Living

I got my license this month! After 7 years of constantly failing tests, I finally did it. Driving is not for everyone, some struggle with it more than others. I...

“Understanding is love’s other name. If you don’t understand you can’t love.” -Thich Nhat Hanh If you met me and told me about a problem you are having in your...

During 2020 — when the pandemic began — I developed what I call extreme health anxiety. Living with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) just made it all the worse. I lived (and...

I grew up around a bunch of civic minded folks. The adults in my life took an active part in our community. Between helping people get to doctor's visits and...

There’s a certain hopeless finality in being told you have a disease with no cure. I didn’t for a moment question the highly trained specialist sitting before me when he...

I’ve been a shy, anxious person my whole life. I don’t remember a time when I found it easy to talk to people. I was even anxious around extended family...

I've had 5 long years of an agonizing flare that I thought would never subside. This journey to and through diagnosis of spondyloarthritis has seen symptoms linger, intensify, and morph...

It had been a year without a flare, the first I could remember in more than a decade. The years of fine tuning, taking care of my health, figuring out...

Axial spondyloarthritis has a way of creeping into every activity I do, like a bright red sock accidentally mixed in with a load of white laundry. Some garments turn bright...

I am in charge of my health, I keep a close eye on my blood tests and other investigations, I follow my case living with AxSpa thoroughly. I have been...

Lately my days have been spent glued to my bed, barely feeling human. I haven’t been able to write, work on my art, or do anything really aside from zone...

In my pre-diagnosis days, the only thing I enjoyed more than a trip to the pub was one to the gym. In the months before AS turned up to spoil the party, I...

I have now lived with ankylosing spondylitis for the past 12 years. What a journey! What a rollercoaster! So much has happened since my diagnosis. Lots of experiments and learnings...

I come from a long line of gardeners. My great grandfather was a proper professional English Gardener. My grandmother grew lots of veggies, including a crop of carrots pushed into...

Doctors diagnosed me with ankylosing spondylitis at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. As we all know, everything was closed, and we couldn't travel to avoid spreading the viral infection...

Ever wanna roll your eyes at someone who clearly has no idea what your disease is about — but who feels the need to share their thoughts or ask strange...

I am always grateful for a good week. But there is always a sense of sadness that comes with it. A sadness that this is what I miss out on...

Being kind to yourself is important when you have a chronic illness like ankylosing spondylitis. Some days self-compassion means cutting myself some slack when I feel too tired, sore, or...

It is a common trend in the Spondylitis community. Canceling plans. On Monday we were ready to go out with friends on Saturday. Come Saturday, we can’t bring ourselves to...

I’m still working out the details of what self-care means for me, and if I’m being honest my idea of self-care and my own personal needs are always changing. There...