Author: asmyjointsturn

Kelly holds masters degrees in both Special Education and Speech-Language Pathology. She works full-time as a speech-language pathologist in both a public school setting and as an adjunct faculty member at a university, in Philadelphia, PA. She specializes in both autism and augmentative/alternative communication and took her skills to Uganda, Africa to start a special needs program for disabled children living in an orphanage in 2011. Kelly began experiencing symptoms of autoimmune arthritis in 1984 (while in her teens) but wasn’t officially diagnosed with autoimmune arthritis until 2001. Her first diagnosis was Sjogren’s syndrome. Eventually her diagnosis was changed to sero-negative RA and now Polyarticular Spondlyoarthropathy. She also manages thyroid disease (resulting from Graves Disease), fibromyalgia, renin-deficient hypertension, and disseminated superficial actinic porokeratosis (DSAP) on a daily basis. Kelly connected with other autoimmune arthritis patients via social media in 2008. She began volunteering with the “Buckle Me UP! Movement”, which evolved into the International Autoimmune Arthritis Movement (IAAM) beginning in 2009. Then became a cofounder of IFAA in 2013. She has represented the ACR on Capitol Hill as an Advocate for Arthritis, was a finalist in Wego Health’s Health Activist Hero awards in 2014, and speaks at various healthcare conferences as a patient advocate in the Philadelphia area.

Oh the places we will go…

October 15, 2019.Reading time 5 minutes.

I’ve not taken a proper vacation since my dog was diagnosed with diabetes. I refused to leave her for over two years until this past September, when I traveled to Washington DC for 2 nights for a patient advocacy trip. I admit that I was a wreck until I had her back in my arms. […]

RD Blogweek Day 5: Advice…

October 4, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

I’m proud to participate in the 5th annual RA Blog Week. Today’s topic: Advice – What advice would you give to your newly diagnosed self after what you’ve learned living with RD? Today has been a very difficult day. Not because of my help, but because of my dog’s health. The past three days […]

RD Blog Week: Day4: Community

October 3, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

I’m so honored to be participating in the 5th annual RD Blog week. Today’s topic is: Community – Our community is often hard on each other, even going as far as accusing others of not having RA when they can physically do more than others. How can we educate our own community on RA and […]

RD Blog week 2019: Day 3: Disability

October 2, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

I’m proud to participate in the 5th annual RD blog week. Today is day three and the topic is: Disability – Discuss your feelings about our position within the disabled community with variable disability. How do you deal with limitations that are present some days and not others? Professionally, I’m a speech-language pathologist and I […]

RA Blog week 2019: Day 2: Adjust

October 1, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

I am proud to be participating in the 5th annual RA blog week. Day two’s topic: Adjust – How do you adjust to the affects of RD on your career, dreams, goals? I started with symptoms of RA at the age of 14. I was told I had tendonitis. At 19, the pain and swelling […]

RA Blog Week 2019: Day 1: Dealing

October 1, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

I am so proud to participate in the 5th annual RA blog week. Today’s topic is: Dealing – How do other diagnoses impact your RD and its treatment? When I was diagnosed with Graves disease my endocrinologist told me, “Once you get one autoimmune diagnosis, you are likely to get a few more.” I didn’t […]

RA goes to Hollywood…

September 27, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

I was watching the NBC show “New Amsterdam” last night. It’s not the greatest show, but it is entertaining enough. The show is based on the novel “Twelve Patients: Life and Death at Bellevue Hospital” by Eric Manheimer. It follows the doctor in charge of the hospital who is “aiming to reform the neglected facility by […]

A little bit of this, a little bit of that…

September 22, 2019.Reading time 17 minutes.

It’s been a while since I had time to blog. So much to write about. Working full-time Patient Advocacy A milestone birthday So let’s start in September. I had spent the majority of my summer with serious gastroenteritis. I swear I have never experienced stomach issues like that in my life. I went through test […]

One more thing…

August 21, 2019.Reading time 3 minutes.

I’ve documented my rough summer. The last episode has been stomach bug or food poisoning. Honestly, I wasn’t sure which thing was making my stomach violently revolt. I began vomiting on a Friday night. By Monday, I felt fine again. Was at an appointment on Thursday and began to feel the familiar pang of cramps. […]

Dipping my toes in again…

August 15, 2019.Reading time 13 minutes.

I haven’t blogged in a while. It’s been part writer’s block and part being overwhelmed by life lately. I’ve had a lousy summer, in which so much stuff has gone wrong, that it is almost ridiculous at this point. These are the events that I have been dealing with for the past 2 months. -I […]