Bio

I am a young women who has had the pleasure of living Rheumatoid Arthritis for the past 10 years. Before the onset of my illness, I was living a fabulous life, working a fast pace job with huge advancement opportunities, married, dressing in sassy outfits, sexy shoes and doing whatever I wanted, when I wanted. My favorite pass time was shopping, hanging out with the girls and getting out enjoying life. Then it hit me, and over the years it hit harder and harder. Eventually, I was no longer on my own time, I was on my body’s time. The outfits became less sassy and the shoes were nowhere near sexy..lol I had to stop working, more and more of my income had to go to medication/treatments, and the bed became a big part of my life.

These changes were devastating to my ego, self-esteem and overall sense of self. I have had many ups and downs in regards to my health, and I work hard to maintain a positive attitude and great spirit, but it is not easy. I hear “You are too young to have Arthritis” and “You don’t look sick” at least 3 times a month and cringe every time I hear these comments. I have spent years in denial about my illness and the impact it has had on my every day life, not just from a work aspect, but friendships, family and dating relationships. I spent more time trying to pretend I am not sick to protect others feelings than I did worrying about my own feelings, which I recently learned does not work. I am learning to accept my illness, but I just refuse to give up being fabulous. Yes I am sick and Yes I am Fabulous!

As part of accepting my illness I tried to seek out others in my situation, I checked out support groups and online forums, however I found it challenging to find people I could identify with. People who are vibrant and fabulous but just happen to be sick. So I made the decision to start my own forum to discuss things such as health, comfortable clothing, sexy but still comfortable shoes, savings and sales events, dating/relationships and how to maintain a positive outlook on life. I am learning more and more each day about accepting my illness and learning how to enjoy my life as much as possible. I take this journey called life with my partner (Rheumatoid Arthritis) day by day.

I want this page to be a place where I can share my experiences with others and network with those in a similar situation. A place where we can learn from each other on coping mechanisms, how to communicate to others about your illness, fabulous items that make life easier, health tips, health news and how to enjoy life. How to still be fabulous when you just happen to be sick.