The Sleep Problem

Although not technically a symptom of the disease, a lot of people with RA have trouble with sleep. Some people have trouble falling asleep. Some people have trouble staying asleep. Some people have trouble with both.

Read more at RheumatoidArthritis.net.

December Articles On Answers.com

You can find a complete list of all the articles I have published on Answers.com by clicking here. Below is a list of the new articles I published in the month of December.

• Juvenile Arthritis (JA) 
•  School
• Educational Accommodations For Children With Juvenile Arthritis
• 504 Plans For Children With Juvenile Arthritis
• Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) For Children With Juvenile Arthritis
• Early Intervention For Children With Juvenile Arthritis
• Help Children With Juvenile Arthritis Deal With Teasing or Bullying

Traveling With Refrigerated Medications

Are you traveling with refrigerated meds in tow this holiday season?  

Find tips to make it easier at RheumatoidArthritis.net.

We Are Not Alone

Did you know that Lucille Ball & Pierre-Auguste Renoir had RA?

Read more at RheumatoidArthritis.net.

Team Z Raises More Than $25,000!

Team Z raised $1,305 for the 2013 Jingle Bell Walk this year. That means that since Team Z started fundraising three years ago, we have raised more than $25,000 for the Arthritis Foundation!! I'm very proud and I hope that our funds can make a difference!! Thank you so much to all of our friends and family members who have contributed over the years!!

2013 Denver Jingle Bell Walk

Despite the nearly sub-zero temperatures (I believe it was 13 degrees?) our family and friends participated in the 2013 Denver Jingle Bell Walk on Sunday. (Honestly, I think it was warmer than last year because last year it was windy.) It was our biggest team yet with 22 adults, one baby, and one dog.

As the honoree this year, I gave a short speech at the start of the race. I briefly told my story and said it was a privilege to represent all the young people out there who are trying to start their careers, start their families, and start their lives while living with arthritis. And even though I didn't grow up with arthritis I also hope that I can serve as a role model for kids with arthritis. 

Sadly, since my knees have been giving me a lot of trouble, I wasn't actually able to walk myself this year. (Unfortunately the knee injections did not seem to solve the problem, although it seems to have helped at least a little bit.) Not being able to participate really got me thinking again about whether "A Walk" is really the best fundraising idea for arthritis. Yes, as the honoree theoretically everyone was walking in my honor. But how many of them knew I couldn't do the walk myself? How many of them really understood the impact that RA has on my life? Aside from raising some money, is the Jingle Bell Walk really getting the message out and raising awareness about arthritis? Honestly I'm not sure it is.

As the honoree I attended several pre-walk events this year. At one of the events I met some committee members (yes, the volunteers who organize the Jingle Bell Walk) who didn't seem to know that there were different types of arthritis! I had to explain the difference between RA and OA to them. One of them even joked to me that at least I didn't have to walk like Quasimodo, and I had to explain to him that arthritis can, in fact, be crippling and disabling. Learning that the people who were organizing the event were so uninformed themselves (and thought cripple jokes were funny) did not leave me with much hope that the event was actually getting the message out. I did speak to the Arthritis Foundation staff about the incident and they assured me that they would re-double their education efforts, but it was still disheartening. 

While walking and gentle exercise can be very beneficial for people with arthritis, maybe having "A Walk" as our main fundraiser does not send out the right message to the general public. Because many people with arthritis can't walk, or struggle to walk, or find walking painful - at least some of the time. The more I think about it, the more I think Dan is probably right:

You would never see the Breast Cancer people hold a wet-t-shirt contest, and you would never see the Cystic Fibrosis people hold a competition to see who could hold their breath the longest. Also, you would never see the alcoholic crowd hosting a wine tasting, and you certainly would never see the arthritis crowd hosting a walk – oh wait! Do you see how crazy it sounds when in appropriate company?

The problem is, although I have been thinking about it a lot lately, I haven't come up with any better ideas for alternatives. So I am reluctant to say that we should stop walking for arthritis - because it does raise research dollars. But. But I wish there was something we could do to make sure the message about the impact of arthritis actually gets to the people who are participating.

I'm going to keep thinking about it. 

AmazonSmile

Want to contribute to arthritis research while you do your holiday shopping? AmazonSmile will give a percentage of your purchases to the Arthritis Foundation!! 

All you have to do is go through this link to do your shopping: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/58-1341679. It works just like regular Amazon only you should see a small "Supporting: Arthritis Foundation" in the top left corner of your screen.  

Please share this info with your friends!

Knee Needles

I'm writing this blog post from the lodge at Loveland ski area. I wish I could say I was able to hit the slopes with my dad and APL, even just a little bit, but sadly I am still having a lot of trouble with my knees. 

After almost two weeks of taking oral prednisone, my knees are still killing me. It was getting difficult to stand in the kitchen long enough to make a meal or unload the dishwasher. It was getting difficult to drive. Even sitting on the couch seemed to hurt - not that I get to do much couch sitting while chasing aflyer my one year old! Though my rheumatologist asked me to check back after trying the oral steroids for three weeks, I didn't think I could make it that long. It felt like my knees were only getting worse. 

So I emailed my rheumatologist and last Friday I went in to have cortisone injected directly into each of my knees. It wasn't exactly a pleasant prodecure. Those needles are pretty long and went pretty far into each of my knee joints. The pain was sort of like a zing that traveled through my whole body. But I figured it would be worth it if my knees would stop hurting so much. 

Friday evening my knees felt way more swollen and stiff than before - which I guess makes sense considering they were literally filled with a foreign liquid! But I wasn't exactly expecting to spend Friday afternoon and evening more or less crippled on the couch in the family room. Thank goodness APL was there to help me wrangle OZL! After about 24 hours or so, my left knee started feeling a little bit better. But my right knee (the one that has gone pop so many times) is still pretty painful four days later.  

I'm pretty sad and frustrated about it because I guess I sort of thought that cortisone injections were as close to a magic fix as possible. I thought I might be able to enjoy my dad's visit in less pain and maybe even ski a few runs with him. I emailed with my rheumatologist yesterday and he says to wait a few more days - maybe the cortisone will still kick in. But if it doesn't it could mean that I have an internal injury in my right knee - though I don't remember anything weird happening. I suppose if my knee still hurts in a week or so I will probably need some X-rays. 

In the meantime I guess there is nothing to do but wait and see. And try to enjoy the scenery. 

Parenting Amidst The Pain

I know someday I will need to explain my RA to OZL. I often wonder how it will come up. Will I be able to explain it so he understands? How will he react? I have always planned to be honest with him about it, because I truly think that honesty is the best policy. But that doesn't mean I am looking forward to it.

In any event, a fellow blogger at RheumatoidArthritis.net, Asha LeRay, recently wrote about how she told her four year old daughter about her RA. Because I strongly believe there need to be more resources out there for parents with RA (or other chronic pain) I wanted to share her post with you! 

Read it here: Parenting Amidst the Pain.

Best Health Blogs of 2013

From This Point. Forward. has been nominated for the second time for Healthline's Best Health Blogs of 2013 contest! There are lots of amazing health blogs on the list over a range of topics and health issues - so please check out the contest and vote for your favorite!!