Living

I am one of those cheesy people that reflects on Thanksgiving. It is an old habit, but ever since I was an ill child with rheumatoid arthritis, I found it...

Over these many years of dealing with RA and encountering, working with, and supporting many others with RA, I have come to realize something I think is very, very important...

This summer we have visited many family members and have plans for another round of visits in the coming weeks. One special weekend involved a reunion of my mother’s family—many...

I have an idea: how about we keep a daily log about the good moments in our lives? You know, like a pain journal, except noting what makes us smile/feel...

I wonder if, like me, you ever daydream about what it would be like to have just one day without RA. I found myself, just a few days ago, reflecting...

I tossed and turned, my left hand cradling my right wrist, holding it against my chest and then my side. Yet no relief from the throbbing pain could be found...

My first symptoms of RA began when I was 40 years old.  I was officially diagnosed at 42 years of age.  I am now 62 years old.  Aging with this...

Last month I came down with a horrible virus of some sort. It caused a high fever and made my body feel very tender and achy. Felt like the flu...

I ran across an interesting study the other day on pain in America that was reported by Rheumatology Network. While there is some very interesting data about pain in the...

Josef K. was arrested, so the story goes, on his thirtieth birthday. The crime he was arrested for is unknown, the agency of those who arrested him is equally unknown...

Labor Day is a key milestone for a lot of people. Kids are starting back to school. Retailers put swimwear on sale and start making space for holiday merchandise. And...

Have you ever met someone who eschews technology, who sees an impending evil in every new scientific advancement, and who wishes that civilization would go back thousands of years to a...

The feeling of heaviness or weight on one's joints is yet another enduring aspect of RA that we have to handle on a daily basis.  Over the years this sensation...

"Illness is definitely not elegant, and certainly not venerable." — Ludivico Settembrini in The Magic Mountain As I walked through the lobby of the University hospital, I stood tall, like a man...

Since my diagnosis just over eight years ago, I’ve steadily worked my way through all the biologics except one. Your body can build up a resistance to medications just like...

Here in Vermont, fall is just around the corner and with it comes shorter daylight hours, dark mornings and cold weather. I happen to like the cooler temperatures but not...

It’s instinctual—I cringe when I hear a cough, see a sneeze. I can’t help it. After years of immunosuppressant drugs, bouts with long-lasting colds plus bronchitis and pneumonia, I am...

A diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) impacts more than just the person who receives it. Even if you have no personal experience living with a chronic illness, if your loved...

On July 1st of 2016, the Rheumatology Research Foundation announced 85 recipients of education, training, and research funding. The financial awards serve various functions: "One example is the Investigator Award...

Here I am 20+ years into RA and I still, quite frequently, cannot tell when I am flaring versus when a treatment, be it medication or otherwise, is no longer...