Lisa Emrich

With winter approaching, time seems to be accelerating and slowing down at the same time. Shorter days make me feel like I must rush to get things done, but less...

When living with chronic illness, health insurance is vital. There’s absolutely no way many of us could pay for treatment and care without insurance coverage. Maintaining access to health insurance...

A common thread in our community discussions is the lack of family understanding and support you might face when you live with a chronic condition. It’s easy to feel betrayed...

Hey, are you feeling stressed? Is life stressful? Is it the good kind of stress or the bad kind of stress? Does that really matter? Confession: I’ve been feeling a...

Finding a good rheumatologist can be a challenge. Getting an appointment with a good rheumatologist can sometimes be even harder. Once you have an appointment with a doctor you really...

HealthUnion has a great podcast called Living With. It features many of the fascinating people who contribute articles and moderate our communities. Recently, I was honored to participate in “Living...

It feels like I recently won the lottery. No, not the lottery with money involved, but the lottery to receive a dose of Evusheld. This therapy provides me hope that...

If you’ve been following my story, you know that I finally decided to have total knee replacement surgery after years of struggling with pain and disability. Actually, I would end...

In the past decade, the journey with my knees has involved multiple steroid injections, two rounds of hyaluronic acid gel injections in each knee, numerous x-rays taken by different doctors...

"You’re not old enough for surgery," said my first orthopedic doctor 4 years ago, "but you will need total knee replacement at some point in the future." At that time...

I’ve asked myself this question regarding several of my doctors, perhaps too many times, in recent years. As a person who lives with multiple chronic diseases, primarily rheumatoid arthritis and...

Blessed with a supportive spouse, I am fortunate to have someone who is able and willing to help me anytime I need. Rob makes a point to listen to me...

Exercise and being active are important parts of staying healthy and fighting back against the effects of aging and disease. Everybody and every body is able to exercise to some...

Thirteen months into the COVID-19 pandemic, how are you doing? Although people are getting vaccinated at an impressive rate around the country, I’m wondering when the constant worry of exposure...

Pain can disrupt normal life in a way that can be devastating. Pain can also just be an annoyance. Sometimes pain can make you cry and, sometimes, it can only...

Ever since I was in my 20s, I’ve always enjoyed a really good foot massage. Not just a light-handed rubbing of the skin, but a massage with pressure that digs...

I remember the occasion very clearly when osteoarthritis made itself known beyond a reasonable doubt. In 2010, I decided to paint my home music studio a fun combination of light...

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic disease that affects more than joints within the body. It can affect connective tissue and internal organs, such as the heart, lungs, liver, or...

A recent study suggests that laboratory tests may be helpful in predicting which patients with rheumatoid arthritis will respond to disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs). Common DMARDs include medications such as...

Not long ago, Rob and I were sitting on our front porch listening to the birds sing and watching squirrels scurry around the yard. It was restful and we were...