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17 Years Later: The Life Lessons Rheumatoid Arthritis Taught Me

17 Years Later: The Life Lessons Rheumatoid Arthritis Taught Me

Jan 18, 2021 | Arthritis Tribe, Chronic Illness, Community Support, Inspiration & Motivation, Rheumatoid Arthritis, What’s Hot & Must Know | 0 comments

Today marks my 17th RAnniversary (a phrase used by a fellow rheumatoid arthritis warrior in an essay about her 20-year journey with this unrelenting chronic illness. See link below). Some people may think it’s odd to coin this time of my life as an anniversary, or...
Making a Difference with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion In Books: PART 2

Making a Difference with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion In Books: PART 2

Nov 19, 2020 | Books, What’s Hot & Must Know | 0 comments

To help amplify the voices of diverse authors, I have curated a list of children’s books from the author community. If you have missed Part 1 of this article series, make sure you check out other children’s books from picture books, middle grade and young adult here....
Holiday Gift Ideas {Curated By A Spoonie For Spoonies and Non-Spoonies}

Holiday Gift Ideas {Curated By A Spoonie For Spoonies and Non-Spoonies}

Nov 18, 2020 | Chronic Illness, What’s Hot & Must Know | 0 comments

I am not Oprah, and this isn’t a list of my favorite things. Well, kind of. But I’m just a girl who happens to 1) live with a chronic illness 2) considers herself to be a quite thoughtful exceptional gift-giver. So, I have curated a list of 12 fun, uplifting, and...
Keeping It Real With Arthritis Stories [Fall 2020 Edition]

Keeping It Real With Arthritis Stories [Fall 2020 Edition]

Nov 11, 2020 | Arthritis Tribe, Keeping it Real with Arthritis | 0 comments

  Karol Ruth Silverstein   Greetings everyone! I’m Karol and I’m an Arthritis Warrior. I was diagnosed with JRA at 13 and was on “aspirin therapy” (sometimes taking as many as 18 aspirins a day!) for years. I was a stubborn, angry teenager and didn’t take...
Making a Difference with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Books

Making a Difference with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Books

Oct 5, 2020 | Art & Poetry, Books, Humanity & Society, Inspiration & Motivation, Lifestyle, What’s Hot & Must Know | 0 comments

With so many drastic changes taking place in the world as of late, it can be hard not to think of what has transpired as catastrophic. But if we take a moment to look past the challenges and obstacles, we will see that this moment in history has shined a light on...
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𝘛𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶. -𝘌.𝘒. . 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐈 𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞/𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬. 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐭. 𝗪𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞? . . . #anotherdayanotherquote #doodlebyme #risingabovera #ek #doodle #writers #quotes #doodlesofinstagram #art #writersofig #quoteoftheday #quotestagram #quotesdaily #poetry #bymepoetry #spilledink #spilledwords #spooniewriter #spooniewriters
New YouTube Video {in bio} . I was recently given New YouTube Video {in bio} . I was recently given access to the fairly new documentary called ‘Pain Warriors.’ The film follows four chronic pain patients, their families, one patient advocate and two medical doctors helping to shine a light on the other side of the opioid crisis in North America, mainly the United States and Canada. Directors Tina Petrova and Eugene Weis, bring viewers a never before seen look into the devastating impact chronic pain, that if undertreated or ignored, can have on a person living with it and those in their lives. Warning: This film contains sensitive material and may be inappropriate for some people. . *All opinions shared are my own and not influenced by anyone, this was not a paid review. I am sharing this to help raise awareness for chronic pain and with it being the last full week of #painawarenessmonth I found it a perfect time to talk about this. I have experienced severe chronic pain prior to my total knee replacement and if it wasn’t for pain medication to help me get through it, I really don’t know how I would have managed. . I was also notified by the owners of the film that they are currently on IMDb and need about 100 reviews {at 75 now!} to catch the eye of @Netflix and possibly be featured on the platform in the documentary section. If you end up watching this, I ask you please consider leaving a review and also sharing this with others to do the same. This way millions of people worldwide can get access to this and help further the directors mission to raise awareness for chronic pain. . Looking for Netflix films to watch this weekend? My friend @jedimaster941 recently shared this list below on his Twitter. I personally haven’t seen any of them (yet) but the dating one I will probably watch first. 😂 Mabye Pain Warriors can join them on Netflix in the near future! 💙 Cobra Kai: Karate Kid 30 Years Later Never Have I Ever: Indian girl dealing with the death of her father and finding herself Love, guaranteed: A man sues a dating app after 1,000 fruitless dates . Has anyone seen Pain Warriors? What are your thoughts after watching my review? @whatapainblog also did one on her channel.
I’m super excited to share my first essay for Cr I’m super excited to share my first essay for Creaky Joints, How ‘Instagram Injection Videos’ Are Normalizing the Arthritis Patient Experience. When the editor asked me to send some ideas for topics, I immediately thought of the injection videos I have seen people do on social media. . In this article, I dig deeper to uncover the ‘why’ behind these videos. What has motivated people to share this part of their chronic illness journey? How has it helped them and others out there feel less alone? Injection videos may seem like the next big trend to onlookers on the outside and even on the inside, but they’re so much more than that. It’s about leveling up the patient experience with a new form of creative expression and storytelling. These people are normalizing an experience that not many people see as normal. Truly a powerful read and inside look into the lives of those diagnosed with various types of arthritis. This has to be one of my most favorite topics I have ever covered. . I wanted to know more about some of the people behind these videos, so I reached out to fellow arthritis warriors, who each had their own {and similar} reasons for sharing their injections on Instagram and TikTok. Special thanks the lovely ladies below who were so kind in letting me interview them and share their injection videos or insights, for this piece. Also to my editor, who helped to polish and publish this. ✨@creaky_joints . @movetoliv @spoonieandspoonie @anotherdaywithra @arthritis_life_cheryl @thatgirlwitharthritis @with.paulina @jra__warrior . To read the article, visit the link in my bio! 💙 . #arthritis #creakyjoints #risingabovera #injectionvideos #patientexperience #rheumatoidarthritis #juvenilearthritis #juvenileidiopathicarthritis #lupus #arthritisrelief #arthritisawareness #community #spoonie #spooniesupport #normalize #injections #spooniewriter #chronicillness #invisibleillness #invisibledisabilities #painmanagement #medicine #modernmedicine #noshaming #methotrexate #enbrel #humira #orenica #blog #medicationmanagement
✰Pain Awareness Month Giveaway Contest #4 ✰⁣ ✰Pain Awareness Month Giveaway Contest #4 ✰⁣ . Featured this week are two ladies @xchloeumplebyx and @livingwaterless who create chronic illness themed products over at SpoonfulofChronic on Etsy. They are bringing back their *SOLD OUT* SPOONIE EMBROIDERY HOOP ART item, for one lucky winner! Then there is the 'Sick' Unisex T-shirt from my shop that comes in several different colors and both white or black font. The winner will get to pick the colors they want! . So this theme centers around identity when it comes to a diagnosis. What do I mean by identity? Well for some who are chronically ill, they feel that illness becomes part of their identity. Then there are those who define themselves as a patient but don't feel it's part of their identity. Others may say that 'I'm a patient only in a medical setting' or 'I can't ignore being a patient.' Lastly, there seems to be two groups of silent majorities that consist of those who are doing well and don't care to label or identify to anything but simply being themselves. The other silent party are those individuals who may be suffering or struggling in silence but tune into the chronic illness community privately for various reasons. {I have fallen into both categories on my journey}. . Over the past two decades though, certain phrases have created a sense of community for people. For one, the word 'Spoonie' is a word many of us have seen floating around the internet. The term was coined by Christine Miserandino, an award-winning blogger and patient advocate when she was trying to explain to a friend what it's like to live with lupus. “I thought she already knew the medical definition of Lupus,” Miserandino recalls at her website, But You Don't Look Sick. “The Spoon Theory" essay she wrote in 2003 has since made headlines and has been used by millions in the chronic illness space. . Another word 'Sick' has also been involved in an empowering movement of its own by the popular community and blog, 'Sick Chicks." Other outside perspectives took the word sick to create their own message, as seen during last year's Paris Fashion Week when a brand was called out on Instagram {Continued in comments ⤵️}
Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend. Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend. So due to popular demand, I am sharing this gluten-free and diary-free loukoumades aka fried honey donuts recipe that I tried yesterday. It’s Greek tradition {yes, I am Greek if you haven’t noticed by my long vowel-filled name already 😂}, to serve this street food dessert during the winter months or holiday season, special feast days and during summer picnics or other gatherings. The Mediterranean diet has been a shining beacon of light in the nutrition world for years. However, when I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis 15 years ago, I found that I wasn’t able to enjoy my favorite dishes and desserts due to simple fact that they contained diary and gluten- two major triggers for me. I had to totally change my lifestyle over night once I found this out. It was not easy, and if you’re just starting out, I empathize with you. But just know that it is doable. Luckily over the course of my journey, I came to learn the many ways to accommodate, adapt and get creative. I found so many blogs, cookbooks and authors who also struggled with health-related food intolerances and allergies, yet they didn’t let that stop them from creating other alternatives {which can taste exactly the same or even better than the original}. The plus side is that the Mediterranean diet was already low in diary, making it easy to use diary alternatives. Though unfortunately grains are not as low. But even with that, swapping whole grains with alternatives is doable, as seen in this recipe for example and demonstration by no other than my mom. {Continued in comments ⤵️}
Weekend vibes. 🌿💆🏻 Weekend vibes. 🌿💆🏻
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