2023-07-30 10:26:14
It’s a bit like the daily life of Sierroise Mélissa Zufferey who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, a disease that can be treated but does not cure, and characterized by inflammation of the joints, mainly the hands and feet.
The Sierroise is forced to live with it. She has suffered from it since she was 8 years old. “I didn’t have much motivation to go out. I was very tired all the time and that’s how we gradually realized that I had a problem”, recalls Melissa Zufferey. Little by little everyday things become a constraint. “It was complicated because at first I didn’t understand what was happening to me. It was also very hard in class. I was trying to hide what was happening to me”.
Sport to exist
Between periods of remission and new outbreaks, Mélissa Zuffferey then turned to sport. Because practicing it relieves pain. Running, trail, triathlon. And the one who is now 30 years old is having a field day. She is even determined to continue in this direction in the future. The Sierroise will also participate in the 50th edition of Sierre-Zinal, on August 12th. A race that she has – literally and figuratively – engraved in her skin. The five 4000s that surround the Val d’Anniviers region are tattooed on his arm. A proof of his attachment to the region.
“I’m doing it as a tribute to my grandpa”Mélissa Zufferey
“This race has great sentimental value. I’m doing it as a tribute to my grandfather,” says Mélissa Zufferey. And to add: “It’s also a big challenge. There is a big climb. It’s still 31 kilometers, 2,200 meters of elevation. It’s not nothing”.
“I have this character of never giving up, no matter the difficulties and the pains”Mélissa Zufferey
In the past, the one who also practices triathlon had already tried to reach the finish line of Sierre-Zinal. And each time, she succeeded, even if sometimes, the course made her see all the colors. “There was an edition where it was horror. I hurt everywhere. It was more a fight than pleasure”, explains the runner. But never did the idea of giving up come to mind. “It’s the mind that did the work. I have this character of never giving up, no matter the difficulties and the pains”.
A disease still barely visible
And this year, it is for the Valais League against rheumatism that she will take the start of the race. A league that she joined only a few months ago to try to make more visible a disease still unknown to the greatest number. “There are 200 clinical pictures when we talk about rheumatism. We are not just talking about rheumatoid arthritis, but also osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, arthritis, back pain”, specifies for her part Lorella Giacca , director of the Valais League against rheumatism. “At the canton level, when we talk about rheumatoid arthritis, we are between 0.5 and 1% of the population. That is a number between 1,700 and 3,000 people”.
The participation of Mélissa Zufferey will also be an opportunity for the Valais League against rheumatism to collect donations thanks to her. Because generally, everyone can one day or another suffer from it, even if the peak of the disease occurs around 40 or 50 years.
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