Growing up with an autoimmune disease has advantages, in a weird way. For me, I could mostly hide it from people early on. When you don’t want a disease to be who you are known as, it’s beneficial. I was terrified that the other kids, or people in general, would only see the JRA. JRA is what I have, not who I am. As I got older, I decided not to hide it because I didn’t want anyone else to think it was shameful. I hoped that other kids dealing with JA would realize that it’s something they have but not who they are. While health issues try to take over our lives, we are allowed to think and do other things that make us whole. Let your chronic condition be a characteristic, not your entire personality.
