Just Keep Swimming – a Column by Janneke Phung

“How in the world did we get so unlucky?!” I couldn’t believe that our fourth mattress in a year appeared to be another dud. Shortly after this disappointing occurrence, I had a revelation: The mattresses weren’t the problem. I was. At the time, ankylosing spondylitis (AS) was a new…

Four years ago, I was living in the throes of ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Health professionals told me my pain stemmed from an autoimmune disease that was best treated with biologics. At that time, I would have laughed at you (or more realistically, gotten angry with you) if you’d…

Since I was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in October 2019, my symptoms have significantly diminished, thanks to diet and lifestyle modifications. But several years ago, despite my being a morning person, there wasn’t a chance I could’ve woken up, hopped out of bed, and started my…

“I have been diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis.” That simple statement comes with extremely powerful emotions that can often feel contradictory. When my family doctor revealed that the results of a recent MRI showed evidence of ankylosing spondylitis (AS), the two main emotions I felt were relief and fear.

“Oh, no! We forgot to burp the carrots today!” my 5-year-old son exclaimed with alarm as we waited to see the chiropractor. The appointment was a little break from our morning home-schooling routine. I looked over at him, chuckled as I saw a sticker on his forehead that read…

I hopped off the chairlift, making sure to get out of its way before it swung around the corner and had a chance to knock me over on its way back down. My 8-year-old son, who had learned to ski mere hours earlier, was already waiting for me and coaxing…

“Would you mind doing a survey?” the doctor asked me. “We are doing some research into how and at what speed ankylosing spondylitis progresses in the average patient.” As someone diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), I understand the importance of increasing knowledge about this relatively rare disease. I…

If you asked me which complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies I’ve found most helpful for managing my ankylosing spondylitis (AS), I’d tell you diet and chiropractic care, hands down. Desperate for relief before receiving an AS diagnosis, I dabbled with various forms of complementary care. Finding pain…

My three boys down the hallway and my husband next to me were off in dreamland. The occasional rumble of a passing car and the shadows on the walls from the streetlights were hardly noticeable. My thoughts centered on how I could manage the beast inside my body. Although the…

As I lay in bed, I heard the wind howling. With every gust, I felt the house shaking just a little bit. The cold, almost icy drops of rain pounded hard against the window. The previously crisp and colorful fall leaves, now soggy and dead, disintegrated as they fluttered to…