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Blog, General Education, Patient Stories

Arthritis Storytelling Hour: Real Stories from People with Inflammatory Arthritis

December 6, 2020
3 min read
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In this live event, twelve patients living with inflammatory arthritis shared humorous, heartfelt and compelling stories for a good cause: the Arthritis Foundation and Cheryl Crow’s “Arthritis Life Jinglers” Jingle Bell Run team! 

Listen and learn about how difficult the diagnosis process is for some, how people with rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis learned to advocate for themselves, how to navigate work life with your condition, what it’s like to be a “spoonie mom,” the importance of mindset, acceptance and self-care, and more! 

Video details:

Diagnosis Stories

  • 1:50 – Chloe Umpleby JIA (Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis) journey
  • 7:02 – Kia Peters: diagnosis of RA (rheumatoid arthritis) during graduate school
  • 11:31 – Sammantha Dorazio: diagnosis led to career as Nurse Practitioner
  • 14:56 -Paulina Burzynsk: how RA helped her take better care of your body 

Advocacy & Learning to Speak Up

  • 25:00 –  Jed Finley  example of how he learned how to advocate for himself in the context of medical appointments for his ankylosing spondylitis 
  • 30:30 –  Mimi Cross – how she learned that if something makes you uncomfortable you need to speak up even if that feels awkward

The effect of Rheumatoid Arthritis on work

  • 36:32 – Sarah Dillingham – how she became comfortable talking about RA at work
  • 42:49 – Effie Koliopoulos – how RA led her to her passion for writing 

RA and family

  • 46:40 – Ushma Sampat – how RA affects family relationships and life partnership / marriage
  • 55:07 – Jes Hosjan  How AS affects her experience as a mom and how she learned to advocate as a “spoonie mom!”

Humor and Mindset

  • 1:03:45 – Cristina Montoya – Humorous take on life with RA
  • 1:10:40 – Krista – Her experience chasing a past life to be the same “pre diagnosis” and how she learned to embrace the present
  • 1:18:36 – Cheryl Crow – My journey to acceptance of discomfort and uncertainty in life, how ACT (acceptance and commitment therapy) and my two therapists helped me!

Medical disclaimer: All content found on Arthritis Life public channels was created for generalized informational purposes only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Links to speaker pages and websites:

This video is brought to you by the Rheumatoid Arthritis Roadmap, an intensive online education and support program Cheryl Crow created to empower people with tools to confidently manage their social, emotional and physical lives with rheumatoid arthritis.