Columns

March 11, 2021March 9, 2021

A Life With Juvenile Arthritis Is Still a Happy Life

Columns, Life with Juvenile Arthritis

When I first started this column, I had so many things I wanted to share with families coping with juvenile arthritis (JA). I’ve written about everything from making home injections ... Read more

March 4, 2021March 2, 2021

Designing a Play Space That Accommodates Juvenile Arthritis

Columns, Life with Juvenile Arthritis

When I returned home from the hospital after my first major juvenile arthritis flare, my parents had to move around some items to make the house more accessible while my ... Read more

February 25, 2021February 23, 2021

Maybe Juvenile Arthritis Isn’t So Rare After All

Columns, Life with Juvenile Arthritis

With Rare Disease Day on Feb. 28 quickly approaching, I began to reflect on my experience living with juvenile-onset psoriatic arthritis. While I’ve had so many highs and lows dealing with ... Read more

February 18, 2021February 16, 2021

The Stigma of Invisible Illness Affects the Whole Family

Columns, Life with Juvenile Arthritis

It was hard to learn to advocate for myself as a teenager with juvenile arthritis. I have many anecdotes from those years when I was getting comfortable with speaking up ... Read more

February 11, 2021February 9, 2021

Do Biologics Lose their Efficacy Over Time?

Columns, Life with Juvenile Arthritis

Although it’s still two days away as I write this, I’m counting down the minutes until injection day. The biologic I use to control my juvenile-onset arthritis is a shot ... Read more

February 4, 2021February 2, 2021

How JA Parents Can Be Proactive at Rheumatology Appointments

Columns, Life with Juvenile Arthritis

Before every doctor’s appointment, I write down my questions on a little sheet of paper and put it in my pocket. It feels better to pull out a piece of ... Read more

January 28, 2021January 26, 2021

How to Deal With Pain Caused by Physical Therapy

Columns, Life with Juvenile Arthritis

After slowly rolling out of bed, I hobble to the bathroom. I don’t want to move a muscle — they’re all aching and don’t want to cooperate. Sitting on the ... Read more

January 21, 2021January 19, 2021

Tips for Helping Kids Take Their JA Medications

Columns, Life with Juvenile Arthritis

A couple years ago, I had my own shelf in the kitchen cabinet devoted solely to my medicines. I had vitamins that felt like the size of a quarter (that ... Read more

January 14, 2021January 12, 2021

The Many Faces and Types of Juvenile Arthritis

Columns, Life with Juvenile Arthritis

Sometimes when I sit down to write my columns, I’m at a loss for words. It’s not because I’m out of ideas, but because I’m overwhelmed by the number of ... Read more

January 7, 2021January 5, 2021

Feeling Worthy of Being Loved With Juvenile Arthritis

Columns, Life with Juvenile Arthritis

When I was a preteen and teenager, there were plenty of ways I tried to hide or change who I was. Like lots of teenagers, I used things like clothes ... Read more