Articles

February 11, 2017, was the first day my AS pain started. It was the day that started an entirely new chapter of my life that changed everything. I was only...

I realize that what I’m about to share won’t resonate with everybody. But if there are only a few people with whom my story resonates, my mission is a success...

In my opinion, fatigue is the worst symptom of spondyloarthritis. Don’t get me wrong, the others deserve respect fitting the ruthless wrecking balls that they are. Pain excels at agony...

What makes us the people we are? Living with a serious health condition like ankylosing spondylitis can mean we spend a lot of time thinking and talking about ourselves as...

I don’t think either of us remembers what it’s like not to be in pain. The days of waking up feeling rested, refreshed, full of energy, with infinite possibilities in...

This month, I will be going on my first long-distance road trip since I was diagnosed with AS. While I am completely overjoyed at the prospect of getting a much-needed...

When a celebrity is diagnosed with a chronic illness, there are usually articles splashed across every magazine and tabloid. Often, their diagnosis is used as clickbait, a cheap and careless...

Editor's note: this article has a mention of gun violence. As I write this, in Indianapolis, about 15 miles south of me, a mass shooting has occurred at a FedEx...

"I'd recommend starting a biologic," Keegan's rheumatologist suggested at our first appointment. Keegan, my husband, and I were still wrapping our heads around the diagnosis he received only 6 months...

It wasn’t very often, if I even did at all, that I thought about what it would be like if I came out of remission. Transitioning into this new way...

Ankylosing spondylitis flare-ups are the worst. You might be having a good few days, and then seemingly out of nowhere, your muscles and joints start to ache, you start to...

Have you noticed how much content is devoted to what seems like normal things people should already know how to do? I'm not talking about the trumped up lists with...

As a medical student, you spend most of your time reading about all these rare diseases and learning how to recognize them on test days, and later on in future...

Wow! Just writing this title feels strange. Strange to think that it has now been 10 years since the onset of my AS symptoms and the beginning of a wild...

The journey to a diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is riddled with challenges that prevent patients from receiving the diagnoses and treatment they need. In particular, misconceptions about AS can...

“While writing about my health issues has not cured them, it has helped me develop better coping skills and even contributed to better management of my symptoms (and I could...

I’ve been using mobility aids for about 4 years now. The thing is, it wasn’t until more recently that I started to use them in public as needed. I think...

Ableism: Discrimination [whether purposeful or not] in favor of able-bodied people. This article is for people who love someone with a chronic illness, for people who are just learning about...

I did not react well to Cimzia. It did not help me. I ended up in the ER after three months of feeling unwell, a month-long headache, and a weeklong...

Like so many of us, receiving a diagnosis took some time for me as well. When I was about eleven or twelve years old I started getting pain in my...