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“So what does it feel like, your back problem?” my friend asked, as she tucked her hair behind her ears and picked up a steaming mug of coffee from the table between us. By “back problem” I knew she was referring to my ankylosing spondylitis (AS). “Well,” I said…

Yesterday I did something that I instantly regretted. I was shopping online for a birthday present for a family member who lives in New Zealand, scanning through websites and comparing sizes and prices, looking for the perfect gift. Finally, I added what looked like a beautiful pair of warm sheepskin…

My husband, Dave, has been talking about his ankylosing spondylitis (AS) symptoms for almost 20 years, though for more than a decade, neither of us realized that AS was the cause of them. Although we didn’t know why he had a terribly sore back or strangely stiff and…

Without Facebook, my spine would likely be fused and, almost certainly, my quality of life wouldn’t be what it is today. But I hate giving it so much credit for my current well-being. Clearly, I have a love-hate relationship with social media. In 2019, when I was in the early…

Driving through early-morning city traffic on the way to a Western Australia hospital for my rheumatology appointment, I had what felt like a hundred questions running through my head. Because of COVID-19, I hadn’t been able to see a rheumatologist face to face since lockdowns put the clamps on…

“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…

Lately, I’ve had an enormous grin plastered across my face, thanks to lots of exciting life events happening over the last three months. This week, I’m holding my very first art exhibition, which I’ve been feverishly preparing for. In addition, I was recently offered an amazing part-time job, as well…

I first started experiencing ankylosing spondylitis (AS) symptoms in 2018, shortly after my son was born. I couldn’t figure out why my spine and ribs were hurting in such a bone-achingly deep way. At the time of my diagnosis, I was trying everything I could think of to…

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…

The last trip I made to a hospital in Perth, Australia, to see a rheumatologist for my ankylosing spondylitis (AS) was before the world was disrupted by COVID-19. It’s been several years since I’ve sat in a sterile waiting room, watching the clock hands tick slowly around,…