Transparency & living with RA Archives | Rheumatoid Arthritis Warrior

Juggling Life and a Chronic Disease Like Rheumatoid

January 13, 2014May 14, 2018 Kelly Young 25 Comments Living with chronic illness like RA, Transparency & living with RA, Unrelenting RA - Persistent disease

Usually when someone hears I have five children, they ask, “How?!” My answer is always the same: “One at a time.” They span about 15 years – it’s not like there were five toddlers at once. Actually, there was never more than one in diapers at a time – so my mom had it much...Continue reading 25 Comments » Read more

Trust and Transparency with Disease Activity, Decisions, and Doctors

January 25, 2012May 15, 2018 Kelly Young 23 Comments Guest post on RA Warrior, Transparency & living with RA

I know you’ll love this guest post from Dana as we see the collision of her experience with the disease, the measurement of disease activity by her rheumatologist, and the decision to change treatments. She conveys so well the process of making decisions about disease management. This is the whole reason we want to be...Continue reading 23 Comments » Read more

The Tug of War of RA Awareness: Privacy of Pain & Agony of Disclosure

March 23, 2011May 15, 2018 Kelly Young 60 Comments Celebrities and Rheumatoid Arthritis, Pain Tolerance / RA Stoicism, Patient advocacy, Rheumatoid Arthritis awareness, Transparency & living with RA

This week’s post on Rosalind Russell raised some important questions. A comment by Ronda was highly critical of Russell for the way that she hid from the public the severity of her suffering due to Rheumatoid Arthritis. How can we raise awareness if we hide how bad it is? It’s a good question. Rosalind Russell was...Continue reading 60 Comments » Read more

Easier Said Than Done: Simple Things That Seem Impossible

March 19, 2011May 15, 2018 Kelly Young 68 Comments Humor with RA, Rheumatoid arthritis disability, Transparency & living with RA

Does anyone ever make a suggestion that they think sounds so easy? The idea is simple, but the reality is more complicated. Sometimes even I imagine it will be easy, until it’s time to do it. Things people suggest for me to do that I find difficult. My brutally honest list. Call your insurance company. I sit...Continue reading 68 Comments » Read more

The Isolation of RA Pain: Short Poem Video

March 16, 2011May 15, 2018 Kelly Young 12 Comments Guest post on RA Warrior, Rheumatoid arthritis pain, Transparency & living with RA, Video or podcast

Most people with RA talk about how difficult it is to explain RA pain to others. It’s frustrating to be repeatedly told that it isn’t or shouldn’t be so bad. Just today, a woman I met couldn’t wait to tell me about her friend with RA who’s able to do so much more than I...Continue reading 12 Comments » Read more

My Birthday Cards to Make You Smile

February 21, 2011May 15, 2018 Kelly Young 28 Comments Humor with RA, Patience & living with RA, Transparency & living with RA

By the time I go to sleep it will be my birthday. It is a strange occasion. Just about five years ago, my whole life changed when occasional RA flares became a full-blown disease. Like many of you: not very many people in my life knew what Rheumatoid Arthritis is. Most of them still don’t. I’ve tried...Continue reading 28 Comments » Read more

Stages of Rheumatoid Arthritis Heartache

March 9, 2010May 15, 2018 Kelly Young 207 Comments Courage & living with RA, Emotions and Rheumatoid Arthritis, Invisible Illness, Pain Tolerance / RA Stoicism, Transparency & living with RA

Warning: This post is for the faint of heart. Tired of the stages of Rheumatoid Arthritis grieving Yeah, I’m probably not supposed to say these things. Whatever… Some of these RA changes are wearing thin. I never wanted to be branded by anything negative. I’m getting tired of feeling like I’ve lost credibility because of the chronic illness...Continue reading 207 Comments » Read more

What Is it Like to Live with Rheumatoid Arthritis? Part 3: Communication Failure

February 8, 2010May 16, 2018 Kelly Young 54 Comments Communicating about RA, Pain Tolerance / RA Stoicism, Transparency & living with RA, Unrelenting RA - Persistent disease

I’ve failed. I’ve been writing about Rheumatoid Arthritis for a year and I have not been able to explain exactly what it is like to live with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). Sometimes, I think that I need to say it louder or use bolder print or stronger adjectives. One problem is that I try to be nice....Continue reading 54 Comments » Read more

Chronic Rheumatoid Arthritis, Perspective, & the Church

January 25, 2010May 17, 2018 Kelly Young 54 Comments Emotions and Rheumatoid Arthritis, Faith, Space, Transparency & living with RA

Swell opportunities with chronic RA It was a weekend of dramatic contrasts. There was good, bad, and ugly. There was failure, success, and “I suppose one day we’ll see a reason for that!” However, thanks to Rheumatoid Arthritis, I’m accustomed to rolling with the punches and saying, “Whatever.” I try not to stop at “whatever.” I know...Continue reading 54 Comments » Read more

What Is it Like to Have Rheumatoid Arthritis? Part 2: Why Don’t They Tell You?

December 17, 2009May 17, 2018 Kelly Young 77 Comments Cost of activity - usage principle, Rheumatoid arthritis fatigue, Transparency & living with RA

The Usage Principle makes living with Rheumatoid Arthritis hard In the Part 1: The Usage Principle, we discussed a phenomenon which is a daily issue for many people living with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Perhaps you noticed that blog post was unusual in that it did not have footnotes or links to studies which discussed the subject. I...Continue reading 77 Comments » Read more

The Life of a Professional Patient, Blog #4; Continuing to Fight Rheumatoid Arthritis

December 8, 2009May 17, 2018 Kelly Young 35 Comments Biologics for RA, Professional patient, Transparency & living with RA

Obligatory warning: this post is about the author of this blog… The author This is the blog post that I didn’t want to write. For about half of those who read this today, this will be the first time you’ve visited the blog. To you: This is not a typical blog post. This blog is about fighting Rheumatoid...Continue reading 35 Comments » Read more

5 Ways We Can Spread Awareness of Rheumatoid Arthritis

September 29, 2009May 17, 2018 Kelly Young 11 Comments Communicating about RA, Rheumatoid Arthritis awareness, Transparency & living with RA

What is Rheumatoid Arthritis? “Will people ever understand that the autoimmune disease Rheumatoid Arthritis is not the same thing as Gramma’s arthritis?” I have read numerous remarks recently that sound like this. They say: “Impossible. It is impossible for people without RA to understand what RA actually is.” It can be discouraging. I understand the exasperation. However, building a...Continue reading 11 Comments » Read more

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