Living

I read an interesting bit of mythology around the spine the other day, as I delved into one of my many "Wikipedia holes" — I have a tendency toward late-night...

The epic film Love Actually tells us that Christmas is an enchanted time for magical moments and taking stock of our lives. In between making dreams come true, we’re meant...

Luckily, I have never suffered with my mental health (touch wood). After my diagnosis, it was the worst I had ever felt in my life. For months I got into...

In part 1 of No Diagnosis Land, I told you how I started to have symptoms in different parts of my body. During these years, between 2007 and 2013, I...

I think I speak for everyone when I say AS flare-ups are the bain of our existence. There is no worse feeling than waking up in the morning and instantly...

I have been using biologics for 14 years now. Never really getting used to injecting myself. Not because it’s painful but, in the back of my head, there always is...

It has been almost two years since my axial spondyloarthritis diagnosis and this year has brought about many new and scary treatments. But, I can finally say I am happy...

I'm always looking for ways to deepen communication with my body, increase my mobility, and quiet my mind. Enter Tai chi and Qi gong. Tai Chi (also known as T'ai...

We’ve all heard of the word disability, but what is a dynamic disability? A dynamic disability is a disability that fluctuates in severity from one moment to the next. Ever...

You know that saying, "you can't pour from an empty cup"? Well, no one told me when I was diagnosed that ankylosing spondylitis would leave me with a perpetually empty...

When it comes to chronic illness, no two days are the same. The inconsistency and unpredictability that come with a chronic illness is what gets me the most. One day I could be out...

Whether you realise it or not, you are dealing with everyday struggles and an unpredictability that comes with having AS. Pulling yourself out of bed, exercising, making your dinner or even just showering is 100 times more difficult...

I recently ran a Twitter poll asking members of the chronic illness community to vote on the topics that were most compelling to them when it comes to chronic illness...

After my diagnosis of AxSpa, and once I was already taking Humira (one of the biologics), I experienced some gastrointestinal (GI) issues. Aside from the symptoms of AxSpa around my...

A story of a boxing match that helped me learn to manage my AxSpA flares. October 1974. I am 16 years old. Outside the sun is yet to rise, and...

When I was first diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, I was informed that it was a condition "mostly affecting men in their 20s." I remember it distinctly because it felt weirdly...

I've found over the last year that there are places to level up self-care in our house. My husband, Keegan, suffers from AS and chronic pain daily. We have 2...

I’m not going to lie--I’m excited for a return to "normal" (or a new normal anyway) now that the outlook of the pandemic is looking up. I’m looking forward to...

Every one of us with AS knows how tough life can be. Every one of us must live with AS – even when asleep – even when having good days...

What energizes you? This is a question I enjoy asking my coaching clients and personal network. Our AS lives are full of activities, events, external triggers that require a lot...