Living

Sometimes inspiration comes in the most unlikely places. A few days ago, it came when I was listening to a book whose main character was a surgeon. This woman had...

When I consider that I have been journeying with RA for a quarter-century, it seemed only fitting to spend some time sharing my thoughts as an “RA veteran”. One of...

Motherhood is physically draining. There is no doubt about that. However, I never thought being a young mom with RA would put me at risk of additional complications once my...

October is a busy month for me and my office down in Florida. Each October, we attend the Florida Statewide Symposium which is an annual meeting of Office of Undergraduate...

When I was younger and starting out in my career, I had this goal to one day do well enough that I would be able to buy accessibility. As a...

Unpredictability. If there was one word to describe living with RA, it would be unpredictability. Like a lazy porcupine in a balloon store, you never know exactly what’s going to...

Have you ever felt like because you have rheumatoid arthritis (RA), you will never be able to achieve your future goals or accomplish things you’ve dreamed about? Perhaps before your...

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...

The pain associated with rheumatoid arthritis is not a one-size-fits-all situation. When I reflect on it, the types of pain, the way we each experience it, the duration, etc. are all...

There’s 1 symptom of rheumatoid arthritis that I struggle with, regardless of my disease status. Even on my best days - days after my IV treatment when I feel like...

I’m about to say something blasphemous (for me). Over the past 6 months, I stopped napping! I know, right?!?! Ms. Embrace the Nap, Take the Nap, PRIORITIZE the nap stopped...

You’ve probably heard the saying, “it takes a village….” It’s usually used in reference to raising children, but it also applies to RA. You see, rheumatoid arthritis and chronic illness...

Food insecurity is defined by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) as a “lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life.” It is very well-researched and...

I walk a lot. It’s my main form of exercise, and I walk at a fairly quick pace — one of my recent walks was a 16:30-mile. And while I...

Shame. It goes hand-in-hand with rheumatoid arthritis, chronic illness, and disability. Every day, we get one thousand little subconscious hints that we should hide our illnesses and feel embarrassed about...

My rheumatologist told me that he is retiring in May. Gulp. I have been with him a long time, and I have always treasured his advice and skill in treatment...

When most rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients think about their disease management care team, I imagine they first think about their rheumatologist, followed maybe by a physical therapist, perhaps a chiropractor...

When I was growing up with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (now juvenile idiopathic arthritis or JIA), my favorite therapy was hand therapy. There are a lot of reasons. I enjoyed doing...

I’ve moved a lot in my life - mostly by choice, and often because I was convinced I would feel better somewhere warmer, dryer, or just different. It helped that...

Disclosing to someone new in your life, whether that's a romantic partner, friend, employer, coworker, or anybody else, can be complicated and difficult. It's especially challenging and anxiety-inducing when it...