Last week, I saw more people with RA in one place than I’ve ever seen before. Can you imagine a gathering of almost a hundred people who know firsthand that the pain and fatigue of RA is real?

The Gathering of Arthritis Introspective

Every year, Arthritis Introspective (AI) hosts The Gathering for people with any arthritis disease (mostly RA and JRA) “living in the prime of life.” Next year’s Gathering is in Houston in March. Join AI’s Facebook page so you won’t miss any announcements.

What happens at The Gathering?

Sessions provided information and opportunity for discussion of topics ranging from positive outlook on life to joint surgery. There were even a couple of doctors making presentations. Don’t tell anyone, but most of the good stuff happens between sessions: learning from others’ experiences, building friendships, eating great food.

What an adventure for Katie Beth and me – and our dear friend Barbara, still recovering from recent spinal surgery. It was a girl’s day out like I’ve never had before! See the three of us as our plane landed back here in Florida!

My highlights from the weekend:

• Seeing the resiliency of people who face the trials of RA and still accomplish big things!
• Eating take-out fish tacos watching Star Wars by the fireplace with Barb, Katie Beth, & Hayley!
• Finally meeting my dear friend Pam face to face!

Meanwhile, back in our hometowns

We don’t need to be without friends who get it. We can put together little gatherings of our own. I know – it’s seems intimidating. It’s hard to do social things, much less organize them when you’re sick. But I’m convinced it’s worth it.  If you’re like me, it’s hard to set the date. I’m still hoping I’ll feel better and it will get easier… soon.

What about Saturday April 30^th? Would that work for some of us? If you’re in Central Florida, we’ll set something up in the Orlando area. Let me know if you’re game to meet with another person with RA who lives near you. Maybe you can find someone through the Local RA Support page or through our Facebook group. Or maybe if you leave a flier at your rheumatologist, someone will find you that way. Arthritis Introspective is an email or phone call away and they’re always glad to help set up a new local group.

Recommended reading

• Rosalind Russell: Rheumatoid Arthritis’ Most Glamorous Celebrity
• The Next Three Days: a Movie Review with a Twist
• Two Types of Rheumatoid Arthritis Medications

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This entry was posted on Monday, April 18th, 2011 at 6:00 am and is filed under Special Occasion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.