See Jane Go. Go, Jane, Go!

I always pass compliments along to my mom whenever people admire my hand-knitted sweaters andcoats or crocheted afghans. She’s not knitting and crocheting as much as she’d like to anymore. The arthritis in her hands hurts too much. Recently I noticed a big bump on her right one, which, Mom explained, developed after an old friend had given her a warm handclasp.

“When you squeeze the hands of arthritic people, they go right through the ceiling,” Jane Wyman told me during our phone interview. The actress, who won an Oscar for “Johnny Belinda” (1948) and is the ex-wife of former President Reagan, threw herself into the role of spokeswoman and fund-raiser for the Arthritis Foundation some 31 years ago at the behest of a friend who had arthritis. The foundation is celebrating its 50th anniversary this month, which is also National Arthritis Month.

“It’s not a very glamorous disease. You know what I mean? Like heart gets everything and cancer gets everything--you can have all of that and still have arthritis,” Wyman, 84, pointed out. “So, it’s a quiet kind of dedication, you know? You can’t get out there and blast and say, ‘Now, you do this and you do that.’ ”

Question: What do you do when you want to greet someone, say, my mom?

A: Well, you just lay your hand out, they put their hand on yours, you put your other hand on theirs and that is their greeting, and the smile that comes over their face. . . .

Q: You travel all over the country to raise funds and open up chapters. Where’s all this energy coming from?

A: I don’t know. I was born that way. I don’t sit still long and I like to do things. I get a project, and then once it’s finished, I forget about it and go to the next one.

Q: I’d like to hear what you have to say about the impact of diet and exercise on arthritis and aging, for that matter.

A: As a matter of fact, nobody wants to admit it, but you really do have to lose weight because it puts too much weight on the bones. You really should cut out the fat and the sweets. You don’t have to have ‘em every single meal. In other words, work out a diet that is pleasant for you and stay with it. So what if it gets a little boring?

Q: Do you follow a certain diet?

A: No.

Q: What do you eat?

A: I eat anything.

Q: Tell me what you usually fix for breakfast and lunch.

A: Well, I have orange juice, cereal and bananas. And I love waffles. So I have a waffle for lunch.

Q: Put maple syrup on it?

A: I certainly do.

Q: And butter?

A: Certainly do. You know what I do? I get those Hungry Jack waffles and you put ‘em into the toaster. That’s the only way to fly. I’m out so much for dinner, I’ll usually have chicken, with rice, vegetables or salad. I’m not a big eater.

Q: And then what about exercise?

A: Well, you have to be very careful with the exercises. They should be governed by someone who knows because you can be exercising a joint that shouldn’t be exercised at all. Walking is the best thing in the whole world. Get a good, comfortable pair of shoes on--you don’t have to walk to Kalamazoo and back--and just walk a block and remember that you have to come back. Don’t get carried away and go two blocks. Everything in moderation.

Q: Do you take walks?

A: Yeah, I can walk.

Q: Are you still golfing?

A: Not anymore. I used to play golf a lot, but I had a bad fall.

Q: I’m so sorry. What happened?

A: A couple of years ago I fell on the marble in my entrance hall, and I have a bone bruise so I can’t make the swing. And it just doesn’t seem to want to give. In the meantime, the doctor said it would not be wise for me to play golf and I always played golf every day.

Q: Falling is really scary the older you get.

A: I had a “jungle gym” put in my bathroom so I wouldn’t fall. They put a rod in the shower and two in the bath because it’s one of those that’s very deep.

Q: You must miss being able to play golf.

A: Well, I do, but with me, if that’s it, that’s it. In other words, there’s no sense brooding about it, so forget it.

Q: Besides walking, are you getting any other exercise?

A: Oh, yeah. The doctor gave me a list of things that I do, and it takes about 15 minutes.

Q: Are you doing stretches?

A: You just want to keep your muscles firm, you know. They’re just little . . . I can’t explain this to you on the phone, you silly girl.

Q: Well, you’re probably flexing your limbs, does that sound right?

A: Yeah, you flex your limbs. You lay down on your back, and you raise the leg and then you lower it and then you’re using your back. Oh, another good one is to stand at the kitchen sink and go up on your toes. Anybody can do that. Just go up and down, up and down.

Q: Do you get any support from Hollywood on your fund-raising efforts?

A: Oh, yes. Right from the get-go as far as the telethon is concerned, and I have to laugh because I love Charlton Heston--one of my favorites. I would call him and he’d say, “Jane, has another year gone by? I’ll be there.” Jimmy Stewart--they all came down and put their two cents in, and Alice Faye’s on the telethon with me this year.

Q: I wondered about that because there seems to be, at least in Hollywood, a stigma attached to arthritis, as if it’s admitting to being old.

A: Well, they’re nuts. I’ve had babies 2 years old with new knees. I’m telling you, I go to the hospital over at UCLA, and they’ve got all these little kids and they’re 10 years old, 11 years old. I mean, bless their hearts. Or a young person, in their 30s, getting married or going to have a child, and it hits, you have got a real problem.

Q: Was there anything else you wanted to say, Miss Wyman?

A: Oh, I could probably think of a few things. No, honey, just put a lot of love in [the article] because if people know you love ‘em, it helps. You tell your mom to take good care. I mean, I can’t do anything about your darling mother, but I can certainly get out there and get money for research. And there’s never enough money for anything when it comes to disease.

* Guest Workout runs Mondays.