The Seated View

This was one of the most fun interviews I've done in a while. Michael Kuluva premiered his 2018 Spring/Summer Tumbler & Tipsy collection at New York Fashion Week last Wednesday. And I got to interview him and get a preview of the collection! In a video! I also talk to Seth Ginsberg of CreakyJoints, the official sponsor of the show. I can't pop the video into this post, but I promise it will be worth your while (I want that jacket!): "Lene Andersen gives us a peek into fashion designer Michael Kuvula’s 2018 fashion line, debuting at the fall 2017 New York Fashion Week—and talks about how he’s continuing to use his fashion platform to spread awareness about RA. CreakyJoints president Seth Ginsberg also shares why they’re happy to support Kuvula, and how he’s a shining example of pushing past your chronic illness to do big things in life." You can also read the accompanying article where Michael talks about his fashion line, Tumbler and T...

And... mic drop! In my new article for HealthCentral, I get the teensiest bit opinionated about how breaking the rules of being a "chronic illness patient" can actually be good for you. It includes profiles of some fantastic people who are breaking rules all over: "A diagnosis of chronic illness brings a host of new things into your life. Some of the obvious include frequent doctor’s appointments, multiple medications, and symptoms that affect your day-to-day life. Not so obvious are the unspoken rules of being a chronic illness patient. Although they are well established, breaking these rules can actually be good for you. Attitude Our culture values independence, but that goes out the window once you get a chronic illness. All of a sudden, you’re expected to be meek and passive — a patient rather than a person. Compliance is actually the term used in medicine to describe a “good” patient. That is, someone who complies...

Sometimes, my writing and the site production gets a little out of whack. And then flurries happen. To wit, here are my last three articles for HealthCentral: First, and the last kind of timely I ever want to be, a slideshow about what you need to do to be prepared for an emergency when you have a chronic illness . Which reminds me that I have to go get a couple of extra things organized: "Getting ready for a potential emergency such as a hurricane, tornado, or blackout involves planning ahead in several different areas of your life. Some of your emergency plan will be the same as your healthy and able-bodied neighbors, but you will also need to make plans that specifically address your chronic illness." Second, being the new to life with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can be incredibly overwhelming. So I created a slideshow about 11 things you can bring to your first rheumatologist appointmen t that can make it easier: "Your family doctor suspected you hav...

”I don’t normally tell you what to do,” my friend Andrew said (wise man, for sure), “but Fan Expo may be a challenge for a person in a wheelchair.” He then proceeded to tell me about the massive crowds, the lineups, the crowds, and oh, yes, the crowds. He knows me well, knows I hate crowds, knows how difficult it is to have fun when you travel seated and the masses around you are standing. He has also attended Fan Expo and Comic-Con a number of times and knows whereof he speaks. Naturally, I ignored his advice. The Boy has been a fan of The Frantics for a very long time and they were appearing on Friday. Since the Friday was allegedly a less intense day than Saturday, this is when we chose to go. Because: The Frantics! Normally when we are out, I take a lot of photos, as does David. This time, there are embarrassingly few. I was too overwhelmed by the everythingness of what was happening to remember my camera. And that was early on a Friday! We wand...

I did not know that listening to k.d. lang sing Hallelujah was on my life list until last Thursday night at the Sony Centre in Toronto. I'm coming of of a very adventurous weekend. And it all started with a k.d. lang concert. To be honest, I have never been a huge k.d. lang fan. That is to say, I’ve known that she is a Canadian icon and a fantastic singer, but I haven’t really followed her music and her career. It’s not that I didn’t like her, just as I was mostly into other sorts of music. I’m on the Sony Centre mailing list and when I got an email with a notice that she was going to be performing there, I thought why not? and bought some tickets. Michele liked the thought of coming with me, but she is also in the same boat of this wonderful singer not having been much on her radar. Which is why we turned to each other after her second song and said “what have we been missing in the last 25 years?” The tour is called Ingénue Redux and celebrates the...