Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis is an autoimmune disease that attacks the joints. There is not a ton of information out there about what it’s really like living with this disease. When I was about 6 years old I was given the diagnosis and now I’m an adult. I used to be very embarrassed about letting anyone know that I had JRA and would not talk about it. Now I hope by sharing what I deal with I can keep somebody else from ever feeling weird about having arthritis, any other disease, or by just being different. I call it my “Twisted Gift” because having arthritis has forced me to look at life in a way that I might not have otherwise.
Some days you will feel great and some days you won’t. But that’s normal for anyone with or without a disease. There are also thousands of worse diseases that people must live with. Sometimes when I really feel achy and frustrated, I consider the junk that other people are facing and realize that I’m not so bad off after all.
Holler at me and share your thoughts! Thanks for reading. -pm
From reading some of what you wrote I get the feeling I may be speaking to the converted, but someone who does not know may benefit from this message. RA is a message from your body saying it is not happy with the way things are going with diet life style and toxicity. Your RA is an autoimmune disease of course and these diseases are interesting and scary there are approximately 80 to 100 with another 40 waiting for a name. Medical science cannot explain why and has not found a cure for even one. You can trigger one of them just by having an auto accident, taking aspirin, medication or by starting a new exercise routine, even too much stress says latest research. Naturopathic medicine says, “Look for the root, it is in the basics beginning with what is on your fork, what toxins are in your body, what exercise do you do, what stress is in your life, what is your spiritual base”. Scientific arrogance has led us down the wrong path we better stop and take a close look at what is happening. This month 150 new chemicals which are part of the autoimmune problem will be added too industry with no oversight control at all. Autoimmune disease is the worst kind of contradiction; for an RA or JRA sufferer you are attacking your joints with your immune system, a world upside down. God bless you in your search.
Sincerely
Paul