Reason #4 Why Alexander Hamilton Hates Arthritis: Missin' Work

Arthritis flare-ups can keep you out of work. Just ask Alexander Hamilton, whose bouts with the pesky rheumatism had him in this state in the last months of 1777, when he was fighting in Washington's military, according to Ron Chernow's book on the man:

"The frantic rides up and down the Hudson damages Hamilton's always fragile health. On November 12, he wrote to Washington from New Windsor to explain his delay in returning: 'I have been detained here these two days by a fever and violent rheumatic pains throughout my body.' Despite his illness, Hamilton continued to direct the movement of troops slated to win Washington and went downriver to Peekskill to apply maximum pressure on Putnam's brigades. There, in late November, a haggard Hamilton climbed into bed at the home of Dennis Kennedy. It seemed uncertain whether he would recover. In a letter to Governer Clinton, Captain I. Gibbs wrote that he feared that the combined fevers and chills might prove mortal. On November 25, he reported that Hamilton 'seemed to have all the appearance of drawing nigh his last, being seized with a coldness in his extremities, and he remained so for a space of two hours, then survived.' On November 27, when the chill again invaded his legs from feet to knees, the attending physician thought he wouldn't last. However, 'he remained in this situation for near four hours, after which the fever abated very much and from that time he has been getting much better.' ...
Right before Christmas, Hamilton set out to rejoin Washington, only to collapse again near Morristown. He was taken back in a hired coach for further rest in Peekskill, where he was nourished on a hearty diet of mutton, oranges, potatoes, quail, and partridge. Not until January 20, 1778, did Hamilton rejoin his colleagues at winter quarters in Valley Forge, near Philadelphia ...'

Alexander Hamilton isn't alone in missing work because of the pain and debilitation of rheumatic disease: According to the Arthritis Foundation, arthritis costs the economy $128 billion. These costs include $81 billion in direct costs for expenses like physician visits and surgical interventions and $47 billion in indirect costs for missed work days.

If you hate arthritis as much as Alexander Hamilton does, throw a Hamilton-adorned 10-spot at the problem: Visit my secure website to make your contribution. Every $10 donation helps to assuage the bitter contempt Alexander Hamilton (the real one) holds for rheumatological diseases, even from beyond the grave.