The fear of the unknown…

Life is scary for all of us right now. None of us have experience with this, so I’ve been following the recommendations of WHO (World Health Organization), the CDC (Centers of Disease Control), and the ACR (American College of Rheumatology). I did reach out to my personal rheumatologist and her advice was to get blood work done to see my levels. I asked if I should stop taking my biologic drug and her response was that it is ultimately up to me. It’s controlling my pain and swelling beautifully and giving me a quality of life I haven’t had in almost 17 years. She, like other rheumatologists that I follow on social media admit, no one knows what will happen because COVID-19 is novel. Are we extra susceptible because we take immunosupressive drugs? Maybe? Probably? Maybe not? It’s all a big question mark at this point. My doctor said, “If you think you can manage the pain again, you can go off.” That is what it is going to boil down to at this point. There have been reports that patients in China are being given ACTEMRA to treat lung issues (click here to read more.) It is a drug that I used before. Does that mean it can help me? Again, who knows. What I do know, is that I will stock up on my meds and hold tight.

I decided to hold off on going to the store. I went today and am now stocked for myself, Georgia and my cats. Georgia has been quite ill, so I’ve been focused on getting her healthy. I’m now on a two-week “vacation” because I work in schools in Pennsylvania. So I get to stay in with her and help her heal. I’m also relieved that I can “socially distance” by not going to work. It’s a huge relief. In saying that, I worked in a county that was the first to be “quarantined” due to high number of COVID-19 diagnoses. The next day, the county I live in was also quarantined. I don’t think any of us know if we have been exposed or not. Time will tell.

The news is a scary thing. I agree the mass media is hyping this BUT again, this is an unprecedented event in our world. I did get swine flu back in 2010, but I don’t recall being this scared. Of course I want to scream each time I hear, “Only the sick and elderly are at risk” because #1, there are more and more young healthy people being diagnosed, and #2, I’m one of the high risk people. I think my friend MarlaJan from LuckFupus said it best

I am going to recommend that people stick to reputable sources for info on the pandemic. Social distancing gives people a lot of extra time to find sources to either ease their fears, or rev them up. The non-profit I cofounded, IFAA and our initiative AiArthritis Voices 360 will be doing podcasts to continue to provide the global autoimmune arthritis/rheum community with information. Please stay tuned, as I will announce those as they occur. Click here to read more.

Until then, if you are looking for quality, factual, and scientific information, check out these following sites:

CreakyJoints. My dear friends at CreakyJoints have done an amazing job at putting together good information, patient voices, and doctor recommendations. Thank you! Click here to go to CreakyJoints site.

Charis Hill is a writer, advocate, and public speaker. She has been one of the top patient advocates being interviewed right now. She is a wealth of information. Her website is Being Charis, but I recommend you follow her on facebook, too. Being Charis (facebook)

IFAA/Aiarthritis: The non-profit I cofounded will be teaming up with CreakyJoints, Charis Hill: Writer, Speaker, Advocate – BeingCharis, Dr. Kim from Washington University Rheumatology Division to put together a COVID-19 AiArthritis Voices 360 panel. We will use our podcast platform as a “conferencing station”, open for you to listen to our conversations and then inviting you to join in on the discussions. Stay tuned for more info.

I am going to admit, I am struggling with this situation. I’m scared for myself and my family. I am losing work with clients who pay per diem for services, so bills will pile up. I have so many fears that I don’t know how to move forward. I found myself sleeping a lot. Last night, I decided I needed to take steps to protect my mental health as well as my physical health. Here are some of my plans:

-Read or listen to books. I’m going to focus on light, airy, and fun reads. Nothing too heavy or mind numbing.

-Binge watch TV. (I’m rewatching Season 1 of Outlander because….Jamie is a hottie. Enough said).

-Spring clean, I may need a forklift, but I’m determined.

-Do laundry and clear out clothes that I don’t wear.

-Go for walks, both with the dog and without. The weather is clear right now. I’m going to take advantage of it.

-Chat with friends and family via social media, text, and phone calls

-Limit my time watching the news. It’s scary. I will do daily check ins, especially for my state and county, but I will not be clicking on links from friends on facebook or twitter.

-Finally, I’m going to give myself this weekend to rest and regroup. I have two weeks to deal with my list. Monday is a good day to start.

As I read my list, I realize some of the physical stuff may be a bit lofty for my arthritis joints. Staying on my meds might be a good idea. I’ll wait for my blood work to be returned to make a final decision.

Wish me luck that I can also get my #spooniedog, Georgia Grace back to good health, too. She has been battling a UTI and the first round of antibiotics did not work. She is now on Clavamox and it is causing her to be listless, refuse food, and lose weight. She is a diabetic, so getting food into her is so important. I spoke with her vet today and we have a new plan moving forward. Lucky for me, I can be here with her to watch. As my dear girl ages, I know our time is limited. I don’t want her time to be spent feeling ill. Hoping to have her smiling again soon.

Be well my friends! We will get through this. Wash your hands. Socially distance yourself and keep on keeping on!