the Arthritis Foundation, and Schulz served as co-chair for this year’s event.
“A big mission is [also] to get awareness out about arthritis,” Schulz said.
Schulz, a fellow arthritis sufferer, explained that the disease can be devastating for those with it, and for that reason, it was important to support and recognize them.
Didat also suffers from CREST syndrome, a disease characterized by the stiffening of the skin, the swelling of blood vessels near the skin’s surface and the dysfunction of the esophagus.
Though Didat deals with these diseases, she has been the sole caregiver for her husband Robert, who has had Parkinson’s disease for the past eight years.
“I’m a private person,” Didat said. “I don’t like to toot my own horn.”
“She’s an inspiration,” Schulz said. She said Didat’s outlook helped encourage others that suffer from arthritis to persevere.
The award surprised Didat, but she felt fortunate in knowing that she was, in her own way, helping others.
“The pain [of arthritis] is something you can’t see, you just feel it,” she said.
Didat was glad that other people saw what she was doing as a testament to how it is possible to overcome and cope with the disease.
“I’m flabbergasted and honored that people think so much of me,” she said.
ON THE WEB
• arthritis.org
BY THE NUMBERS
46 million — the number of people who live with the daily pain of arthritis
— Arthritis Foundation
SO YOU KNOW
• The Arthritis Walk is the Arthritis Foundation’s annual nationwide event that raises awareness and funds to fight arthritis, the nation’s most common cause of disability.
— Arthritis Foundation
Floyd County
Floyds Knobs’ woman honored at Arthritis Walk
Emma Didat called ‘an inspiration’
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