Climbing Everest with Rheumatoid Arthritis: An Interview with Jeffrey Gottfurcht
I talked to a really interesting man last week: “Jeffrey Gotfurcht is climbing seven mountains to raise awareness about Juvenile Arthritis (JA), as well as raising funds to make dreams and wishes come true for kids with JA. Jeff has rheumatoid arthritis (RA).” You can read the rest of the interview here.
Growing Up with Juvenile Arthritis
July is Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Month in the US and my first contribution is the story of being a kid with JA: “It started when I was four years old. That deep in the bone pain gnawing at my right wrist, making it difficult to use my hand. The mysterious swelling that appeared out of…
Juggling Life with RA: TIme Management and Saying No
In which I muse about how living with a chronic illness is like having a full-time job: “Appointment with family doctor regarding UTI caused by suppressed immune system, including travel and wait time: 1 hour 15 minutes Appointment with rheumatologist for regular checkup, including travel and wait time: 2.5 hours Physical therapy for shoulder injury,…
RA Goes to the Oscars: an Interview with Christine Schwab
Last week, I had the opportunity to interview a very interesting woman: “Christine Schwab wants to change how the world sees rheumatoid arthritis. Diagnosed 20 years ago, Christine has been in hiding about her RA for almost as long. She knew that if she “came out” about her disease, she would lose her career as…
Enemy Within: An Interview with Karen Ager
I got the chance to interview a fascinating woman: “Born and raised in Australia. Spent two years as a “virtual prisoner” in a fourth floor walk-up living with her mother unable to walk. Nanny to a rock star’s children. Survivor of an abusive relationship. Tireless advocate for RA. Teacher at the United Nation’s International School…
RA and Fibromyalgia
Yesterday was National Fibromyalgia Awareness Day in the US, but by the time I carved out some time to post, Blogger had inexplicably gone down. And remained so for most of today. So… Herewith is yesterday’s post. If none of Fibromyalgia Awareness Day, Karen Lee Richards and I interviewed each other about living with RA…
The Arthritis Foundation: Changing the Future of Arthritis
The festivities continue over at MyRACentral. Today, I posted an interview with Dr. Patience White, VP of Public Health with The Arthritis Foundation about the services and programs and how we can get involved in advocacy and fundraising: “Arthritis is Unacceptable. That’s quite a statement, isn’t it? It’s the philosophy guiding The Arthritis Foundation’s efforts…
Acceptance and RA: Tangled Up in the If Onlys
This week on MyRACentral, I think about acceptance, the if onlys and a few what ifs… “What would you wish for if there were no limits? What would you do if you found an old lamp at the flea market and it was the one with the genie in it?” You can read the…
The Future’s So Bright: a Good Time to Have RA
I’ve mentione dthe November RA forum here before, but now there are details about what I learned on MyRACentral: “I am in a large room in a downtown Toronto hotel, chairs lined up facing the front and around me are over 300 other people, most of whom are here for the same reason…
The Cost of Pain: Shedding Life, Shedding Love
This week on MyRACentral, I muse about the cost of pain – financial, sure, but primarily social: “If you live with chronic pain, you are not alone. Pain affects more than 76 million people in the US, more than cancer, diabetes and heart disease combined. It is estimated that conditions involving chronic pain cost the…
Keeping Mobile: Physical Therapy & RA
This week, I interviews an physiotherapist about exercise, pain control and RA: “Staying fit and flexible is a good idea for everyone, but is particularly important when you live with rheumatoid arthritis. RA does throw some extra factors into the mix, such as avoiding stress on the joints and dealing with pain. Physical therapy can…
Baby It’s Cold outside: Surviving Winter with RA
Staying warm inside and out is the topic of my latest post for MyRACentral: “Although Toronto’s portion of Groundhog Day storm wasn’t quite the Snowmageddon the very excitable weather guys called for, I still have a serious case of winter fatigue. My windows are frozen shut most of the time, my hands are red and…