Just Keep Swimming — Janneke Phung

“What did you say you can’t eat?” my friend asked me in shock as we casually strolled along a river path. I recently had decided to tackle my ankylosing spondylitis (AS) diagnosis with radical changes to my lifestyle.

When I recently was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, I was confronted with complicated terminology that initially overwhelmed me. Klebsiella pneumoniae, molecular mimicry, cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-alpha — the list of complicated terms seemed endless. “Good grief,” I thought,…

On Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019, I was informally diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis. I had already unknowingly suffered the symptoms of AS for years. Realizing I was suffering from an incurable disease stopped me dead in my tracks. I…

I showed up at my doctor’s office with stickers all over my back.  The pain usually was most severe in the middle of the night. Yet, I was always surprised…

At 3:30 a.m., I sat in bed gasping for air with acute pain in my chest. Like every other night, I had gone to bed at 10 p.m. after completing my usual routine, which started a few…

Have you ever watched the movie “Finding Nemo?” If you have, you might recall the scene in which Dory, the optimistic, forgetful, and friendly fish, tells her newfound fish friend Marlin, a clownfish who just lost his only…