TY - JOUR T1 - Reflections on Rheumatoid Hands JF - The Journal of Rheumatology JO - J Rheumatol SP - 2215 LP - 2215 DO - 10.3899/jrheum.150339 VL - 42 IS - 11 AU - CATHARINE DEWAR Y1 - 2015/11/01 UR - http://www.jrheum.org/content/42/11/2215.2.abstract N2 - To the Editor:Last week I saw a patient for the first time since she started her biologic drug. She was very emotional as she described sitting down at the piano bench and picking out a favorite piece of music. She began to play and it was difficult for her, but she blamed that on lack of practice for more than 5 years. Hearing the piano come alive again, she was overwhelmed with emotion, and that is what she was trying to convey to me. I glanced at her hands and she was “wringing” them and abducting and flexing all her fingers, something she had not been able to do painlessly for a very long time. She was reliving the rebirth of her hands. It is no wonder she was close to tears as she thanked me for my clinical gifts. This brought to mind my mother’s hands, and her own love of classical music.My mother was Helen Catherine Howard, and she died in 1999. She developed rheumatoid … Address correspondence to Dr. C. Dewar, Suite 105, 145 West 15 St., North Vancouver, British Columbia V7M 1R9, Canada. E-mail: c.dewar{at}telus.net ER -