A senseless goodbye…

June 29, 2019.Reading time 8 minutes.

I lost someone I love to drug addiction. It started with an addiction to prescription pain meds. He injured his ankle years ago and struggled with the pain. I figured out he was an addict after I had surgery to repair my broken ankle. He asked me what medication I was given and I told […]

I have what???

June 22, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

****I’m updating the story: I started with symptoms on a Tuesday. Wednesday spiked a fever. By Saturday, my fever was 102 and I broke down to see a doctor. I woke up early Sunday morning to take care of Georgia’s insulin and meds. Ate some toast and went back to bed to rest. Woke up […]

Inflammation motivation…

June 17, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

I recently read an article called: “Chronic inflammation removes motivation by reducing dopamine in the brain.” Reading the article was one of those “OMG this is me!!!” moments. For the past few years, I just could not figure out where my motivation went. Granted, I’m exhausted and in pain….but I have ZERO motivation for things […]

With a hope and a flare….

June 10, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

This past week, I’ve been dealing with one of the worst flare ups of my disease in years. I say the word “disease” because honestly, no one seems to know for sure what I have. Sometimes I’m told I have rheumatoid arthritis. Other times, I’m told I have psoriatic arthritis or spondyloarthopathy. All I know….is […]

Engage me…

June 3, 2019.Reading time 10 minutes.

Last week, I had the opportunity to participate in a patient panel at the “Virtual Clinical Trials In Drug Development Conference”, in Philadelphia. I thought I was a good candidate to participate because in addition to being a patient, I participated in IFAA‘s “A Community Team” (ACT) as a patient leader running […]

Sorry for smiling….

May 5, 2019.Reading time 20 minutes.

Recently, social media has been buzzing with the warning that the government will soon be using social media tracking to crack down on disability fraud. I wouldn’t say this is surprising. People have been spying on the disabled for years. Growing up, I always heard how people “faked disability” to milk the system. My family […]

Justify yourself…

March 21, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

The symptoms… The past few months I have been really down. Emotionally, financially, and physically. My dog’s medical bills are weighing on me. I feel constant stress over it. I picked up another job so now I have three 10-12 hour work days to pay for her care. I’m exhausted. I justified that exhaustion to […]

Who knows best…

March 18, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

Insurance is a blessing and a curse in my life. I’m grateful to have coverage, but so frustrated a the antiquated system of step therapy that they industry still holds valid. I’ve written before about suffering for 7 years before finding a biologic drug that made me feel somewhat human again. Why? Because I had […]

Cry or lie…

March 7, 2019.Reading time 7 minutes.

The why… I’ve been going through a lot lately. Physically, financially, and emotionally. Life has been a roller coaster without a stop button. I keep thinking about my mom’s favorite quote, “this too, shall pass”….and hope for a better tomorrow. Lately, tomorrow seems to be a lifetime away as things pile up….but looking for the bright […]

A little bit more…

February 18, 2019.Reading time 5 minutes.

I may have become cocky and over confident in my ability to tolerate pain. On an average day, my fingers, elbows, shoulders, hips, lower back, knees, ankles and feet hurt. A lot. Each day starts out with almost all my joints revolting when I try to stand up in the morning. It eases up […]