The Lanzarote Fibromyalgia Patients Association now has a place to carry out activities for people suffering from this disease. The Association's headquarters located on Ramón Franco Street opened on Friday, November 30th. The Island Council's Social Services Councilor, Joaquín Caraballo, the City Council of Arrecife's Councilor for this area, Emilia Perdomo, and the Director of the Lanzarote Health Area, Maria José Costa, were present.
Although the Association was established in 2003, it was not until last September that they obtained a place where they could regularly organize activities. Until that date, they met on Mondays from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in rooms designated for associations of the Arrecife City Council. The president, Matilda Molina, explains that they had been looking for subsidies and a suitable place to do the therapies needed by those who suffer from fibromyalgia for almost two years. There, Molina indicates that there is usually a professional who is in charge of teaching psychomotor skills through individual and group therapies and a massage therapist who gives them massages. They have also received courses in laughter therapy and relaxation, among others.
There are more than 80 people in the Association, but the president explains that it is estimated that there are more than 2,000 people in Lanzarote who suffer from this disease. "It was not known before, but now it is, and we are getting new people, more and more young people, it is a disease that does not respect ages," says Molina.
The Association, in addition to organizing workshops and providing resources to those who suffer from this disease, has its goals. "The first of all is to have an acceptable quality of life," says Molina. In addition to the patient, their work and family environment are also affected. "Almost all of us end up losing our jobs and the family environment does not understand you, then you are alone and when people come to the Association, almost everyone ends up saying the same thing: I finally found someone who understands me."
She also points out that another objective is for the Government of the Canary Islands to consider disability due to fibromyalgia in cases where necessary. "In the Basque Country, Barcelona and Valencia it is considered that disability can be granted for this disease, we ask ourselves, how can it be that being the same disease, some have more rights than others, because one party or another governs".
The disease
Molina explains that all the people in the Association have a similar profile. "We used to be hyperactive people and then it's the opposite, we can't do anything, you live in a body of an older person, I always say that I live in a body of an 80-year-old person, I have no strength, I have no energy... I can't do almost anything and that's very difficult." And fibromyalgia is a chronic rheumatic disease that affects, among other symptoms, pain and fatigue in muscles, ligaments and tendons.
The president has been suffering from it for many years and explains that she maintains "a constant struggle between the body and the mind, because I want to continue doing what I did before but my body does not allow it." However, the years have taught her to cope with it and now she indicates that although "there are good days and bad days", in general she has become a "very laid-back" person. "The day I can do something I do it and the day I can't, well I don't do it."
