Part Two Of My Diagnosis Story: Back To The UKI left off Part 1 of my diagnosis story just before I was forced to wheel myself onto a flight back to the UK. I bid farewell to all of...Reactions0reactionsComments31 comments
My First Birthday With AxSpaMy first birthday being sick was a strange one. I was so unwell. My friends and family made such an effort to make sure I had a special day, a...Reactions0reactionsComments5 comments
My Experience With CimziaBefore I tell you about my experience on Cimzia, I want you to know that everybody is different, we will all react differently to medicine. What works for me, might...Reactions0reactionsComments2 comments
Developing Boundaries In The AS CommunityThis is going to be hard to write — and hard to admit to myself — but I've had to develop real boundaries when it comes to engagement in the...Reactions0reactionsComments19 comments
Always Being "On" With Chronic IllnessLiving with chronic illness means constantly feeling like you are tending to something, whether that be your physical body and its very real and always-present pain, or the deluge of...Reactions0reactionsComments3 comments
Deciding Whether to Go Back to Work or NotIf you’ve read my other articles, you will know that before I got sick, I was a remarkably busy person. I used to work a lot while being a student in college. I was always...Reactions0reactionsComments11 comments
The Lies I Told Myself Before DiagnosisIt’s roughly twenty years since I first noticed my symptoms. Eight years later I would finally hear them referred to as clear indicators that I had ankylosing spondylitis. During those...Reactions0reactionsComments6 comments
How Music Helps Me CopeMusic is incredibly important in my life. I began playing from a young age courtesy of a lovingly heavy influence from my incredibly talented grandmother. I started formally taking piano...Reactions0reactionsComments3 comments
Streaking For The Over 60s Might Be Just What's NeededAs I’ve got older, I’ve become less inhibited about certain things. I’d always believed (naively perhaps) a person got more inhibited as they aged. Not less. But maybe it’s the...Reactions0reactionsComments5 comments
It’s Okay If You’re Not Where You Thought You’d Be By NowYears ago I remember talking to some friends about what we envisioned for our futures—how our lives would look by the ages of 20, 25, 27… I remember saying that...Reactions0reactionsComments1 comments
A Look At The Difficult Journey of Spondyloarthritis TreatmentMany people outside of the axial spondyloarthritis (AxSpA) community do not understand that “treatment” is a full sentence. The symptoms of spondyloarthritis are ever-changing, full-body, and, oftentimes, not well understood...Reactions0reactionsComments6 comments
My Husband and I Stopped Sharing a Bed Because of ASIf you are anything like me, sleep is vital to your existence and it is non-negotiable for my pain management. And while I can sit here and say this now...Reactions0reactionsComments6 comments
3 Ways to (Gently) Work Out With AS on Flare DaysEveryone is at a different stage in their AS, which is why I'm recommending these three below ways to move with one clear caveat: Please listen to your body, and...Reactions0reactionsComments7 comments
Blessings of My DiseaseAlthough being diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis was a scary and uncertain experience, there are a lot of positives to come out of it. I began fundraising, something I had never...Reactions0reactionsComments1 comments
Diet Changes That Helped My ASLiving with condition like AS is not as simple as taking medicine and getting on with it. Medication can only do so much. I'm very grateful for how well my...Reactions0reactionsComments28 comments
My AxSpa JourneyI have lived with this condition for 30 years now. And I can say it has been a true rollercoaster ride for me filled with many ups and downs. Unfortunately...Reactions0reactionsComments1 comments
The Importance of Sunlight With ASI've lived in New York City for nearly 20 years — and for most of it, nature was just not a priority to me. I relished the cement jungle and...Reactions0reactionsComments12 comments
How To Be Heard With AxSpa: Doctor EditionHave you had a doctor make you feel like your pain wasn’t real? Or maybe they simplified your treatment by saying something like “this is going to be easily managed...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
My 5 Things For a Better DayI’ve changed so much during my 20 years with spondyloarthritis that my 24-year-old self probably wouldn’t know me. She lived a life mostly in denial of her disability. That Dawn...Reactions0reactionsComments2 comments
I'm So Sick of Brain FogDo you know what brain fog is? Maybe you have it, you just don’t know the term. Brain fog is characterized by forgetfulness, confusion, and a general lack of mental...Reactions0reactionsComments3 comments