Living

With a title like “The Last Days” one might wonder if I’m referring to something as monumental as the last days of life or the last days before the apocalypse...

A friend asks me “how are you doing” and I freeze. It’s like being stunned with a taser. I just don’t know what to say. A simple question from a...

At various times during my life with rheumatoid arthritis I have needed help to assist me with my limitations. This includes after surgeries, like joint replacements. But it also includes...

Pain is one of the most fascinating, frustrating and excruciating life experiences we all get to have. It is a universal experience, yet so individual in its presentation that it...

Living with a chronic disease like rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can make it challenging to feel like a productive person. The inflammation this disease causes can decrease range of motion, making...

So how do we deal with the day to day realities of RA?  First of all we need to be honest about every aspect of this chronic disease.  By that...

In previous articles, I’ve written about finding a good doctor and firing bad ones. But another important part of my experience with good clinical support focuses on the staff at...

People mean well. I will start off by acknowledging this fact. But nevertheless, there are things I still don’t want to hear from strangers. Frequently when someone new learns that...

At the age of fourteen, Laurie Proulx first started showing signs of Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (which is now called Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis). Today, Laurie is the mother of two children...

What happens when your pain from rheumatoid disease gets too big to handle? What can you do when your go-to tools, such as heat/ice; distraction; meditation; CBT; gentle exercise; various...

The dog days of summer are upon us. The heat and humidity that come along with these sweltering days can be difficult to deal with, even for the healthiest among...

The truth is, there isn't really an organ or system of our bodies that are not potentially affected by RA. Why is that? Well, experts agree it is largely due...

A few months ago I daydreamed what it would be like to live in a place adapted to my rheumatoid arthritis and physical disabilities. It was during a time when...

Open country roads, Main Street, little cabins on the lake, fresh air (except for the stinky turkey farms), miles of green fields for as far as you can see...no, this...

I believe the two most disheartening words you can hear from a doctor are “chronic pain.” As in “You have chronic pain.” Or worse, “You just have chronic pain.” This...

I am sweating as I grip my walker and lift my feet to propel myself down the long hall when one of the rehabilitation facility administrators rushes up. She’s trying...

I’ve had a good day. I’ve run errands, maneuvering miles through heavy traffic to the bank, to the grocery store, and back home to put everything away; then Mom’s hair...

This is the seventh of ten things I’d like to go back and tell my newly diagnosed self about living with RA. I don’t think that anyone who has RA...

This is the sixth of ten things I’d like to go back and tell my newly diagnosed self about living with RA. Let’s face it, life can be challenging. Balancing...

This is the third of ten things I’d like to go back and tell my newly diagnosed self about living with RA. One of the first things that happened soon...