For about eighteen months, my wrists were the first thing I thought about every morning — and not in a good way. I have rheumatoid arthritis, and my wrists tend to bear the brunt of my flares. On bad days,…
Every morning for the past eighteen months, getting out of bed felt like negotiating with my own body. That deep, nagging ache in my lower back — right where the sacroiliac joint connects the spine to the pelvis — would…
Six months ago, I could not lift a coffee mug with my right hand without wincing. That sharp, burning ache that runs from the outside of your elbow straight down your forearm — if you have tennis elbow, you know…
Every single morning for almost eighteen months, my first step out of bed felt like someone was driving a hot nail into my heel. I would limp to the bathroom, grip the sink, and wait for the stabbing pain to…
Every morning for the past three years, my hands told me the weather before any forecast could. The stiffness would set in overnight — that deep, wooden ache across my knuckles that made opening a jar feel like a test…
Every morning for the past two years, rolling out of bed felt like a negotiation with my own hands. My finger joints — particularly the knuckles on my right hand and the base of my left thumb — would be…
Every morning for the past three years, my hands have told me exactly how the day is going to go. I wake up, try to curl my fingers into a fist, and feel that familiar stiffness — a deep, grinding…
Every night for the better part of eighteen months, I’d climb into bed with that familiar dull throb sitting deep in my lower back — the kind that doesn’t scream at you, it just hums. Constantly. I’d been dealing with…
Every morning for about eight months, I woke up with a stiff, aching neck that made turning my head feel like a punishment. I work from home at a desk that, I’ll admit, is not ergonomically ideal — a kitchen…
Every morning for the past eighteen months, my right shoulder has been the first thing to remind me it exists. Not in a good way. I’d roll over in bed and feel that familiar deep, grinding ache radiating from the…
