Chronic Care Collaborative: Arthritis – It Might Not Be What You Think

I was recently invited to write a guest post for the Chronic Care Collaborative on what arthritis really is and the first ever Rheumatic Diseases Awareness Month. You can check out my post here: Arthritis - It Might Not Be What You Think.

I know most of my followers don't need any additional schooling on the differences between OA, RA, and JA - but I still encourage you to check out the Chronic Care Collaborative! You can also follow them on Twitter. It's a group made up of 34 different voluntary health organizations representing a wide range of chronic diseases. They are dedicated to improving access to quality, affordable, and integrated healthcare, and they are doing some great work!

What Exactly is Arthritis? Let’s Set The Record Straight!

May is arthritis awareness month - the perfect time to set the record straight that the word arthritis is used to refer to more than 100 different diseases and conditions that destroy joints, bones, muscles, cartilage, and other tissue.

Read more at RheumatoidArthritis.net! 

Miss Michigan Has JRA

I have pretty mixed feelings about beauty pageants. Actually, I totally take that back. For little girls - like in Toddlers and Tiaras - I tend to think it's pretty much horrifying. That's why I'm all for Olive, the only real little girl in Little Miss Sunshine.

I'm pretty sure enforcing a stereotypical view of "beauty" isn't doing girls/women anywhere any favors. But, that being said, as girls get older at least there is a talent portion and opportunities for public speaking and scholarships, etc. The girls who make it to the top also have an opportunity to use their position as a platform to make a difference on issues that matter.

Which is why I was pleasantly surprised to read about Elizabeth Wertenberger, who was recently crowned Miss Michigan. She was diagnosed with JA at age 13, and told by her doctors that she would eventually lose her ability to walk. Now she is using her Miss America Pageant platform to raise awareness for arthritis and other chronic illnesses that affect children. She also wants to bring hope to suffering kids. And, my doubts about beauty pageants aside, I think that's pretty cool.

You can watch a video of Miss Michigan and vote for her to win Miss America here.

UPDATE: As one of you mentioned in the comments, Elizabeth was also featured in Arthritis Today. You can see that article here. 

Renoir

Did you know that Renoir apparently had the first well-documented case of RA in history? Apparently, though he suffered from severe joint deformation in his hands in his later years, he continued to paint by tying his paintbrush to his hand. Now that's determination for you!!

I learned about Renoir from an interesting article sent to me by my friend JG: 11 Famous People With Rheumatoid Arthritis. Though I have to admit that I have not heard of all of these people  (and they are saying Lucille Ball may not have actually had RA) it is interesting to see the various accomplishments of people who have dealt with RA: artists, movie stars, Oscar winners, singers, heart surgeons...even a Nobel Peace Prize winner! They clearly didn't let their RA stop them - and neither should you!

UPDATE: My blog also publishes automatically to my page on the Arthritis Foundation RA Community. One of my readers there passed along this link, which is a film of Renior painting in his later years. In the film you can see how RA has severely disfigured his hands, but he still continued to paint up until the day he died. It is a little bit disturbing to see his disfigured hands, but you have to remember that in the late 1800s there were no meds at all to manage RA. And it is amazing to see him persevere despite the RA.

(Heard of any other good RA Factoids? Send them my way and I will post them!!)

Jacuzzi!!

This RA Factoid is brought to you by my friend RK!

Apparently, the word "Jacuzzi" started out as the last name of a family of Italian immigrants, who were originally aircraft manufacturers. But the seven brothers decided to switch to making whirlpool-treatment hot tubs in 1948. Their inspiration for creating such a soothing and therapeutic wonder? One of their sons suffered from RA! So every time you find relief in a jacuzzi, you can thank the Jacuzzi brothers for their quest to help those of us with RA!

The source: There Once Was a Man Named Leotard: People Who Became Nouns

(Heard of any other good RA Factoids? Send them my way and I will post them!!)

Jeffrey Gottfurcht

On May 14, 2011, Jeffery Gottfurcht became the first person with RA to climb Mt. Everest!! Diagnosed with RA 10 years ago, at the age of 28, he decided not to let RA take this life goal away from him. He has also done amazing things for arthritis awareness, including starting a foundation to help children with arthritis live their own dreams: the Jeffrey Gottfurcht Children's Arthritis Foundation.

Considering the complaining I've been doing about my hips lately, his accomplishment is hard for me to even fathom. I mean, we're talking about Mt. Everest here. But he did it. And I find myself inspired. 

Just yesterday I was talking with a friend about whether I would ever be able to hike Half Dome again - a hike APL and I have each done separately that we have talked about wanting to do together someday. The hike takes you to the top of one of the most famous images in Yosemite National Park, which APL and I share as one of our favorite places on earth and is only a few miles from where we got married. But since my diagnosis I have had my doubts about my ability to hike 16 miles with about 5,000 feet of elevation gain - not to mention the cables you have to use to actually climb up the back of the dome. I've been wondering if I could ever have the hand strength, leg strength, and stamina to do it.

But if Jeffrey Gottfurcht can hike Mt. Everest with RA, surely a little planning and preparation could enable me to hike Half Dome if I really wanted to. Maybe Half Dome is my Everest - and maybe someday I'll get to accomplish that goal too.

(Heard of any other good RA Factoids? Send them my way and I will post them!!)

I Love Lucy

Did you know Lucille Ball had RA?

I didn't.

I learn something new every day.

(Heard of any other good RA Factoids? Send them my way and I will post them!!)