The Seated View

This little fellow celebrates a new feature here on The Seated View: Photo Friday! I want to get back to sharing my photos again, and what better time to do so than a week that has been ridiculously busy?  Have a wonderful weekend. There will be more words next week. Hopefully.  

Dear Trophic , It’s damn near a miracle. And also a tragedy. But let me start at the beginning. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has always done a number of my stomach, and so has RA meds. It is a particular “blessing” to be hit with a disease that requires strong medications, and a sensitive stomach (the latter likely the consequence of the former). I couldn’t love my biologic medications more than I already do. You should also know that I’m a bit of a side effect magnet. Enter GERD and acid reflux, two of the most pronounced side effects. Which were made worse when I had to switch my anti-inflammatory medication. Figuring out how to mitigate the fire in my midregion has been an interesting challenge. It felt like my stomach was trying to eat itself. The last year as including quite the learning curve about what I can and cannot eat (no more gingersnaps), two trips to the emergency room with suspected heart attacks which turned out to be our two good friends GERD...

Earlier this week, we heard the news that Glenn Frey of The Eagles had died from complications of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and other conditions. It was an uncomfortable reminder that this disease with which we live has a mortality risk. How do you live with that? Is it possible to create a good life with RA knowing that statistically, there are a number of things that might cut your life expectancy short? The Facts. Ish. Imagine I’m holding your hand. This part of the post is a bit scary. Have you heard of the mortality gap? This term describes the shortened life expectancy of people with RA. RA is a systemic disease . Inflammation affects not just the joints, but also other systems in the body, including organs, tendons, and the vascular system. The mortality gap has a lot to do with the effects of inflammation on those systems. We have a higher risk of heart disease and stroke, due to the impact of inflammation on the heart. We have a high risk of pneumonia,...

I spent this past weekend noodling around with words and a great time. So I thought I’d wax rhapsodic about five things that I love being a writer. Living the dream I’ve wanted to be a writer since I knew what one was. After taking a sidetracked into higher education and a “real” day job (and following that, a long period of unemployment), my big flare smacked me upside the head and I came to my senses. And now, I get to do and be something I’ve dreamt of doing since I was a small child. I’m finally living the dream. And it’s every bit as wonderful as I’d imagined when I was four years old. I am a lucky, lucky woman. The creativity Every day, I get to play with words and make up stories. It means spending a lot of time in your head, playing with ideas and invisible friends. Essentially, you get to be a kid all day (the grown-up part is writing it all down with correct grammar). Spending my life creating is pure joy. It also keeps very weird dreams at bay. It isn’t ...