Articles

If I were told to choose one system that I didn’t want to malfunction and impede on my daily life, the digestive system would have definitely been in my top...

In many ways, your quality of life with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) depends on your rheumatologist. That’s why it was nerve-wracking when I had to leave my rheumatologist of three years...

I’m firmly knocking on wood as a write this, but it’s been 12 months without a flare. Apart from two pregnancies, during which my body decided to stop waging war...

Once a month on Fridays I have picked to have my injection day. You would say I have gotten use to it by now, but every time this day comes...

Lately, I’ve been in an endless flare-up — one of those flare-ups that change shape every day. It's my neck or my back or my hips. One day I can't...

Here in Canada, Cannabis is legal. For a while now I have been using cannabis as a way to cope with my pain, as well as helping me fall asleep...

If you live with AS or any chronic illness, I’m sure you know the feeling of what I’m about to talk about. When I’m doing well, or have a few...

As I lie here in bed, listening to a Chili Peppers record, thoughts of worries fill my head. Since I became sick, I haven’t been abroad. This is one thing that...

It doesn’t feel like a stretch to say that stress has always made my AS symptoms worse. Most medical professionals and the majority of people with AS would agree. It’s...

Fatigue is tricky, namely because it can impact so much. From your work, to relationships, social life and ability to just function. Usually fatigue is associated with high disease activity...

“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” -- Winston Churchill I am ready to put away the virus and face the...

Eight years ago, I had my first big flare in my feet. It came from nowhere. It was Summer, I was enjoying my life in London. I had a busy...

Butterflies are one of my favorite things in life. Their particular beauty and grace makes it impossible to look away. And they seem to magically appear out of nowhere. It’s...

One thing that has remained a constant throughout decline of my health these last two years is this: the looming pressure to get better. With chronic illnesses, hearing the term...

How many of you wish more people around you would understand? How many of you wish living in this world, as a chronically ill person, with an invisible illness, would...

My advocating journey began in October 2020 with a fundraiser. A year later I continue to advocate every day. It was the best decision I have ever made. It changed my...

Over the past few years, I've learned a lot about what it means to have ankylosing spondylitis. When I was first diagnosed, I lived in this hazy fever dream. I...

You know how living with ankylosing spondylitis can feel like speaking a language that only you understand? It can be really isolating and frustrating, even when other make a concerted...

I hate finding out that somebody wasn’t actually my friend. It’s painful and embarrassing, especially when the evidence was plain for me to see all along. Betrayal can be confirmed...

Getting diagnosed with AS really took a massive hit on my career. Before my spine started to act up, I was enjoying life working as a teacher in China. Then...