Freaks, Redux
Back in the day, people were so squicked out by disability that governments felt compelled to make ordinances preventing citizens who had disabilities from being in public places. They were called “ugly laws,” not referring to the laws themselves, but to the state of appearance which they were intended to curtail: “No person who is…
Real RA: The Benefit of RA Hands
Sometimes, RA doesn’t just take. Sometimes, RA gives. When I still lived with my parents, I was in charge of pies. I’d found the perfect recipe for the crust and loved experimenting with different fillings. Our kitchen wasn’t very wheelchair accessible, so my mother would place the ingredients and tools on the dining room table…
Seating Arrangements
Last Friday, I went to a Toronto concert hall to hear David Sedaris read from his new book Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls — a book that apparently has nothing to do with diabetes, although owls do make a rather hilarious appearance. I had no idea what to expect. In fact, on some level I…
Functional MRIs: Making Pain Visible
This week on HealthCentral, I wrote about some very interesting studies of what happens in the brain when you’re in pain: “Have you ever felt that your doctor underestimated your pain? Have you ever felt that others didn’t believe you have pain? Have you ever wished you could prove that you’re in pain? An exciting…
A Virtual Visit and an E-Book Giveaway
When Marianna and I talked about me stopping by her blog A Rheumful of Tips, she suggested doing something a bit different. We batted some ideas back and forth and settled on a video. Of me. There’s a reason I’m a photographer, not a model. Well, aside from not having the ability to subsist on…
On Living Well with a Chronic Illness
I am beyond thrilled to tell you that I’ve joined CreakyJoints as a regular blogger. They’re a terrific organization and do important work for the inflammatory arthritis community – I’ve been a faithful reader of their posts for years and am pretty chuffed to be part of the group now. My first post for them…
Easter Tinks
Things went a little nutty last week and the blog suffered. Again. Sorry, blog. Better late than never? Last weekend, the Tinks came to visit and we all went out for lunch to celebrate the long weekend and two birthday goddesses: my mother and my sister. First, as is traditional, The Boy was covered in…
Help Me Make a Paperback
You may have noticed I’ve been a bit scattershot in my approach to posting lately, but I have a good reason. Several good reasons. There’s been a rather a lot of work, a lot of book promotion and just recently we dove into making the paperback. This means reading the damn book again. Not that…