The Girl With Arthritis

(Resharing this from 2021)  When I first started this column, I had so many things I wanted to share with families coping with juvenile arthritis (JA). I’ve written about everything from making home injections less painful to ergonomic backpacks. As this will be my last column, I wanted to share the most important thing I’ve learned over the years. The most valuable piece of advice I can pass on has nothing to do with treatments, doctors, accommodations, or arthritis hacks. It’s that you need to hold on to hope and remember that a life with JA can still be a happy one. Even if the future looks a little different than you expected. Read the full article at juvenilearthritisnews.com

There hasn't been any commotion here on the blog, or on any of my social media. Normally it's when I'm not doing well that I don't write because it's harder to concentrate and I save my spoons for what absolutely must be done. But as of the past weeks, it's actually because I'm doing very well. In fact, the past few weeks have been some of the best I've ever had. With the start of a new school year came lots of changes, but I certainly embraced them rather than tried to keep things as they were: Change is very good, and sometimes you have to be the change you want. There have been lots of nice things that have come my way lately, which I've been very fortunate for. I'm walking and moving more than in the past, and I know I am stronger now: I've even gone out dancing a few times. Instead of feeling like a loner in a group, I feel part of a large community of friends, and there has never been a time in my life when I've felt more accepted...

I'm a graphic design student. More or less, I study art. It's not an easy thing to study: There are sleepless nights working, sacrifices made and -of course- many, many tears shed. You put so much effort and work into what you do that if it were between you or your piece being hit by a bus, you would throw yourself into it. It's extremely hard, but it is very well worth it in the end. I've always had an interest in medicine. Since the age of three I said I was going to be a doctor when I grew up. That's obviously changed. But I still really like medicine, despite the fact that sometimes I feel like I live in a medical drama gone wrong. I do a lot of reading on the subject and watch a lot of reality documentaries about doctors, nurses and patients (international and otherwise). I am often able to understand 'doctor talk' and I think it's interesting. A lot of people have asked me why I don't study medicine if I'm so interested in it and keep a...

Lately I've been trying to cover the topic of depression. This week I posted  Medication Depression , and much earlier I talked about  My Arthritis Depression  discussing the hard time around my diagnosis and early treatment. Today, I decided to talk about what helped me get through it. These things may help you. If you are depressed, please reach out for help: We can only help if you want it. These tips will not get you through it completely; they're merely small tricks to make it easier at times. Everyday, Have Look Forward to Something . Having something to look forward to helps keep you positive. Long term goals are excellent- Promotions, awards, holidays, birthdays and such are great. Short term goals and little things work wonderfully as well. I'm looking forward to the release of the last book in my favourite series in a few weeks, I'm looking forward to seeing some friends tomorrow, I'm looking forward to wearing my favourite winter clothes, and all sort...

Happy Valentine's Day! For all those couples out there, I hope you had a happy day. To all those who are single, I hope you had a happy day. For all of those who aren't really sure if your a 'real' couple yet, I still hope you had a happy day. I am a single teenager with arthritis. So, this year Arthur was my Valentine. We dressed up nicely in pink, had heart shaped sandwiches, and pink cupcakes. We also got to work on some art projects, joke with a lot of friends, and even saw some cute boys (I don't know about Arthur, but that always makes my day a little brighter :) ). Arthur was even on his best behaviour, so it was a pretty painless days. Except the pain of a single heart... just kidding! It was kidney pain. A lot of people who are single walked around miserably today. I think that it's really up to you to make your own time: No one can force you to be sad or happy, it's really up to you. And anyway, it gets annoying after a while to hear "H...

Makes you think differently about some words. "I'm going to hospital." The hospital. That hospital. Hospital. This hospital. Over to hospital. I use one of these expression nearly every day. And no matter what name you give it, no matter how you refer to it, one thing is for certain: 'Hospital' is a severe word. It makes people expect the worse. I think a lot of people just harbour a lot of terrible thoughts about hospitals. Sometimes you can get people use to this term without acting as if it were a big deal; I've gotten probably 75 per cent of my friends now joke with me about it, as well as understand that my visiting the hospital is nothing to get nervous about and feel is a terrible, dreadful thing. Maybe it is a terrible, dreadful thing? I'm just very used to it. I don't feel especially nervous going to the hospital, unless maybe if I forget a jumper (sweater) in case it's very cold inside or if I'm missing a test in school while I...

Many times doctors and nurses are able to help people recover from diseases. Sometimes doctors and nurses can't help you and they want to. There's no cure or pain relief for some diseasees. A poem that was about a young child with cancer put it "The worse part about being in the hospital, is that they give you all the ice cream you want because they know there is nothing better they can do. Ice cream can't make things better." And it's true. People who are terminally ill often have their wildest dreams and wishes granted. Kids with arthritis, epilepsy, and such often have camps and fun days devoted to them. This, they feel, is the best way to treat a person because when giving them a cure isn't possible, giving them happiness is the next best thing. I don't see this as a bleak thing. I see this as a life lesson.