Invisible Illness Archives | Page 4 of 7 | Rheumatoid Arthritis Warrior

RAWarrior News Flare: Invisible Illness Week & ACR 2010

September 14, 2010May 15, 2018 Kelly O'Neill 9 Comments Invisible Illness, Patient advocacy

“News flare” just always seems more appropriate than news flash. There’s some big news for the blog this week. News for the blog is news for all of us since the Rheumatoid Arthritis Warrior blog represents the viewpoint of the patient living with the invisible illness of RA and the similar autoimmune rheumatoid diseases. It’s Invisible...Continue reading 9 Comments » Read more

Yale Medical School Graduation Address: a Patient Centered Approach

September 2, 2010May 15, 2018 Kelly O'Neill 5 Comments Invisible Illness, Talking to doctors

Dr. Donald Berwick made a unique graduation address at Yale in May 2010. His own daughter was graduating. I wanted to comment on Dr Berwick’s speech and post it for you for a while, but every time I read it I cry. Advocating patient centered care: What does that mean? I don’t often write about how healthcare...Continue reading 5 Comments » Read more

Response to a Blog Written by a Rheumatoid Arthritis Doctor

July 9, 2010May 15, 2018 Kelly O'Neill 8 Comments Invisible Illness, Rheumatoid Arthritis awareness, Talking to doctors

Please read the first part of this blog: Rheumatoid Arthritis Doctors. That post discusses a story written by a young doctor who describes part of his training. If you read that post and others on the site, you know this is not an attack on good Rheumatoid Arthritis doctors. Those are the ones, like Doctor...Continue reading 8 Comments » Read more

The Rheumatoid Arthritis Diagnosis Mystery

April 2, 2010May 15, 2018 Kelly O'Neill 21 Comments Invisible Illness, Rheumatoid Arthritis diagnosis

Mysterious flares For me, a Rheumatoid Arthritis diagnosis was a very long process. From the teen years on, sudden painful flares attacked my hands, feet, hips, and shoulders – only I had no idea they were called flares. The whole process seemed rather comical, like a scene from a Dick Van Dyke episode: healthy girl falls down...Continue reading 21 Comments » Read more

Stages of Rheumatoid Arthritis Heartache

March 9, 2010May 15, 2018 Kelly O'Neill 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

Dear Bridget Duffy from a Rheumatoid Arthritis Patient

January 7, 2010May 17, 2018 Kelly O'Neill 15 Comments Invisible Illness, Talking to doctors, Video or podcast

Bridget Duffy at Gel Health 2009 from Gel Conference. Dear Bridget, I was truly stunned when I came across your speech. Your story produces intense reaction from a woman living with Rheumatoid Arthritis. RA is primarily an invisible illness. It can cause a person to be severely disabled quite suddenly and need help from medical professionals desperately....Continue reading 15 Comments » Read more

10 Dumb Questions About an MRI for Rheumatoid Arthritis

November 12, 2009May 17, 2018 Kelly O'Neill 36 Comments Humor with RA, Invisible Illness, Measuring rheumatoid disease activity

You have rheumatoid arthritis symptoms in your hand? I went for an MRI on my hand the other day – for the third time. For the two previous weeks, I showed up to discover that the MR (Magnetic Resonance) machine had broken. Of course, the third time’s a charm. I did not say charming, though. The MRI /...Continue reading 36 Comments » Read more