Tag: Rheumatoid Arthritis

I have lived most of my life with a chronic autoimmune disease. I was a teenager when diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. My normal childhood was shattered with a sudden inability to walk or raise my arms to brush my hair and doctors used haunting words like "chronic" and "deterioration" that scared me. At the young age of 14, I knew my life would never be the same.

It came to me after a short time of living with this crippling disease that I have a relationship with this illness, just like I have relationships with everything else in my life. However, this relationship was perhaps my most intimate relationship because we share the same body. I figured out that I better become friends to the best of my ability with my disease and limitations because we probably have a long life together.