Living

These past few tumultuous years make me wonder how my ancestors managed to do as well as they did with their own trials and tribulations. All my elders from my...

I had another surgery just recently. This time it was a selective procedure for my thumb osteoarthritis on the right hand. I had the left-hand thumb repaired with ligament reconstruction...

Have you noticed how good people in arthritis advertisements look? Each time I see one of those commercials, I think, wow, I want to feel like that. Inject this or...

I recently got asked by someone I met through coaching and lifestyle self-management how I got AxSpa? That is a very good question, and one question that haunted me for...

When you live with disability and or chronic illness, you can be so focused on finding that “cure” or thing that will make your life more like what it used...

Trying to make a living while living with a chronic condition may be possible depending on the severity, but also may be one of the hardest things to accomplish for...

I’ve written about this topic before, but it still hurts like hell to write about. It hurts to think about. I don’t think losing a friend due to my illness...

I was newly diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis and still celebrating freedom from pain when I noticed the first signs something affecting my stomach. Over the weeks and months that followed...

Today was my second day straight calling in sick at work. Hopefully, they will understand and it won’t put my job in jeopardy. I worry so much because of the...

Editor's note: A friendly reminder that everyone has different dietary needs, and what works for author Dawn may not work for you. My doctor asked me to try the DASH...

2022, Here We Come! Happy New Year! What does the start of the new year mean to you? To me, this question has shifted over the years living with AS. The...

Living with an illness and trying to get those around you to understand, to a certain extent anyways, what it’s like to be in your shoes can take a lot...

I’ve never dyed my hair or done anything adventurous with it. So, I rarely go to the hairdressers. Before Covid I might go every 4-6 months to get a trim...

I’ve said from the start of this disease that I personally believe therapy is key in managing this disease. I had mental illnesses prior to being diagnosed with AS, but...

I am currently a university student but first started experiencing AS symptoms during high school. Being a student is hard enough, but when you mix in having a chronic illness...

Before I start writing about my experience with disability allowance/payment, I want to say that I know how much harder it is for others to get approved for disability. It seems...

For most of us, we have grown up in a world where cannabis was illegal, or at least society frowned upon it. There’s a lot of subconscious ideas that we...

Do you suffer from holiday hangover? I always do, and I don’t even have AS! (My husband, Keegan, is the one with AS.) Now that Keegan and I have 2...

Getting told I had axial spondyloarthritis filled me with two big emotions: fear and relief. I didn’t want to be told I had an incurable, progressive disease. If I’m honest...

This January marks the third anniversary of my AS diagnosis. However, I can’t tell you the exact date. The previous January, a close friend of mine passed away. Being the superstitious...