NJ mom battles rheumatoid arthritis by tackling an Ironman: 'What I won't do is give up'

Susanne Cervenka | Asbury Park Press

Show Caption Hide Caption Epic bucket list challenge for Brick woman with Rheumatoid arthritis Christine Conti of Brick enters the Ironman Competition after crippling diagnosis

BRICK - When Christine Conti was first diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, her thoughts went to her grandmother Jeanne – confined to a wheelchair, essentially paralyzed from the neck down by the disease.

It was not the life Conti had built for herself. Conti was a lifelong athlete and a coach. She’d turned her love of health and fitness into a business venture, working as a personal trainer and a fitness podcaster.

"All I could picture was my grandmother who could not move. My whole life movement and exercise was everything. It’s what defined me," said Conti, 38, of Brick.

Conti sat down and created her bucket list with all the fitness activities she wanted to do before her body failed her.

Conti will cross off her list arguably the biggest item this weekend as she tackles Ironman Lake Placid in New York, a major endurance triathlon where competitors will swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and run 26.2 miles without breaks. You can see her training for the competition in the video at the top of the page.

In the process, Conti is sharing her story about rheumatoid arthritis and raising money for charity.

"One day I’m not going to be able to do this, but it's not today," she said.

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Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that impacts about 1.5 million Americans and three times as many women as men, according to the Rheumatoid Arthritis Foundation.

Doctors don’t fully understand the cause, but something causes the immune system, which typically fends off bacteria and viruses, to go awry and attack the body’s joints, causing inflammation, swelling and pain.

Left untreated, rheumatoid arthritis can permanently damage cartilage and bone in the joint. It can also impact cardiovascular, nervous and respiratory systems.

Conti’s odds of having rheumatoid arthritis were higher because of her family history. Her cousin was diagnosed in her late 30s. It hit her older sister in her late 40s.

Conti thought she may have escaped the disease that so severely impacted her grandmother. She had aches and pains, but chalked that up to her athletic lifestyle, as a volleyball player growing up, then as a part-time personal trainer.

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But then she started having problems with her hands. She couldn't grip objects as simple as a pen or a soda bottle. Her hands were constantly swollen and in pain.

She started dropping things. The pain started moving to the rest of her body.

The pain reached a breaking point when Conti, who at the time was also a full-time English teacher, was struggling to get the key to unlock her classroom into the lock. Tears started rolling down her face

"I remember welling up because, oh my God, I can’t use my hands," she said.

In 2012, Conti received the diagnosis she was hoping she had avoided. That constant feeling of pain wasn’t just an old sports injury, but an aggressive form of rheumatoid arthritis.

It was devastating news for Conti who, at the time, dedicated about two hours each day to her personal fitness and training others. Movement had always been her escape, her therapy.

Conti faced a choice.

"You can lay down and die and feel bad for yourself. Or you can take this and use it as a gift," she said.

She began an intensive treatment in an attempt to put the disease into remission, giving herself a cocktail of injections, including methotrexate, a drug that is also used in chemotherapy for cancer patients.

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And Conti also started her bucket list. She had always wanted to run a half-marathon. Then she thought a bit more. A marathon made it on to her list.

"I don’t know how much time I have with my body," she said. "If I only have 10 years, I want to check it off the list."

Conti had no expectations for her list, other than to complete it. She ran her first marathon in under 4 hours.

She ran another marathon. Then another. Soon, she qualified for the Boston Marathon, an accomplishment achieved by only a small percentage of runners.

Then, five years ago, Conti became pregnant with her second child, a daughter. But it turned out to be a blessing twice over: Her doctors believe the hormones caused by the pregnancy helped push her rheumatoid arthritis into remission.

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Conti kept running, completing 30 marathons in all including five Boston Marathons. She kept working out and training others.

The pain and inflammation returned. She decided to leave her teaching job to focus on her family, her health and her love of fitness.

On a whim, Conti entered the Jersey Girl Triathlon last year, crossing the finish line first but ultimately placing second in the race.

It inspired her to expand her bucket list once again: Conti applied and was accepted to compete in Ironman Lake Placid on behalf of the Ironman Foundation, raising money for charity in the process. The first $3,600 she raises will go to the Ironman Foundation, with excess dollars going toward rheumatoid arthritis research.

She’s been documenting her journey through the grueling Ironman training while also undergoing her second bout of treatment.

Conti said there are plenty of times when she’s feeling terrible. The pain keeps her up at night. The medication can make her lungs burn, impacting her breathing at times.

But she still keeps training. And she hopes to give inspiration to others facing rheumatoid arthritis: Don’t stop moving.

"Your health is a gift," she said. "Don’t tell me what you can’t do. Tell me what you can do."

And as Conti heads to Lake Placid this weekend, she’s taking the same approach to the Ironman as she does her disease.

"I don’t care what time I finish this race. If I have to doggie paddle on the swim, I’ll do it," she said. "What I won’t do is give up."

Susanne Cervenka: @scervenka; 732-643-4229; scervenka@gannettnj.com