Welcome to LivingRheum. My name is Jo-Ann Colburn. I am 44 years old. I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) 8 years ago. I am happily married to my college sweetheart Eric. We have been blessed with 3 amazing boys Alex (18), Nate (14), and Kevin (9). We live in a fairly rural portion of Rhode Island with our 2 dogs Daisy and Max, our rabbit Nala, and a varying number of fish depending on whether or not Kevin has remember to feed the poor things. For the past 16 years Eric and I have owned and run a Land Surveying business. He is the Land Surveyor, I am the business. So he is my partner at work as well as at home. Although I was diagnosed with RA only 8 years ago, it has effected my life for the past 20 years. My mother also has rheumatoid arthritis. She was diagnosed at the age of 32. I managed to hold off until the ripe old age of 36.
I decided to start this site for people like me who not only were looking for support in dealing with the daily ups and downs of rheumatoid arthritis but also as a resource for those of us who are looking for information on what can help us live healthier, happier lives with Rheumatoid Arthritis.
When I was first diagnosed with RA I went through denial and then depression. I felt like this was happening at worst possible time (as if there is a good time for this to happen!). My son Kevin was still in diapers not even toddling around yet. He needed me for so many things and I felt like my body was not only failing me but him as well. At that time I had two very active young boys to contend with as well. I learned the hard way that things were not going to be the way that I planned and that we were going to have to make a great many adjustments. At some point I decided that I could sit back and let RA take control or I could try to find ways to make my life better. I have managed to find the recipe that works for me right now. Because with this disease everything changes, I know that eventually I will need to adapt with additional or different measures.
My hope is that through this site that you can find ways to live well with Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Jo-Ann
My daughter was recently diagnosed with RA. She has painful swollen fingers and other aches and pains. She worked on a farm in Connecticut for a few years and was bitten by a tick, but never tested. She lives in NC now where they are not familiar with Lyme disease and has not been tested. I think she has Lyme disease. I’m going to insist she be tested for it. Thanks for your story.
Thank you for your comment Elaine. Please know that a Lyme diagnosis should be made by a LLMD (Lyme Literate MD) because the best tests that we have for Lyme disease are less than 50% accurate. It must be a clinical diagnosis by a doctor that specializes in Lyme disease to be sure. I was one of the lucky ones that actually tested positive for the disease.
thank you for this website i will be visiting often im sure…thanks (: