In this special episode, you’ll hear original poems from nine people living with arthritis.
Effie Koliopoulos (of Rising Above RA) organized this live, virtual event in May 2021 and the poets included Arthritis Life founder Cheryl Crow.
Tune in to hear a range of poems, from gut wrenching to funny and everything in between.
Here’s the show breakdown:
- 01:00 Kristen Brogan: “An Unexpected Rebirth” (Sjogren’s)
- 05:00 – Emma (inflammatory arthritis)
- 7:55 – Gittel (AS) – “Being at War with Myself (aka the Rocky Relationship with my Body)”
- 12:50 – Melissa – “I am More than this Grief”
- 18:00 – Cheryl Crow – “A Pleasure to Have in Class”
- 27:00 – Joel Nelson – “The Arthritis Tease” and “The Invisible”
- 30:10 – Unity – Croon
- 33:40 – Gittel – additional biographical info
- 34:40 – Melissa – “Brain Fog” poem
- 37:10 – Mimi Cross (Inflammation Vacation)
- 38:15 – Ashley S “You Say You’ll Never but I do.”
- 41:25 – Gittel – Second poem
- 43:00 – Effie – reading from Brenda Klean-Sasser poem (2012) “100 Shades of Blue”
Speaker bios in order of appearance:
Kristen Brogan Kristen has been living with rheumatoid arthritis and sjogren’s since 2018. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and has a PhD in Cognitive and Behavioral Sciences, which she uses to inform behavioral chronic illness coaching that she provides for others living with chronic illness. In her free time, she enjoys writing, yoga, meditation, and spending time with her partner and their three dogs.
Links: IG handle @WarriorsMoveMountains and my website which is www.WarriorsMoveMountains.WordPress.com
Emma is a 24 year old living with inflammatory arthritis in Ontario, Canada.
Gittel Gittel is a 32-year-old daughter of immigrants from Central America, who was born and raised in downtown Los Angeles. She is a “forever teacher” who is no longer in the workforce due to her diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis (among others). Currently, she is riding out the pandemic at her parents’ and is learning to manage her illness as best she can—one moment at a time. She can be found on IG at @gittie
Melissa McKenzie is a writer from Jamaica who can be found at @pennedbymelissa on Instagram.
Joel Nelson: Writer. Arthritis Advocate. Dad. Sharing my story of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis to raise awareness. Specialising in pain, parenting and mental health. Also writes for leading charities and organisations.
- Blog: https://joelvsarthritis.co.uk/
- Joel’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joelvsarthritis.
- Joe’s Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/joelvsarthritis.
- Joe’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joelvsarthritis.
- Joel’s Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZrEJm2eWSSpXx8qMTjdgWA?view_as=subscriber
Cheryl Crow is an occupational therapist who has lived with rheumatoid arthritis for seventeen years. Her life passion is helping others with rheumatoid arthritis figure out how to live a full life despite arthritis, by developing tools to navigate physical, emotional and social challenges. She formed the educational company Arthritis Life in 2019 after seeing a huge need for more engaging, accessible, and (dare I say) FUN patient education and self-management resources.
You can find cheryl at:
- Cheryl & Arthritis Life on Instagram
- Cheryl’s website: Arthritis Life
- Arthritis Life Tiktok: @ArthritisLife
- Arthritis Life Facebook Page
- Cheryl’s Twitter: @realcc
- Arthritis Life Youtube channel
Unity Schmidt: Born into a near-death experience, my journey with JRA became official shortly after my 1st birthday; activating my lifepath to move from chronic pain to purpose. As a life coach, author and teacher, I help my clients understand their energy, move through any blocks/challenges, and awaken their inner magic to reach their biggest dreams! Learn practical, magical ways to uplevel your life and choose your adventure with faery godmother life coaching, classes and my “SOS Energy Report” now available online.
Mary (Mimi) Cross, age 27, diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis 7 years ago, runs Inflammation Vacation.
Ashley Shrum is a physical therapist living with arthritis who can be found on Instagram at @a.shrummer
Effie Koliopoulos is a freelance writer and rheumatoid arthritis patient advocate. She created her blog Rising Above Rheumatoid Arthritis in 2016, after being inspired to share her story more publicly and connect with others after undergoing a total knee replacement.
Currently residing in Chicago, she is working on her debut children’s picture book, enjoys creating video content for her YouTube channel and other projects. Effie’s Blog
- Effie’s Instagram
- Effie’s Twitter
- Effie’s Rising Above RA RAra Shop Designs (Merch):
- Effie’s Youtube Channel: RA and Myself
This episode is brought to you Rheum to THRIVE, a membership community Cheryl created to help people with rheumatic disease go from overwhelmed, confused and alone to confident, supported and connected. Join the waitlist today!
Arthritis Life links:
- Cheryl’s Arthritis Life freebies:
- Free Handout: Cheryl’s Master Checklist for Managing RA
- Free Training: Arthritis Life Hack Crash Course
- Arthritis Life Program Links
- Join the waitlist for Rheum to THRIVE, a membership community Cheryl created to help people with rheumatic disease go from overwhelmed, confused and alone to confident, supported and connected.
- Rheumatoid Arthritis Roadmap, an self-paced online course Cheryl created that teaches people with RA how to confidently manage their physical, social and emotional life with this condition.
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.
