Books Archives - Rising Above rheumatoid arthritis

Chronic Readers Club Q & A Interview

Chronic Readers Club Q & A Interview

May 2, 2018 | Books, Community Support, Humanity & Society, Inspiration & Motivation, Interviews & Guest Contributors, What’s Hot & Must Know | 1 comment

Q: What inspired the idea of the Chronic Readers Club? A: Chronic Readers Club was inspired by a combination of things. Since becoming chronically ill, I’ve felt a need to connect with other people who truly understand what my life is like. Being young and...

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Happy Wednesday! 🐪⁣ Hope everyone is Keeping

Happy Wednesday! 🐪⁣ Hope everyone is Keeping Calm and RARA-ing {Rising Above rheumatoid arthritis} -on most days that is, because we know that it’s not always sunshine and rainbows. 🔆 🌈
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The 9th Annual WEGO Health Awards are here ✨⁣
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There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes of patient advocacy and activism, to help raise awareness for our conditions. With that being said, it’s an honor to be nominated this year for 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐊𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 🕵🏻‍♀️ along with a couple of other #WEGOHealthAwards
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So you may be thinking...⁣
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▪️What are the WEGO Health Awards? 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟷 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺. ⁣
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▪️What is a nomination? 𝘕𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢 𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮.⁣
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▪️What is an endorsement? 𝘈𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘮 𝘢 𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘳𝘺 (𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝟷𝟼 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴)⁣
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▪️When does this go till? 𝘉𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝟹𝟷𝘴𝘵! ⁣
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Do you know any patient leaders who are making a difference in their communities? Then this is the time to nominate and endorse! To learn more information please visit @wegohealth ⁣
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To learn more about my advocacy work or nominate/endorse me for any of the award categories listed, visit the first link in my bio!

Happy July! 🔆 {little late}. Hope you all had a

Happy July! 🔆 {little late}. Hope you all had a good weekend and if in the states, a safe and fun 4th of July. 🎆
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I think it’s also safe to say we have all had a rough first half of the year. Many people I’ve talked to in the arthritis community have found themselves flaring and regressing in more ways than one, especially in their health goals. For me, I would say from April-mid June I had mini flares here and there. There’s no coincidence that these flares coincided with the start of the pandemic (PSA: that is still not over for those who think it is). I was no longer able to safely/freely do some of these things that help my RA:

▪️Visit my rheumatologist in person (thank God for telehealth). In June, I went in person for an injection though during a flare. #wearamask and go if you need to. Otherwise stick to telehealth.

▪️Visit my osteopath, who suggested that I wait till August- mabye longer.

▪️Get a massage/accupunture, which won’t be happening for awhile- (grateful for my foam rollers and myofacial trigger point release stuff).

▪️Get some supplements in person or online because they were sold out for a bit (people were hoarding immune support items too, not just toilet paper). Save some for the people like me who need them too. 🙋🏻

▪️Go to the gym/see my PT- rather workout at home or outside but important machines/weights I use for my knee are at the gym, and it’s nice to be able to use the track to walk.

▪️Go outside for a walk around my block. The amount of people out there that weren’t wearing masks (and still aren’t) was/is ridiculous. I only saw a handful of people wear a mask or keep distance. No, I don’t want to pass you on the sidewalk 6 cm apart.
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These stressors (and personal life stress), reoccurring gut imbalances and too much sugar are usually the causes of my flares, to name a few. Weening off low dose prednisone didn’t help either.
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In May when this photo was taken, I decided to put some makeup on and try a new shampoo 🦁. It wasn’t much but it made me feel better. Here’s to hoping the next six months are better.
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What are your RA/JA triggers and some things you do to lift your spirits during a flare? Feel free to share below.👇🏻

One in four Americans, including 300,000 children

One in four Americans, including 300,000 children have arthritis, and arthritis is the #1 leading cause of disability among adults in the U.S. That is 54 million Americans affected, and the good news is, we aren't alone. I found a community of others living with arthritis on social media and through the Arthritis Foundation’s Live Yes! Arthritis Network that provides personalized help and support to adults living with all types of arthritis and rheumatic conditions, and parents or guardians of children living with arthritis. The variety of programs offer opportunities for connection, education and empowerment via Live Yes! Connect Groups, an online community and conferences. I've been able to meet others with juvenile arthritis, and we have shared our struggles and challenges, but plenty of smiles and small victories too. The support has helped me through my journey with arthritis, and can help you in yours, too.
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Learn more at the link in my bio and my blog www.risingabovera.com
*Sponsored post but opinions are my own
#FindYourYes
#juvenilearthritisawarenessmonth
#arthritisawareness
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I decided to write a sequel to my original blog po

I decided to write a sequel to my original blog post I wrote a few years ago, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘛𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘒𝘯𝘦𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 on the four-year anniversary of my surgery today. When inspiration for a blog post hits, I’m literally like this Kermit gif typing away. 🤣 swipe right.. Link in bio and on www.risingabovera.com
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#kneereplacement #kneerehab #kneereplacementsurgery #rheumatoidarthritis #rheumatoidarthritiswarrior #juvenilearthritis #kidsgetarthritistoo #totalkneereplacement #writers #writerscommunity #writersofig #blogger #blog #risingabovera #arthritiswarrior #arthritissucks #patientadvocate #activist #healthblog #kermit #invisibleillness #butyoudontlooksick #disability #disabilityadvocate #physicaltherapy #autoimmunedisease #autoimmunearthritis #rawarrior #raandmyself

In light of #juvenilearthritisawarenessmonth that

In light of #juvenilearthritisawarenessmonth that begins next month, I wanted to share these X-rays that I found again from 15 years ago. Many of you have heard or read about my story already but for those of you who are new to my page I’ll give you a quick breakdown. I started experiencing symptoms at age 16 but wasn’t diagnosed until 18. Doctor’s back then said nothing was wrong with me and so I went about my life but intuitively knew something was not right. That’s when I started having dates with Mr. Google. Fast forward the summer of 2004, right before I would start my senior year of high school. I found myself in a rheumatologist office waiting for the doctor to share the test results. This time I was told something was wrong and my life was never the same. I then went for a second opinion to Mayo Clinic, which was a 6-month long wait. One thing I will never understand and is my biggest pet peeve, is how long people need to wait to be seen considering how ruthless juvenile arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and any other auto inflammatory forms of arthritis are. Anyways my experience there was horrible but it was confirmed again. So these X-rays you see here are from a follow up appointment with a doctor in my area a year later. My hands were damn near perfect here, but if you look close enough you can tell I was also struggling. My right hand was not as flexible as my left because it was swollen. I also show signs of mild to moderate damage in my right wrist- the first place the disease attacked. These were the years I heard #butyoudontlooksick and your hands look fine, the most. I was the epitome of what they call a person living with an invisible illness. In 2005, there were no blogs that I knew of, barely any organizations except one or two, Instagram, or any other groups curated to those living with arthritis. I was completely alone. Thank God for google, AOL, message boards, and the organizations that were there though. If there is one thing I can say about this disease, is that it will not wait for you. (CONTINUED IN COMMENTS) ⬇️

Father’s Day is always bittersweet since my dad

Father’s Day is always bittersweet since my dad passed 9 years ago. Since then I have experienced signs that my dad is around saying hello- birds are one of them. I was inspired to draw this bird doodle and write a thank you to dads everywhere. While I use this account to share my journey with rheumatoid arthritis and advocacy, another health condition hits close to home. My dad was diagnosed with psoriasis in his 20s and lived with it for half of his life. Psoriasis is said to be an autoimmune disease of the skin. JA and RA, are also autoimmune diseases but attack another part of the body- mainly the joints.

According to the National Psoriasis Foundation and World Psoriasis Day consortium, more than 8 million Americans have Psoriasis and 125 million people worldwide. Growing up friends and classmates would ask me why my dad's hands looked burned or if something happened. I would let them know it was something called psoriasis, which led to questions like what that was or if it was contagious- which it’s not. I didn’t realize it then but I was helping to raise awareness for an often misunderstood condition. Family history and ancestry have always interested me. Nobody in our family lineage has had RA or psoriasis, that we know of. It’s no secret that we all have genes to various diseases and given the right conditions or triggers, they can manifest. There was a time my dad told me he experienced a very stressful situation before his diagnosis. Many I have talked to in the arthritis community have experienced symptoms after a traumatic or stressful event too, myself included.

Regardless of the cause, my dad didn’t let psoriasis stop him from living life. He was the only one in his immediate family to attend college, first to buy his own home and start a successful restaurant. He worked tirelessly to give us the things he never had. A sensitive soul, with a great sense of humor, he was always willing to give to and help others. He has been loved and missed dearly by many. I found this sweet memory on a family vacation- I was the only kid on the dock scared to feed the pelicans 🤣 and my dad looking handsome at his engagement party. ❤️📸

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