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Chronic Illness and Relationships

Chronic Illness and Relationships

Dec 28, 2018 | Arthritis Tribe, Chronic Illness, Community Support, Emotional & Mental Well-being, Relationships, Rheumatoid Arthritis | 0 comments

Dating isnโ€™t easy, especially when chronic illness is thrown into the mix. Just like any relationship there can be challenges along the way. Good communication, trust, understanding and unconditional love, are some of the elements needed for a long-lasting healthy...
Who Are Your Arthritis Anchors?

Who Are Your Arthritis Anchors?

May 2, 2018 | Arthritis Tribe, Community Support, Food For the Soul, Inspiration & Motivation, Relationships | 0 comments

  What is an anchor? Throughout history, they have been seen as a symbol of strength, asย anchors holdย down a ship in even the stormiest of weather. Security, stability and being grounded have also been central themes. Now you may be thinking to yourself, well...

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Happy Wednesday! ๐Ÿชโฃ Hope everyone is Keeping Happy Wednesday! ๐Ÿชโฃ Hope everyone is Keeping Calm and RARA-ing {Rising Above rheumatoid arthritis} -on most days that is, because we know that itโ€™s not always sunshine and rainbows. ๐Ÿ”† ๐ŸŒˆ โฃ The 9th Annual WEGO Health Awards are here โœจโฃ .โฃ 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, itโ€™s an honor to be nominated this year for ๐๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ ๐Š๐ž๐ฉ๐ญ ๐’๐ž๐œ๐ซ๐ž๐ญ ๐Ÿ•ต๐Ÿปโ€โ™€๏ธ along with a couple of other #WEGOHealthAwards .โฃ So you may be thinking...โฃ โฃ โ–ช๏ธWhat are the WEGO Health Awards? ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜จ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ฎ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ค๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿถ๐Ÿท๐Ÿท ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜จ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ป๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฌ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ข ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ง๐˜ง๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฎ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜บ. โฃ โฃ โ–ช๏ธWhat is a nomination? ๐˜•๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ด ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜จ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ป๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข ๐˜ฑ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ช๐˜ณ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ง๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜ด ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜จ๐˜บ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ข ๐˜ฑ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ณ ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฎ.โฃ โฃ โ–ช๏ธWhat is an endorsement? ๐˜ˆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ข ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜บ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ด๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜ด๐˜ถ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ข๐˜ง๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ณ๐˜ฎ ๐˜ข ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ข ๐˜ด๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ช๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ค ๐˜ข๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜จ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜บ (๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐Ÿท๐Ÿผ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜จ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ด)โฃ โฃ โ–ช๏ธWhen does this go till? ๐˜‰๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ด ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ด ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜‘๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐Ÿน๐Ÿท๐˜ด๐˜ต! โฃ โฃ 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 โฃ โฃ 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! ๐Ÿ”† {little late}. Hope you all had a Happy July! ๐Ÿ”† {little late}. Hope you all had a good weekend and if in the states, a safe and fun 4th of July. ๐ŸŽ† . I think itโ€™s also safe to say we have all had a rough first half of the year. Many people Iโ€™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. Thereโ€™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: โ–ช๏ธ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. โ–ช๏ธVisit my osteopath, who suggested that I wait till August- mabye longer. โ–ช๏ธGet a massage/accupunture, which wonโ€™t be happening for awhile- (grateful for my foam rollers and myofacial trigger point release stuff). โ–ช๏ธ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. ๐Ÿ™‹๐Ÿป โ–ช๏ธ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 itโ€™s nice to be able to use the track to walk. โ–ช๏ธGo outside for a walk around my block. The amount of people out there that werenโ€™t wearing masks (and still arenโ€™t) was/is ridiculous. I only saw a handful of people wear a mask or keep distance. No, I donโ€™t want to pass you on the sidewalk 6 cm apart. . 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 didnโ€™t help either. . In May when this photo was taken, I decided to put some makeup on and try a new shampoo ๐Ÿฆ. It wasnโ€™t much but it made me feel better. Hereโ€™s to hoping the next six months are better. . What are your RA/JA triggers and some things you do to lift your spirits during a flare? Feel free to share below.๐Ÿ‘‡๐Ÿป
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 Foundationโ€™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. . Learn more at the link in my bio and my blog www.risingabovera.com *Sponsored post but opinions are my own #FindYourYes #juvenilearthritisawarenessmonth #arthritisawareness .
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, ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜Ž๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ, ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜‰๐˜ข๐˜ฅ, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜œ๐˜จ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ข ๐˜›๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ญ ๐˜’๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ ๐˜™๐˜ฆ๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต on the four-year anniversary of my surgery today. When inspiration for a blog post hits, Iโ€™m literally like this Kermit gif typing away. ๐Ÿคฃ swipe right.. Link in bio and on www.risingabovera.com . . . #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 Iโ€™ll give you a quick breakdown. I started experiencing symptoms at age 16 but wasnโ€™t diagnosed until 18. Doctorโ€™s back then said nothing was wrong with me and so I went about my life but intuitively knew something was not right. Thatโ€™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) โฌ‡๏ธ
Fatherโ€™s Day is always bittersweet since my dad Fatherโ€™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 itโ€™s not. I didnโ€™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. Itโ€™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 didnโ€™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 ๐Ÿคฃ and my dad looking handsome at his engagement party. โค๏ธ๐Ÿ“ธ

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