August 28, 2025 • 54 mins
Have you ever considered that your chronic illness might have given you superpowers? Not the kind that let you leap tall buildings, but the real-life abilities that make you uniquely resilient, intuitive, and resourceful.
In this heartfelt conversation, we explore the unexpected strengths that emerge when living with conditions like rheumatoid arthritis. Our guest shares how being diagnosed completely transformed her perspective, teaching her to value her incredible resilience – waking up each day to face a body that doesn't always cooperate, yet somehow finding ways to adapt and keep going. This quiet, persistent strength rarely gets recognized but represents an extraordinary form of courage.
We dive deep into how our intuition sharpens after diagnosis, helping us make smarter decisions about everything from travel plans to work commitments. Years of managing unpredictable symptoms teach us to read the fine print, seek flexibility, and anticipate our needs in ways others might never consider. This isn't about limitation – it's about making choices that allow us to enjoy life more fully.
The discussion takes fascinating turns through time management strategies (work smarter, not harder!), relationship wisdom (valuing positive connections while setting healthy boundaries), and career navigation with chronic illness. Our guest shares her remarkable journey from physically demanding hospital work to finding her purpose helping others with RA, writing for major health publications, and embracing multiple careers that accommodate her health needs.
Perhaps most inspiring is the revelation that being underestimated because of chronic illness can become its own kind of superpower – creating motivation to exceed expectations and the satisfaction of surprising others with what you can accomplish. Whether you're newly diagnosed or have been managing symptoms for years, this conversation offers a refreshing perspective on finding strength in unexpected places.
Delivering Happy Mail around the world!
We have sent thousands of cards to isolated illness warriors, facilitated hundreds of pen pal relationships, and reached countless family members, caregivers, and medical professionals with messages of hope and acknowledgment.
Join our mission to send 100,000 cards of support to patients with long-term illnesses.
About our organization | Cards2warriors
Are you living with a chronic illness and want to make your voice heard? Rare Patient Voice connects patients and caregivers with research opportunities—so you can share your experiences and get paid for your time! Your insights help drive real change in healthcare.
Let's Get Started - Rare Patient Voice
Keep your spoons close and support system closer.
Support:
https://rarepatientvoice.com/Myspooniesisters/
https://www.etsy.com/shop/MySpoonieSisters
https://www.graceandable.com/?bg_ref=980:nzTyG6c9zK (Use code GAJen10)
Website: https://myspooniesisters.com/
Discount Codes: GIANT Microbes | Gag Gifts, Teacher Gifts, Doctor Gifts, Gifts for Girlfriends and Boyfriends code SPOONIE20 for 20% off
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome back to my Spoonie Sisters.
Today's roundtable is all aboutflipping the script.
Chronic illness changeseverything, but sometimes it
gets us with strengths we neversaw coming, whether it's tuning
into your intuition like pros,becoming time management ninjas,
or mastering the art of askingfor help and meaning it too.
(00:23):
We're celebrating theunexpected wins that came with
the diagnosis, so grab yourfavorite flair-friendly drink
and join us as we share ourSpoonie superpowers.
Hello Stephanie, how are you?
Hi, I'm good.
How are you today?
I'm doing well.
I'm really excited for us tosit down and talk about this.
We've had many, manyconversations on the podcast
(00:45):
before, but this one isdefinitely a unique one, and so
I'm going to dive right in.
What is one superpower that youfeel that you've gained because
of chronic illness that youryounger self never would have
believed?
Speaker 2 (00:58):
So I love that we're talking today about superpowers,
because a lot of times when youhave a chronic illness, you
don't automatically think thatyou have superpowers.
In fact, I think when we'refirst diagnosed, our confidence
level takes a big hit.
So I love that we're talkingabout having superpowers today
and that not only do we havesuperpowers, but that we have
gained them because of ourchronic illness.
(01:19):
So that's really cool.
So, to answer your question,the one superpower that I think
I've gained because of having achronic illness, which in my
case would be rheumatoidarthritis, and I also have a
relatively new diagnosis ofscalp psoriasis I think that my
pre-diagnosed self would havenever believed how resilient I
really am today.
Every single day, I wake up andI face this body that doesn't
(01:42):
always cooperate, and yetsomehow I keep going.
Now don't get me wrong.
There are definitely bad daysand good days, and we all know
and even days that start goodmight not end good and they
could start bad and get better.
But to just wake up every dayand learn tricks on how to adapt
to pain, how to adapt to theuncertainty, the predictability
and, of course, the dreadedfatigue, fatigue gets us all
(02:04):
every time, without losing oursense of self and our sense of
well-being and ourself-confidence.
I really think that's astrength that most people don't
see, but it's really real andit's really powerful.
And I think that if you arediagnosed with something and
you're looking for yoursuperpower, look for that
resilience that you haveday-to-day, because you're
probably not even acknowledginghow much resilience you already
(02:27):
have.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
I agree.
I look back and I think thatthe superpower that I gained is
patience, which I always thoughtI had.
But now I have the patience forothers in a way I wouldn't have
had before.
I slow down my walking when I'mwith certain people because I
know what it's like.
I've had those flare days whereI'm having a hard time keeping
(02:49):
up and so, as frustrating asthis illness can be, it's great
that it has changed us, to havethat perspective and the
patience for other people in away.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
We probably wouldn't have ever had.
I think on that note we couldsay, because you're totally
right that when you're withcertain people, you slow down.
When certain people speak, youslow down and engage, you listen
more carefully.
But I think that because ofthat, of our shared superpower
of being more patient, I thinkwe're also both more resourceful
because we've now becomeexperts at managing medications,
(03:21):
appointments, energy, emotions,all of that stuff and in
addition to, I mean, I'm a totalexpert now in finding like
coupons and copay cards onlineright, or even just finding
emotional support online has.
I consider myself veryresourceful in that avenue now.
So I think not only are we moreresilient and patient, but also
(03:41):
more resourceful and you know,we can really just find ways to
adapt that still get the jobdone.
Just a different way.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
I think you brought up something interesting.
Have you run into because I'vehad this experience have you run
into people that have not evenheard of things like the co-pay
assistance programs and they'vehad a diagnosis for a while?
Because I have, and I'm alwayslooking at them like how do you
not know these things areavailable?
My rheumatologist told me whatare we?
Speaker 2 (04:06):
doing Every single day, because not only am I an RA
patient, but I'm a health coachfor people with RA, but I'm
also a nurse practitioner, soI'm a practicing medical
provider and even in the officeevery single day, people come in
and are completely just unawareof the financial assistance
programs available to them.
So, luckily, we have a lot ofresources where I work and I
(04:28):
have a lot of resourcesavailable to me to be able to
refer them or connect them, but,yeah, every single day.
So if you're out there andyou're listening to this and
you're looking for a resource,what I would say is start with a
simple Google search can help.
But also, you can always go tothe manufacturer of what you're
looking for, like if it's for amedication and the manufacturer
is just on the box or you canGoogle that too.
(04:49):
You don't even have to have theprescription in hand.
I mean, the online support,especially for RA, has grown so
much in the last two decades.
I'm so proud to be a part of it.
I couldn't have even imaginedit would be like this.
I could never even haveimagined I would have met
somebody like you 10 years agoand have this amazing built-in
(05:09):
friend in Instagram that justunderstands living with RA and
all these layers that we talkabout day to day.
Anyway, I'm digressing, but ifyou're ever not sure, you can
always hop on and there's somany Facebook groups and online
groups and people online and youcan always shoot those people a
message or put a post up andjust see what you get.
You'd be so surprised whatpeople share.
I'm still surprised at whatpeople suggest or share has
(05:33):
worked for them.
I mean, I feel like I've had RAfor 10 years and I've been in
healthcare for almost 20 and Istill learn stuff every day.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
To go along with what you're saying.
If you find a support group ora network that isn't working for
you, it's okay to keepsearching, keep finding the one
that works for you, becausethere's one out there.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Yeah, that's a really good point, because everybody
we were just talking about thisearlier, but everybody kind of
has a different angle to supportand to how they play in the RA
community.
So find the person that theirangle resonates the most with
you, for sure.
So find the person that theirangle resonates the most with
you, for sure.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
Absolutely, and that might mean you have a few
different people in your toolkit, because we all do offer so
many different things.
Like you and I, we both haveour A and we both want to help
people, but we come at it from adifferent direction.
I'm not in the health realm theway that you are, and so what
I'm going to come at you with iscompletely different, but we
all do something special, rightAgreed, it's our superpower.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
Wow, how has your intuition or your gut instinct
become sharper since yourdiagnosis, and do you have any
stories that still amaze?
Speaker 2 (06:39):
you.
I love this question becausethe answer is a yes, yes, yes,
yes, yes.
I can't even tell you how muchmy gut instincts have not only
become sharper, but havesharpened.
Every year I've had a diagnosisand every year I live with
rheumatoid arthritis and nowpsoriasis.
Every year I live with evenjust an aging body with
(07:01):
age-related health conditions.
My gut instincts become sharperand this is such an incredible
thing to think about.
But I think that in general, Ican say that my instincts have
become sharper because I,overall, take less risks.
However, it's not that I don'thave fun anymore.
I don't take any risks.
It's just that there was a timewhen, for example, I would take
(07:23):
my family to Hawaii andschedule a hike and a zip lining
tour and some other physicallydemanding expedition.
You know all while on vacation,Ander, pre-rheumatoid arthritis
me, I never would have read thefine print about work
(07:48):
accommodations in a contract, orI really, when you know 22 year
old me taking my first job andin you know wherever I was
working at the time I neverreally would have read the fine
print on FMLA sick leave or evenhow some of these big
corporations you have access tophysical therapy or occupational
therapy services.
One company I worked for, a bigcorporation.
(08:09):
They had an OT come andevaluate our workspace for
ergonomic design and longevity.
Yeah, it was amazing and Iremember reading that, thinking,
you know, like 15, 20 years agoI wouldn't have even read this
part of the contract.
So I think that, whenhindsight's 20-20, of course,
but as you live with a chronicillness, you live and you learn,
(08:29):
and you learn what to look foras well as not take risks.
And then, of course, I feellike now it's not so much a gut
instinct to not do things or toavoid things or to even to do
things, but I'm always lookingfor things that have flexibility
.
But I'm always looking forthose concert tickets that have
the refundable option.
(08:50):
You know, I always get theplane ticket that has the, you
know, refundable or transferableoption.
Because my life is just alittle bit different than it
used to be, I would say Idefinitely my gut instincts have
definitely sharpened because Itake less risks but I still have
a lot of fun.
I just do it in a more flexibleway.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
So listening to you took me back to like our trip to
Hawaii.
And it's interesting becausesometimes, even though my
husband knows I have RA and he'svery much there for me and
protective of me.
It's interesting because he isthe kind of person that wants to
be doing something every singleday.
But I think he's learned,especially as we're aging and
(09:31):
just keeping an eye on me.
He only schedules one bigactivity a day because we want
to have some downtime andrelaxation too, and for him our
vacations are all about food.
He's like I want a good meal, Iwant to sit down and laugh and
talk and visit and enjoysomething tasty, and so it was
interesting.
On our trip we did a day wherewe went out to Kualoa Ranch and
(09:55):
we did a movie sites tour andthey take you out on a boat and
stuff like that.
What was great was there wasvery little walking.
We get to do a lot of lookingand picture taking and listening
and taking it all in and thatwas great because that was it
was a good relaxation point inthe middle of our trip because
some of the other activitiesinvolved more walking.
(10:15):
I think we're getting about18,000 steps a day.
That is so many, but it's hard.
It's hard when you travel,because you want to see all the
things and you want to do allthe things and it's like, okay,
I guess there's time for sleepand recovery when I return home,
hopefully.
How do you feel, like yourspouse does, with that kind of
stuff?
Speaker 2 (10:35):
My husband loves to relax.
Like his goals of any vacationis all relaxation.
He would love it if we went toHawaii.
We keep talking about Hawaii, Ithink, because we both just
love Hawaii, but you and I Imean, but he would be fine if we
(11:00):
just went to Hawaii, got acondo or hotel right on the
beach and just didn't leave.
So it's usually me that has toslow down.
But it's funny now, because nowI have two children and one of
my kids is a relaxer and one ofthem is a goer, and the little
one is the goer and I have tohold him back.
Now I'm like whoa, mommy can'tdo all of that.
So me and your husband and myyoungest should never vacation
together.
That could be dangerous.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
I think I'm kind of in the middle because I want
that time in the ocean.
We always get floaties from theABC store and we go out onto
the beach and we float in thewaves and have fun and I want
those hours of fun on the beach,but I want to check out the
shops and I want to do theactivities.
I'm still trying to talkeveryone into ziplining, even
though I'm afraid of heights,but someday we are going to do
(11:43):
it.
Someone will cave and do thiswith me.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
Oh my gosh, I've ziplined in Hawaii and it's the
single most terrifying thingI've ever done, really.
Yes, cool, so you have to.
I totally digress, but actuallyit's the second most terrifying
vacation excursion.
I will make this quick, butthis is funny.
The first ever was we went oh,what's it called?
(12:05):
It's like deep sea fishing,something like that.
We took a cruise and one of theexcursions was they take you
out on a boat like to the middleof the ocean.
That was completely terrifyingand I will honestly never do
that again because I have nevervomited so much in my life from
the open ocean.
And then it just wasn't asrewarding as I thought to catch
a fish.
I apologize to any big fisherpeople who are listening, no
offense, it's just not for me,but more power to you.
(12:27):
But anyway, the zip lining.
So when you zip line, there'slike these boxes that you have
to kind of climb up so thatyou're at the right height.
So like get enough.
Like you can't just jump off ofthe platform.
You have to get like height offof it or you won't zip because
it's all about your weight.
It's like a physics thing.
Anyway, so off of it or youwon't zip because it's all about
(12:49):
your weight.
It's like a physics thing,anyway.
So when you do zip lines it'salways like six or seven
different lines, it's not justone zip line.
And after the second one Icouldn't even climb the boxes, I
was frozen.
My husband had to force mebecause you can't go back once
you start.
I was so scared I cannot evenput it into words and I don't
know why.
I didn't think I would bescared.
We have ziplining in Las Vegasthat's over like buildings and
I've done that and it's notscary, but ziplining over like
(13:11):
the jungle where Jurassic Parkwas filmed, it just seemed
completely terrifying, like Ijust I don't know.
So I hope you love it.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Now I'm a little bit frozen because I'm thinking okay
, I still want to try toexperience it and the Kualoa
Mountains are my favorite areato go to, but can I climb the?
Speaker 2 (13:28):
boxes.
Oh my gosh, it wasn't painful.
It wasn't that I couldn'tbecause of fear, it wasn't
physically hard, but it's a lotof climbing and then people had
like their whole families ziplining, so there would be like
an adult couple and then likechildren.
Like when we went, I thinkthere was probably a five, seven
and nine year old with us andthese parents were putting their
kids in the hook and just likegiving them a push and I was
(13:52):
just completely terrified.
I don't know what it was, butit was not as enjoyable as I had
anticipated Maybe.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
I'll stick with the ATV tour.
We seem to really like that one.
Yeah, that sounds a littlesafer.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
I don't want to, I don't want to rain on anybody's
parade, but it was.
My husband loved it.
I mean I have pictures of him,like they have you flip over and
do like Spider-Man and stuffand all of mine.
I'm just like gripping the ropelike a complete psychopath,
like I couldn't even like spreadmy arms and legs for the photo
opportunities.
I was so terrified.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
Okay, well, that could definitely be me.
I'm already afraid of heightsanyway, it's so high.
Well, okay, eyes are watering.
So how about time management?
Do you have any time management, rest rituals, boundaries?
What kind of life skills haveyou mastered that you didn't
have pre-illness?
Speaker 2 (14:47):
Yeah, this is so true .
I think pre-diagnosis I was theworst at time management.
I was a go until you drop kindof lady.
I would just go, go, go.
And of course I worked inhealthcare and healthcare is
very, very demanding, so wewould just work.
I remember we would work likeback-to-back shifts.
We wouldn't sleep or we wouldsleep just a few hours and then
(15:07):
go right back to work.
So definitely, rheumatoidarthritis has taught me to work
smarter, not harder, as much ofa cliche as that is.
It has taught me to plan whatI'm going to do, to research
what I'm going to do, to beready before I start it right,
because we've all done thatwhere we've started some project
and then had to bail because weweren't prepared, I didn't have
(15:27):
the tool or didn't have theresources.
But also I've really learned todo certain tasks when my body is
most cooperative and to notpush myself through.
And then, on the flip side,I've also really learned to
optimize my health for importantthings.
So, for example, today I knew Iwas going to be chatting with
you.
I made sure I got a goodnight's rest, I made sure I
(15:48):
didn't overexert myself allmorning and I wanted to make
sure that my health was optimalfor this commitment that I had.
So I think, whereas before Iwould just work a whole bunch of
days in a row and then try togo on a date night with my
husband and we would go to amovie and I'd fall asleep right,
so I think now I really justtry to do things when my body is
most cooperative.
(16:09):
Rest when my body says rest andwork smarter, not harder.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
I think those are really important tips for people
to think about, because evenwith my diagnosis, I still am
one of those I'm going to gotill I drop kind of people and I
don't know why.
It's like ingrained in me and Idon't know if you know Andy
Byers very well, but she isconstantly reminding me Jen,
you've got to slow down.
You've got to slow down andshe's so right, because you're
fine until you're not fine.
(16:38):
And do you really want to findout in a bad way?
You don't want to push yourbody to tell your.
Well, I'm going to bring up.
If you've heard her storybefore, she died for 38 minutes
clinically and that's why she'swritten the book and talks so
much about redefining fine,because she would wake up every
day and tell everyone she wasfine until she wasn't.
And so I think that she is sucha gift in my life to bring me
(17:02):
back and remind me Jen, you'vegot to slow down, you overcommit
yourself, you do too much, andshe's right.
I want to be there for everyoneand I want to be there for
everyone and I want to do allthe things and every once in a
while, boom life.
Life puts me flat on my back.
It's like no, jen, you cannotdo all the things your body
doesn't want you to do.
All the things you're notcapable.
(17:23):
It's okay to set someboundaries I'm working on it but
it's not easy.
So if you have tips, tell mewhat I need to be doing to do
this.
I'm working on it, but it's noteasy.
So if you have tips on how totell me what I need to be doing
to do this, I'm all for them.
Now I'm finally listening toeveryone.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
I think you touched on a lot of really valid points
there, because you are amazing,you are kind and loving and
you're a nurturing human andyou're very motherly, right Like
.
Even I've come to you sometimeswanting motherly help and your
or even just kindness or supportor love.
I just wanted somebody whowouldn't tell me I was a
complete idiot, right?
(17:56):
So I would go to you, and so Ithink that your life goals I'm
talking about you directly, butthis is very generic we're all
so loving and caring that wewant to help everybody.
I think the most importantthing, though, is to think about
is it worth it?
Because sometimes it is, forexample, so my oldest son
finished fifth grade this year,and here where I live, fifth
(18:19):
grade is the end of elementaryschool, and then they go to a
different school.
They go to middle school forsixth grade.
I know everywhere is a littlebit different so for fifth grade
, every year they have this bigDisneyland trip, and it's like a
3 am to 3 am the next day sortof situation.
You don't sleep anywhere, right?
So, of course, this year, myoldest was badly injured, as you
(18:39):
know, and he fractured hisL-spine and he's been in a
wheelchair, but he insisted,insisted, jen, on going on this
dang Disneyland trip.
We're not talking about that,but I tried to talk him out of
it.
I tried to buy him out of it.
I mean I tried everything, buthe really really wanted to go
and be with his fifth gradem to3 am.
(18:59):
I mean it was like 24 hours.
And then, of course, I had notonly my son who was in a
wheelchair, but three otherchildren I was responsible for.
So I had a group of four and ifyou've ever people listening,
if you've ever been toDisneyland, but having one adult
(19:21):
and four children, you are justcompletely outnumbered and it's
.
I mean, they were great kids.
I have no complaints.
They were very well behaved,but it's still a lot.
They all don't go to thebathroom at the same time.
They all don't know when theyhave to go to the bathroom.
These were 11-year-olds.
They don't know what they likeoff of the menu.
So it was a lot on me and so,anyway, I knew it was going to
be a lot, but I decided it wasgoing to be worth it and I took
(19:44):
extra days off of work beforeand after and it was really
funny because we came home like3am on I don't know, like a
Tuesday morning, and then I wasup all day Tuesday and then we
like had dinner and we were Idon't know.
We were just like watchingsomething on TV and I like I
guess I fell asleep on the couchand I woke up like 13 hours
later, like on the couch, likemakeup salon, like in the same
(20:06):
clothes, everything, and I waslike whoa, like I couldn't even
remember falling asleep.
But the point is sorry I'mrambling, but the point is is
that particular event?
I said it was worth it.
I was going to go, go, go untilI fell over, which I did, but
it was worth it.
I think what's really importantis just that we step back and
(20:27):
think, like, is taking this tripfor my daughter worth it?
Is doing this favor for myelderly father?
Is the reward there?
Is it necessary that I do itright?
Is this necessary to care formy loved one or for my job,
right?
There's a lot of times for myjob, I have to do things that
are odd hours or very demandingfor long periods of time, and
sometimes it's just part of thecommitment.
(20:49):
You have to do it.
I think it's the go, go go isone thing, but sometimes maybe
we don't have to finish all ofthe laundry or do all of the
dishes, or maybe we don't haveto make dinner from scratch that
night.
Maybe you can just order sometakeout and leave the dishes.
So that's what I think.
I think if you prioritize andreally figure out what outcomes
you value the most, that's howyou prevent burnout from go, go,
(21:13):
go.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
I agree and we ask for help.
And if that means asking yourspouse to help out with
something, or even when mygrandson comes to visit, he
exhausts me and I love havinghim.
But now he's at an age where hewants to help do things.
Now sometimes that slows usdown, like he wants to do up his
own car seat, but then there'sother things that slows us down.
He wants to do up his own carseat, but then there's other
things he can help with.
He wants to help fold laundryand help put toys away, and
(21:36):
that's great because it's alearning thing for him, but it's
also helping me and mymother-in-law lives with us.
It's okay if I let her helpwith the laundry and the dishes.
So, being okay with allowingothers to help to make our lives
a little bit easier.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
Absolutely.
You have to be able to accepthelp and it might always not be
like your mother-in-law probablydoesn't do laundry the same way
you do.
You know, same with me.
I keep making this about you.
I don't mean to make it aboutyou, but you know our helpers do
things differently than we do.
It doesn't mean it's wrong, youknow that.
(22:12):
Yeah, I remember right after Ihad my second son, one of my
girlfriends came over and shewas like I'm not here to visit
with you, I'm just going to helpyou with stuff around the house
.
And I was like, okay, and I was,even though he was my, it was
my second child, I was, I stillfelt like a new mom.
I still felt like I wasn't thatexperienced.
Anyway, so she came over and Iremember she did my laundry and
(22:32):
I remember she did there waslike dark colors, light colors
and whites, and she did them allseparately.
And I remember like thinking Idon't ever separate my darks and
lights, I just do colors right.
And then I was like Stephaniejust shut up and let her do the
laundry, Like who the heck careshow she separates it and if
anything, she was doing it likebetter than I do it.
(22:53):
Right, If anything, there wasgoing to be no color bleeding or
damage or like.
If anything, she was better andso I had to.
That was like my first eyeopener, Like okay, you have to
just let people help you howthey can help you.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
I think you just gave me an idea for a fun icebreaker
question for people.
We can talk about things likehow do you load your dishwasher,
how do you do your laundry?
Yeah, because I actually divideall mine up too.
I have the darks, the lights,the whites, and now my husband's
getting into like wearingthings that are super special,
and I had to hand wash a stupidsilk shirt he bought in Hawaii.
(23:29):
I wanted to choke him for that.
So we have a special carefulthings you have to do and things
you can't put in the dryer orthings you need to dry on low.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Remember there's no shame in putting those things in
a bag and take it to your drycleaners.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
You know that's great .
There might be a dry cleanerhere.
I'll have to look into that.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
Something that needs ironing to the dry cleaners, and
I think that the cleaners Itook it to charged me $2 to iron
a shirt.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
That's not even bad, I know, and it looks beautiful.
I'm not ironing it.
It does say that I can iron it,but I'm like you know what you
want to iron, you do it yourself.
Because every time I iron, Icould iron all of his nice dress
(24:21):
shirts or work shirts, and onemorning he can get up and try on
four different ones and they'reall on the floor.
And then I'm standing theregoing why did I iron anything
for you?
And the last time he did that Iwas like nope, never again, I'm
not ironing for you.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
So if anybody asks me about great household tips
because you asked, you said youhave another topic now, but my
go-to best advice ever for allthings rheumatoid arthritis is
run the dishwasher twice.
I do not rinse my dishes at allbefore I put them in the
dishwasher.
I run it once.
I empty the trap Is that whatit's called?
It might be Something like thatthe part you take out that
(25:01):
catches the food and I empty itand then I run it again Every
single day, every single night.
I run my dishwasher twice and Ifeel like that's my tip.
Anytime anybody asks me, I sayjust run your dishwasher twice,
because my husband or he'll dothe pots and pans by hand and
then he'll run the dishwasherand then empty it and then load
pots and pans separate and weend up just.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
I feel like we're just always doing dishes and
with kids, but I there's thingsto do and we need more time in
the day, so why not make it alittle easier?
Speaker 2 (25:32):
I run it twice.
That's my.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
Ooh, I like that one.
What would be your top favoritegadgets that you use in your
house to help you?
Speaker 2 (25:42):
Ooh, that's a tough one because, by personal
preference, I'm not a big gadgetperson.
I don't like the.
I don't mean it negative, but Idon't like the clutter.
I'm not a big gadget person, Idon't.
I don't like the.
I don't mean it negative, but Idon't like the clutter.
I don't like a lot of stuff.
I feel like keeping myinventory low actually helps me
more with my RA than having alot of gadgets, which is that's
(26:03):
just personal preference.
I love gadget people and I loveseeing what is coming to the
market and what's available forus.
I think definitely my favoritewould be I don't have one here,
but those grippy I don't knowwhat they're called like the
grippy, round or square, justflat things that you use to open
jars.
I use those all day, every day.
My kids even use them now, andthen I don't know.
(26:25):
Honestly, I think that the mostadaptive gadget that I have
would probably be my laptop, andI have all.
My whole setup is very adaptive.
My screen is as big as you canbuy on a laptop and then I have
a monitor that also helps.
So it helps with strain, youknow, neck strain, wrist strain,
shoulder strain.
I have adjustable height desks,all of those gadgets I think
(26:48):
are really important.
And then I mean I drive aminivan, which everybody in my
life makes fun of me, but I lovemy minivan, I don't care what
anybody says.
I think that that's like mybest gadget, with three of the
doors on a button and not havingto.
You know, my husband's car isnot, it's not a minivan, but
it's not all automated.
So we have to like close histrunk and open all four doors,
(27:10):
and if he's parked on a hillit's really hard to get in and
out of the doors.
And we have kids.
So you're, you know, you'relike loading the kids and trying
to not let them get their armsand legs caught.
So I think my favorite gadgetis probably my minivan.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
We actually we had two minivans while we were on
our vacation because we had 10of us, so we had two minivans
and we were kind of laughingabout it.
But oh my gosh, I love pushingthat little button and the doors
close and it was just so niceand I kept thinking, wow, I kind
of secretly want one of thesenow.
Speaker 2 (27:45):
If you don't already have one and then you rent one,
you're converted, I know.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
We have a Subaru, but there's this part of me that's
like I wonder if someday I couldtalk him into this.
Speaker 2 (27:56):
Oh yeah, it's so nice and the height to load stuff is
that it's not a car, so it'snot really low, and it's not a
truck or SUV, so it's not toohigh.
It's like this perfect height.
So like I love gardening and Ican like take my wagon into a
store, fill my wagon withwhatever I'm buying and then I
can lift up the wagon and set itin the back of my van and I'm
(28:19):
always like you cannot do thiswith any other car, I don't care
what anybody says, even thebest SUVs it's too high.
So I don't know.
I love my min-bath.
That's my favorite gadget.
Speaker 1 (28:31):
I think my favorite gadget.
I mean, there's a few of themand I'm all about kind of like
you, I don't want a bunch ofclutter and I want things that
are small and easy to use.
So like I have the Jiffy Twistthat's under the cupboard
because you can't even see itthere.
I don't even think my husbandknows I have it, but when he's
(28:57):
not home, if I need to opensomething, just shove it in
there and twist.
And there we go, I have mykitchen mama can opener, which
even my grandson thinks is likethe best thing ever.
And then my third one would beI don't remember what they're
called, but I think you andCheryl and I might all have them
.
They are those scissors thathave the spring in them so they
don't have those why did I thinkyou did?
Speaker 2 (29:12):
my goodness I'm, my house is we don't take care of
scissors, so I have to buy themby like 12 at a time.
Oh, my goodness, because my, mykids break them or they get
them wet and they rot or they Imean, they're my family's
terrible with scissors, so Ican't buy nice scissors oh,
gotcha.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
Well I have these ones.
I got them for when I would doChristmas wrapping, because I
know exactly what you're talkingabout.
I think it was Sheryl Crow thatI saw using them and I thought,
oh my gosh, I have these.
And then I don't remember whoshared it.
I still haven't got it.
But there's this thing that itlike has a little hook and it's
great for opening packages orcutting wrapping papers, like a
(29:49):
little thing that cuts.
I have that too.
For some reason.
I think it was your video thatI saw with it and I still don't
have one, but I keep wanting toget one.
Speaker 2 (30:04):
It's okay, it doesn't .
Sorry, I probably shouldn'ttalk bad.
It works great if it's taped,like if your box is taped or
your package from the store istaped.
It doesn't work well on thatAmazon tape.
That's like paper.
Do you know what I'm talkingabout?
Speaker 1 (30:14):
I know exactly what you're talking about and most of
my Amazon packages come withthat See now they're all that
weird paper tape with like thethreading in it.
Speaker 2 (30:21):
It doesn't work great on that, so I don't really use
it that much anymore.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
Oh well, that's good to know, so maybe it wouldn't be
as great as I think it would be.
And don't forget compressiongloves from grace enable, those
are the best so those are thebest.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
Look, I ducked out of you.
But look, I have like, oh mygosh, I can't even tell you.
Look, I have like three pairs.
Like right here I have everycolor.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
Well, I don't have the red ones and I don't have
the beige ones, but I have everyother.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
I don't have right.
Wait, I need to have red.
I don't think I have red orbeige either.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
But I don't really wear red, so that was the one I
never got.
But I did debate getting thebeige ones because in the fall I
wear a lot of beige so Ithought it might kind of look
kind of cute with it.
I don't know, but which colordo you wear the most?
Speaker 2 (31:00):
Purple.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
Me too.
Purple and teal those are mygo-to ones.
The purple pair because myother pair was like five years
old.
Have your relationships changedin ways that brought?
Speaker 2 (31:14):
clarity, strength or deeper connections?
Absolutely, since I wasdiagnosed with rheumatoid
arthritis, I treat myrelationships so much
differently now.
But there's two sides to it.
So first of all, I value mypositive relationships more,
those date nights I told youabout earlier where I would be
so exhausted I wouldn't reserveany energy or spoons for this
date night and I would fallasleep or I wouldn't have the
(31:36):
energy to give my undividedattention to our conversation.
I make sure that I prioritizethat time because as you live
with these chronic illnesseslike rheumatoid arthritis, you
realize how valuable each dayreally is and how valuable the
people who love you and enrichyour life really are, and you
realize how important it is toactually dedicate time to them.
(31:57):
You know, as a go-go-goer I usedto think, oh, you know, sitting
around the kitchen tableplaying Uno was like a waste of
a Saturday night.
But how wrong was I.
You know it's like that'sbonding time.
That's time when you reconnectwith your family and your kids
and your loved ones and yourpartner, you know.
And but also, on the flip sideof that, rheumatoid arthritis
has really taught me how to notcontinue to support
(32:21):
relationships that don't fulfillme, and I definitely don't mean
that in a selfish way.
You know I I still love peopleunconditionally, especially
older friends I've had, not inage but in the time that we've
been friends.
But there's definitely peopleI've been friends with for
decades that just aren't reallyas supportive of me and my
unique health requirements andso I don't sink as much energy
(32:45):
into them, and it's importantbecause you have to preserve
some of your energy for whatreally matters.
So it's just.
I think it's really been bothways.
Having RA has taught me to lovethe people that really love me
harder and also where to havehealthy boundaries and to maybe
not invest so much in somethingthat doesn't really fulfill me.
Speaker 1 (33:07):
Now on a game night.
What is your favorite game?
Ooh, really fulfill me.
Now on a game night.
Speaker 2 (33:12):
What is your favorite game?
That's a hard one because mykids are at a really weird age
right now where they like theycan't play the same games.
So that's been.
You know we we got this new.
You know, cheryl is big ongames.
She always posts games onsocial media and every time she
does, I buy them because I'mlike man.
This is like she's like myAmazon review, like for board
games.
(33:32):
But she posted one a long timeago called Azul, and it's hard.
It's like my 11 year old isprobably as young as you could
be to play it and I think it'sstill hard even for him.
But I think Azul is really fun.
Speaker 1 (33:46):
I'm not familiar with that one, but one that I've
played with big groups of peoplewith varying ages.
Actually, the first time Iplayed it we had my
mother-in-law, my friend'smother, which is like in her 80s
, but then we had my friend'sgranddaughter and the youngest
one was probably third grade.
We played what the Meme andthey have like a kid's version
(34:10):
and I had never played it beforeuntil playing that and it was
so hilarious and everyone waslaughing and everyone could play
cool.
And you said it's a game.
Yeah, it's a game and there'slike cards and it has a picture
of a meme on it.
And then I'm trying to rememberhow exactly it works.
It's like you all are you havedifferent cards and you pick out
(34:30):
which card you want to describethat meme and so the person
that held up the meme gets tochoose which which card that
you've given them is thefunniest one.
To go with the meme and it getseveryone laughing and there's
just hilarious pictures.
You get crazy ones of dogs andjust all kinds of fun stuff and
it's for kids too.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
they have have a kid's version.
Cool, I'll have to try it.
Speaker 1 (34:53):
That was the version I played for the first time and
I was like I'm good with eitherversion.
They're both funny.
This is hilarious.
So, yeah, cool.
And to go with that, recently Idon't remember who in my family
it was or why we had this crazypicture, but some picture.
It might have been my husbandand my grandson and they had
(35:15):
weird looks on their faces orsomething.
But I sent it in our familygroup chat and everybody was
laughing at the photo and I saidI think we need to make our own
what the Meme?
And do it with family photos,find all the crazy photos and
maybe print them, laminate themand make our own game.
Speaker 2 (35:28):
Oh my gosh, that's such a good idea.
There could be some funnyphotos.
Speaker 1 (35:38):
Yeah, oh yeah.
Especially, you know you getholidays and birthdays and
you're taking pictures of yourkids or whoever, and we get
these fun, crazy expressions onour faces and you just catch the
most unusual and unique moments.
Speaker 2 (35:48):
Oh, that'd be so fun.
Yeah, yeah, that's really fun.
Yeah, I like board games.
I think they're good at.
They conserve a lot of energy.
They help you reconnect withpeople who matter right, like
your family and friends.
Most of them.
You can sit.
Yeah, there's definitelythere's one though, oh sorry.
Speaker 1 (36:06):
I was going to say definitely we need a comfortable
chair.
I think there's been timeswhere I'm at someone's house
Maybe they have the mostuncomfortable kitchen chairs.
That that is like high prioritylist is having somewhere
comfortable to sit.
Because if I don't havesomewhere comfortable to sit,
you're going to notice that I'mconstantly doing kind of a
little bit of this action notthat people can see me, but
constantly moving.
You'll notice my shouldersshifting, my hips shifting,
(36:28):
because I'm hurting.
My hips start to hurt, my backstarts to hurt.
Speaker 2 (36:37):
I want to get up and move, totally.
Yeah, there's this other game,though it's mostly for kids, but
it's called Taco Cat GoatCheese Pizza.
Have you played?
Speaker 1 (36:42):
that one.
Speaker 2 (36:43):
I've heard of it, I haven't played it, it's horrible
.
You have to put it on cards ina certain order, but basically
when somebody notices that theorder is wrong, you have to slap
your hand down on the cards.
But everybody slaps their hand.
My gosh, it hurts my hands sobad.
If you have RA, do not buy tacocat goat cheese pizza.
Speaker 1 (37:05):
Anyway, if your chronic illness turned you into
a resilience superhero, whatwould your superhero name be?
Speaker 2 (37:14):
Well, I would obviously be the rheumatoid
arthritis coach, because I am asuperhero and I play that role
every single day by helpingpeople live their best lives
with rheumatoid arthritis.
Speaker 1 (37:29):
I think for my superhero name it would somehow
I would add in the word tinkeror tinker bell into my name
somehow like gracefully tinkeror something.
Yeah, something like that.
Just because everyone alwayscalls me tinker or tinkerbell
because I'm always tinkering onprojects, I like that.
What's one surprising joy,opportunity or passion that only
(37:51):
came because of your chronicillness journey.
Speaker 2 (37:54):
Share this story every time I'm interviewed
because it's such a good story.
But I started my healthcarecareer in a hospital setting
where I had a very physicallydemanding job.
Not only did I do a lot ofprocedures, but it was a lot of
walking, a lot of standing, alot of on my feet, and we worked
seven days on, seven days off.
(38:15):
So on the seven days on wereally had no breaks.
We didn't go home at night oranything like that.
And when I was diagnosed I wasreally struggling to keep up
with that job and it was reallyhard on me.
And then my week off I would be, I mean, nearly dead at home.
It took me days and days torecover from my week on, and so
(38:35):
I was completely sleep deprived,completely exhausted.
I had no time for medicalappointments because I could
never figure out when my week onor off was, or if I would even
feel good enough to get out ofbed.
So because of that experienceand having that, and then
getting diagnosed with RA, Imean I completely changed
careers, like I took the biggestpivot, the biggest chance I've
(38:55):
ever taken in my entire life,and I left that job, which at
the time was the only job I hadever known.
It was the only field I hadever known.
It was the only thing I knewhow to do as an adult.
And I left and tried a wholenew specialty and went to an
office where I was in anoutpatient setting, where
offices are.
Healthcare is still.
It's still a demanding officejob.
You're still kind of up anddown a lot, but much less than a
(39:21):
hospital.
So you know you're mostlysitting, mostly at a desk, even
though you do go room to room.
But yeah, so I think it reallymade me completely change
careers and directions of mylife and, honestly, it was the
best thing I could have done inmy entire life because it made
me so multifaceted now I have somuch experience now and it made
me more comfortable with makingbig jumps or big changes to my
(39:41):
life and it made me, you know,I'm more like on my toes now,
not physically, but you know, soto speak, where I can learn new
skills and adapt and you know,just pivot, pivot, pivot and
it's.
It's really cool that Iactually got the diagnosis and
then made that change and thatit worked out.
I don't know that it works outthat well for everybody, but for
me it was, honestly, the bestthing that could have happened
(40:02):
to me was being forced to leavethat job and change completely
change careers.
Speaker 1 (40:07):
What would you say is in your toolkit when it comes
to work?
Are there things you do to helpyou get through a day better?
Do you take breaks and walkaround or get up and stretch?
What helps you navigate yourworkday better?
Speaker 2 (40:20):
Well, first and foremost, I make sure that the
job's a good fit, and if youknow me at all, you know I'm an
entrepreneur.
I have like 17 jobs at anygiven time.
People are always shocked likewhat job are you even talking
about when I'm talking?
So the first thing is that youhave to make sure the job's a
good fit.
No matter what your skillset isor your training, there's
(40:40):
something in your field thatworks for you, and this can be
even you know people who arevery, very niche, very, very
highly trained in.
You know one specific area.
There's always that remoteoption out there, or there's
always that desk job within thatfield, or there's always that
remote option out there, orthere's always that desk job
within that field, or there'salways an alternative to exactly
(41:02):
what you think you should bedoing.
So I think just being reallyopen-minded and, first and
foremost, finding the job thatworks for you, that's how I mean
number one, that's how Inavigate career while living
with rheumatoid arthritis.
If the job's not right, I justdon't do the job anymore, and
I've had plenty of things likethat.
And, with that being said, I'mnot a total jerk about it.
(41:23):
Right?
I don't sign a two-yearcontract and then quit after a
week and say, oh, this wasn't agood fit.
I'm very open and honest withemployers, with project managers
, with people who come to me andI say, like, how about we just
try it out?
Where I work as a nursepractitioner now, it's
physician-owned.
You know there's lots ofdifferent structures of medical
groups and offices, but it'sphysician-owned.
And I told the physician I wantthis job, this is a good fit
(41:46):
for me.
Do you mind if I come andfollow you around for two weeks
for free and make sure this is agood fit?
And I think he was kind ofshocked but I was like I don't
want you to pay me, I just wantto work for two weeks, follow
you around and see if I'm a goodfit with the office, if this is
the kind of job that I want, ifI like driving here, parking
every day, right, if the staffis cohesive with me there's all
(42:11):
these other things you look at.
So I did that and I was reallyopen and honest and I mean, what
employer wouldn't be open tothat?
You know, yeah, you just wantto follow me around for a couple
of weeks.
So I think, really making surethe job is a good fit.
And then, of course, you know,if you have really severe
rheumatoid arthritis, you haveto be realistic, and I know
everybody.
We really should all achieveour dreams.
You know, jen, you and I arelike this generation that you
(42:41):
could do anything, right, youcould be an astronaut if you
want.
Honestly, I even tell my kidsnow that's not always true,
sometimes you have to rein it ina little my personality I could
never be a police officer.
I just could not do it.
It's not in my soul.
But so if you have very severeRA, or, like me, I'm never going
to be an acrobat, right?
I'm just never going to be aCirque performer on the Las
Vegas strip.
And I'm never going to be adancer, right, I'm never going
to be.
There's just things that youhave to be realistic about.
(43:04):
Yes, you can still dance as ahobby, you can still be an
acrobat as a hobby and do itwhen you want to, or for small
groups, or you know.
But to say, you're going totravel the world as a trapeze
artist, you know like, I don'tknow, like you have to find a
job that fits and be reallyrealistic with that.
And then, from there, of course, make sure your workstation is
ergonomic and comfortable.
(43:25):
And then the schedule iseverything too.
Being in healthcare, I workednights for so many years and for
me it was not a good fit.
For my health, I was sick allthe time.
I struggled with just managingthe schedules of my life outside
of work.
My relationships were a messbecause I couldn't see anybody.
When they were all havingfamily dinner, I was sleeping,
(43:48):
anyway.
I go on and on.
This could be a whole podcastin itself on how to navigate
careers with RA.
But first and foremost, find ajob that fits.
Second would be be realisticabout what you can and can't do.
Now, I'm a nurse practitioner,but that's a big umbrella of
nursing, and if you have RA youcan definitely be a nurse.
There are so many fields withinnursing or even in healthcare
(44:10):
that are not extremelyphysically demanding.
Now, should you be anorthopedic surgeon?
Definitely not.
Unless maybe you want to dopeds, but it's just just be
realistic too.
So find the job that fits andbe realistic.
Speaker 1 (44:22):
To add to that too.
It's okay if you you changedirections.
It's okay to pivot as you getolder, because I think
especially you're you're 40, I'm45.
As we've gotten older, we'vegotten to know ourselves so much
better.
We know our personalities, weknow what we enjoy, what makes
us thrive, and so maybe you're apeople person, and so you need
(44:43):
a job where you deal with people, you talk with them.
I don't know, maybe you're nota people person, maybe you
prefer working at a desk aloneall the time, maybe you like to
work in groups.
It's okay to pivot once you getto know yourself better and do
something that brings you joy.
Speaker 2 (45:00):
I love that because I've never been.
I'm like a science and mathperson.
I've never been like an Englishor writing person.
So if you had told me 20 yearsago I would be a writer, I would
have laughed in your face.
I'm just.
I'm not really a creativeperson either.
You know, and I don't know ifyour audience knows, but I write
now for Healthline and Bezzyand I used to write for the
(45:21):
Global Healthy Living Foundation, which is creaky joints, and
I've done some pieces for HealthCentral and I write for Medical
News Today.
Now I'm one of their healthwriters.
So anyway, if you had told me20 years ago that I was going to
be a writer or a journalist ofany kind, I never would have
thought.
But somebody suggested it and Istayed open-minded and I tried
it and it worked out great forme and I think it took years of
(45:44):
getting to know myself torealize that it might be a good
fit.
Speaker 1 (45:47):
That's a really good point.
And I even look back and inhigh school they had tests that
we could take of what would begood for you and I even did a
program.
It was called Experienced BasedCareer Education.
It was my senior year and thelast few hours of the day was
doing this program and sometimeswe would meet and we would do
English class for the day andthen other times we were out in
(46:10):
the community working with otherbusinesses and they wanted us
to pick three differentdirections of a career that we
wanted and so they would find aplacement for us to go out and
check out these fields and itwas great.
I was kind of all over the place.
I wanted to be an elementaryschool psychologist, a graphic
designer or an engineer.
(46:30):
I was all over the place.
It's really boring and you workon your computer all day and I
hated it, which I love,computers and people know I love
to be creative.
But when you're an engineer,where's the creativity?
And back then I don't think Irealized how creative I am and
how much I crave that.
Graphic design would have beenperfect.
I should have done that.
(46:51):
I do all kinds of contentcreation now and it's what makes
me thrive and fills my cup forthe day.
So it's interesting that as weget older we figure all these
things out.
Speaker 2 (47:01):
But also as time passes.
Just to add one more thing towhat you said for people living
with chronic illness, careersevolve too.
Like for you graphic design.
20 years ago it was acompletely different world, like
there was no Canva.
You had to buy very expensivesoftware, very expensive
hardware.
You had to have multiplecomputers, multiple screens,
fancy mice.
Speaker 1 (47:22):
It was not like it is now it was so, so different and
they had me working at abusiness called Litho Printing
and I was learning how to makebusiness cards and pamphlets and
all kinds of things and I lovedit and I had fun, but the
program's definitely waydifferent.
The program I would have doneto become one completely
(47:47):
different than it is now.
Now there's different areas.
You're not just taking just agraphic design program.
You can pick different kinds.
So yeah, that's very, very good.
Speaker 2 (47:52):
I mean, business cards are kind of obsolete now I
know.
Now it's like where's a very,very good point.
Speaker 1 (47:56):
I mean like business cards are like kind of obsolete.
Now I know.
Now it's like where's my QRcode?
Speaker 2 (48:00):
Totally, so I think through that yeah.
Speaker 1 (48:04):
Now you brought up a little bit of what you do, and
actually that was one of myquestions for you is can you
kind of tell, besides thewriting and besides the nurse
practitioner, what other kindsof work have you done, and is
there anything else you'rewanting to do someday?
Speaker 2 (48:18):
Oh my gosh, that's such a good question.
I have done so many things.
I've worked across the board inhealthcare, from very niche,
very specialized areas to.
I've done street medicine,which if you work in healthcare
you know it's literally seeingunhoused people on street
(48:38):
corners or in shelters or inpop-up tents.
I've definitely worked witheverywhere, from the underserved
communities to the.
I've had VIP positions as well,where we serve professional
sports teams, and I've met big,famous actors, actresses, people
with a lot of power, especiallyin our city and our geographic
(48:59):
region.
Everything in between I've donein health care.
I've also been a journalistwith many different health
organizations throughout thelast six or seven years, which
has been such an exciting thingto explore.
I've helped develop programsand apps, which has been really
exciting.
I've been behind quite a fewstealth startups, which has been
(49:20):
really really cool, and thosehave definitely been first
experiences for me.
And then, of course, I mean Ilove plants.
As you can see, I have a ton ofplants behind me and all over
my house and I love.
I have an outdoor garden and Ido grow and sell indoor and
outdoor plants.
My kids dog walk.
I mean I'm definitely a jack ofall trades.
(49:42):
I like to keep myself reallywell-rounded.
I like to stay active, I liketo stay busy, but again that go,
go, go.
I know when to take breaks andwhen to rest.
But of course, my biggest andmost proud achievement is
RheumatoidArthritisCoachcom andthat's where I work with women
one-on-one who are living withrheumatoid arthritis to live
their very best lives and thereach that I have with people.
(50:05):
It is so rewarding I can't evenput it into words because it's
just the most beautiful thingI've ever done with my life is
to help these women justredirect their lives and get
back on track and see theirworth again after this diagnosis
and see these they have allthese perceived limitations that
aren't even real limitations,and to just get them back to
(50:25):
living again.
So I love what I do withrheumatoidarthritiscoachcom,
which that's definitely what I'mmost proud of.
Speaker 1 (50:32):
I'm just proud of you .
You are an amazing lady.
Thank you, I'm proud of you.
Thank you.
All right, let's dream big.
If you could give one of yourSpoonie superpowers to the world
, which one would it be, and why?
Speaker 2 (50:46):
Oh, I love this question.
So I think my best Spooniesuperpower is being
underestimated and I realizedthat that sounds funny, but that
the when the entire worldunderestimates you, you have
this motivation to prove themwrong and you have this
(51:06):
resilience and strength thatreally forces you to challenge
yourself.
And you know, beingunderestimated makes me want to
beat my previous scores and oddsand personal records Right.
And then, when you'reunderestimated by the entire
world, you have this element ofsurprise.
Where you come out, you know, Icome on a podcast and I'm like,
(51:26):
yes, I have 17 different jobsand I have kids and I do all of
these really amazing things andI'm actually like a nice person
to talk to and people are alwaysmy gosh.
I'm so surprised that you arethe way you are.
And I'm like, yes, I know, andI told people, I'm like Taylor
Swift.
Everybody underestimated me inthe beginning Because I think
people really did underestimateher, but that's a whole nother
(51:47):
topic.
Yeah, so I think beingunderestimated is my superhero
as a spoony and I just lovebeating my previous records and
just surprising the whole worldwith how amazing I can be
despite rheumatoid arthritis.
Speaker 1 (52:03):
I think that would be a great superhero power to give
to everyone, because there areso many people that have that
superpower and they don't evenrealize it.
I think we underestimateourselves.
Speaker 2 (52:15):
Totally yeah, and then you don't even try to
surprise people, exactly.
Speaker 1 (52:19):
Exactly, I feel like we could talk for hours and
hours and hours, but this hasbeen such a good chat, thanks
for having me.
Speaker 2 (52:27):
I always love seeing you.
If you're in search of somehelp on how to live your best
life with rheumatoid arthritis,head to
rheumatoidarthritiscoachcomantsare always free, and I do have a
special right now.
Speaker 1 (52:39):
Ooh, there you go, okay, well, listeners, until
next time.
Don't forget your spoon.
Welcome back to my Spoonie Sisters.
Today's roundtable is all aboutflipping the script.
Chronic illness changeseverything, but sometimes it
gets us with strengths we neversaw coming, whether it's tuning
into your intuition like pros,becoming time management ninjas,
or mastering the art of askingfor help and meaning it too.
(00:23):
We're celebrating theunexpected wins that came with
the diagnosis, so grab yourfavorite flair-friendly drink
and join us as we share ourSpoonie superpowers.
Hello Stephanie, how are you?
Hi, I'm good.
How are you today?
I'm doing well.
I'm really excited for us tosit down and talk about this.
We've had many, manyconversations on the podcast
(00:45):
before, but this one isdefinitely a unique one, and so
I'm going to dive right in.
What is one superpower that youfeel that you've gained because
of chronic illness that youryounger self never would have
believed?
Speaker 2 (00:58):
So I love that we're talking today about superpowers,
because a lot of times when youhave a chronic illness, you
don't automatically think thatyou have superpowers.
In fact, I think when we'refirst diagnosed, our confidence
level takes a big hit.
So I love that we're talkingabout having superpowers today
and that not only do we havesuperpowers, but that we have
gained them because of ourchronic illness.
(01:19):
So that's really cool.
So, to answer your question,the one superpower that I think
I've gained because of having achronic illness, which in my
case would be rheumatoidarthritis, and I also have a
relatively new diagnosis ofscalp psoriasis I think that my
pre-diagnosed self would havenever believed how resilient I
really am today.
Every single day, I wake up andI face this body that doesn't
(01:42):
always cooperate, and yetsomehow I keep going.
Now don't get me wrong.
There are definitely bad daysand good days, and we all know
and even days that start goodmight not end good and they
could start bad and get better.
But to just wake up every dayand learn tricks on how to adapt
to pain, how to adapt to theuncertainty, the predictability
and, of course, the dreadedfatigue, fatigue gets us all
(02:04):
every time, without losing oursense of self and our sense of
well-being and ourself-confidence.
I really think that's astrength that most people don't
see, but it's really real andit's really powerful.
And I think that if you arediagnosed with something and
you're looking for yoursuperpower, look for that
resilience that you haveday-to-day, because you're
probably not even acknowledginghow much resilience you already
(02:27):
have.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
I agree.
I look back and I think thatthe superpower that I gained is
patience, which I always thoughtI had.
But now I have the patience forothers in a way I wouldn't have
had before.
I slow down my walking when I'mwith certain people because I
know what it's like.
I've had those flare days whereI'm having a hard time keeping
(02:49):
up and so, as frustrating asthis illness can be, it's great
that it has changed us, to havethat perspective and the
patience for other people in away.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
We probably wouldn't have ever had.
I think on that note we couldsay, because you're totally
right that when you're withcertain people, you slow down.
When certain people speak, youslow down and engage, you listen
more carefully.
But I think that because ofthat, of our shared superpower
of being more patient, I thinkwe're also both more resourceful
because we've now becomeexperts at managing medications,
(03:21):
appointments, energy, emotions,all of that stuff and in
addition to, I mean, I'm a totalexpert now in finding like
coupons and copay cards onlineright, or even just finding
emotional support online has.
I consider myself veryresourceful in that avenue now.
So I think not only are we moreresilient and patient, but also
(03:41):
more resourceful and you know,we can really just find ways to
adapt that still get the jobdone.
Just a different way.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
I think you brought up something interesting.
Have you run into because I'vehad this experience have you run
into people that have not evenheard of things like the co-pay
assistance programs and they'vehad a diagnosis for a while?
Because I have, and I'm alwayslooking at them like how do you
not know these things areavailable?
My rheumatologist told me whatare we?
Speaker 2 (04:06):
doing Every single day, because not only am I an RA
patient, but I'm a health coachfor people with RA, but I'm
also a nurse practitioner, soI'm a practicing medical
provider and even in the officeevery single day, people come in
and are completely just unawareof the financial assistance
programs available to them.
So, luckily, we have a lot ofresources where I work and I
(04:28):
have a lot of resourcesavailable to me to be able to
refer them or connect them, but,yeah, every single day.
So if you're out there andyou're listening to this and
you're looking for a resource,what I would say is start with a
simple Google search can help.
But also, you can always go tothe manufacturer of what you're
looking for, like if it's for amedication and the manufacturer
is just on the box or you canGoogle that too.
(04:49):
You don't even have to have theprescription in hand.
I mean, the online support,especially for RA, has grown so
much in the last two decades.
I'm so proud to be a part of it.
I couldn't have even imaginedit would be like this.
I could never even haveimagined I would have met
somebody like you 10 years agoand have this amazing built-in
(05:09):
friend in Instagram that justunderstands living with RA and
all these layers that we talkabout day to day.
Anyway, I'm digressing, but ifyou're ever not sure, you can
always hop on and there's somany Facebook groups and online
groups and people online and youcan always shoot those people a
message or put a post up andjust see what you get.
You'd be so surprised whatpeople share.
I'm still surprised at whatpeople suggest or share has
(05:33):
worked for them.
I mean, I feel like I've had RAfor 10 years and I've been in
healthcare for almost 20 and Istill learn stuff every day.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
To go along with what you're saying.
If you find a support group ora network that isn't working for
you, it's okay to keepsearching, keep finding the one
that works for you, becausethere's one out there.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Yeah, that's a really good point, because everybody
we were just talking about thisearlier, but everybody kind of
has a different angle to supportand to how they play in the RA
community.
So find the person that theirangle resonates the most with
you, for sure.
So find the person that theirangle resonates the most with
you, for sure.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
Absolutely, and that might mean you have a few
different people in your toolkit, because we all do offer so
many different things.
Like you and I, we both haveour A and we both want to help
people, but we come at it from adifferent direction.
I'm not in the health realm theway that you are, and so what
I'm going to come at you with iscompletely different, but we
all do something special, rightAgreed, it's our superpower.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
Wow, how has your intuition or your gut instinct
become sharper since yourdiagnosis, and do you have any
stories that still amaze?
Speaker 2 (06:39):
you.
I love this question becausethe answer is a yes, yes, yes,
yes, yes.
I can't even tell you how muchmy gut instincts have not only
become sharper, but havesharpened.
Every year I've had a diagnosisand every year I live with
rheumatoid arthritis and nowpsoriasis.
Every year I live with evenjust an aging body with
(07:01):
age-related health conditions.
My gut instincts become sharperand this is such an incredible
thing to think about.
But I think that in general, Ican say that my instincts have
become sharper because I,overall, take less risks.
However, it's not that I don'thave fun anymore.
I don't take any risks.
It's just that there was a timewhen, for example, I would take
(07:23):
my family to Hawaii andschedule a hike and a zip lining
tour and some other physicallydemanding expedition.
You know all while on vacation,Ander, pre-rheumatoid arthritis
me, I never would have read thefine print about work
(07:48):
accommodations in a contract, orI really, when you know 22 year
old me taking my first job andin you know wherever I was
working at the time I neverreally would have read the fine
print on FMLA sick leave or evenhow some of these big
corporations you have access tophysical therapy or occupational
therapy services.
One company I worked for, a bigcorporation.
(08:09):
They had an OT come andevaluate our workspace for
ergonomic design and longevity.
Yeah, it was amazing and Iremember reading that, thinking,
you know, like 15, 20 years agoI wouldn't have even read this
part of the contract.
So I think that, whenhindsight's 20-20, of course,
but as you live with a chronicillness, you live and you learn,
(08:29):
and you learn what to look foras well as not take risks.
And then, of course, I feellike now it's not so much a gut
instinct to not do things or toavoid things or to even to do
things, but I'm always lookingfor things that have flexibility
.
But I'm always looking forthose concert tickets that have
the refundable option.
(08:50):
You know, I always get theplane ticket that has the, you
know, refundable or transferableoption.
Because my life is just alittle bit different than it
used to be, I would say Idefinitely my gut instincts have
definitely sharpened because Itake less risks but I still have
a lot of fun.
I just do it in a more flexibleway.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
So listening to you took me back to like our trip to
Hawaii.
And it's interesting becausesometimes, even though my
husband knows I have RA and he'svery much there for me and
protective of me.
It's interesting because he isthe kind of person that wants to
be doing something every singleday.
But I think he's learned,especially as we're aging and
(09:31):
just keeping an eye on me.
He only schedules one bigactivity a day because we want
to have some downtime andrelaxation too, and for him our
vacations are all about food.
He's like I want a good meal, Iwant to sit down and laugh and
talk and visit and enjoysomething tasty, and so it was
interesting.
On our trip we did a day wherewe went out to Kualoa Ranch and
(09:55):
we did a movie sites tour andthey take you out on a boat and
stuff like that.
What was great was there wasvery little walking.
We get to do a lot of lookingand picture taking and listening
and taking it all in and thatwas great because that was it
was a good relaxation point inthe middle of our trip because
some of the other activitiesinvolved more walking.
(10:15):
I think we're getting about18,000 steps a day.
That is so many, but it's hard.
It's hard when you travel,because you want to see all the
things and you want to do allthe things and it's like, okay,
I guess there's time for sleepand recovery when I return home,
hopefully.
How do you feel, like yourspouse does, with that kind of
stuff?
Speaker 2 (10:35):
My husband loves to relax.
Like his goals of any vacationis all relaxation.
He would love it if we went toHawaii.
We keep talking about Hawaii, Ithink, because we both just
love Hawaii, but you and I Imean, but he would be fine if we
(11:00):
just went to Hawaii, got acondo or hotel right on the
beach and just didn't leave.
So it's usually me that has toslow down.
But it's funny now, because nowI have two children and one of
my kids is a relaxer and one ofthem is a goer, and the little
one is the goer and I have tohold him back.
Now I'm like whoa, mommy can'tdo all of that.
So me and your husband and myyoungest should never vacation
together.
That could be dangerous.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
I think I'm kind of in the middle because I want
that time in the ocean.
We always get floaties from theABC store and we go out onto
the beach and we float in thewaves and have fun and I want
those hours of fun on the beach,but I want to check out the
shops and I want to do theactivities.
I'm still trying to talkeveryone into ziplining, even
though I'm afraid of heights,but someday we are going to do
(11:43):
it.
Someone will cave and do thiswith me.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
Oh my gosh, I've ziplined in Hawaii and it's the
single most terrifying thingI've ever done, really.
Yes, cool, so you have to.
I totally digress, but actuallyit's the second most terrifying
vacation excursion.
I will make this quick, butthis is funny.
The first ever was we went oh,what's it called?
(12:05):
It's like deep sea fishing,something like that.
We took a cruise and one of theexcursions was they take you
out on a boat like to the middleof the ocean.
That was completely terrifyingand I will honestly never do
that again because I have nevervomited so much in my life from
the open ocean.
And then it just wasn't asrewarding as I thought to catch
a fish.
I apologize to any big fisherpeople who are listening, no
offense, it's just not for me,but more power to you.
(12:27):
But anyway, the zip lining.
So when you zip line, there'slike these boxes that you have
to kind of climb up so thatyou're at the right height.
So like get enough.
Like you can't just jump off ofthe platform.
You have to get like height offof it or you won't zip because
it's all about your weight.
It's like a physics thing.
Anyway, so off of it or youwon't zip because it's all about
(12:49):
your weight.
It's like a physics thing,anyway.
So when you do zip lines it'salways like six or seven
different lines, it's not justone zip line.
And after the second one Icouldn't even climb the boxes, I
was frozen.
My husband had to force mebecause you can't go back once
you start.
I was so scared I cannot evenput it into words and I don't
know why.
I didn't think I would bescared.
We have ziplining in Las Vegasthat's over like buildings and
I've done that and it's notscary, but ziplining over like
(13:11):
the jungle where Jurassic Parkwas filmed, it just seemed
completely terrifying, like Ijust I don't know.
So I hope you love it.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Now I'm a little bit frozen because I'm thinking okay
, I still want to try toexperience it and the Kualoa
Mountains are my favorite areato go to, but can I climb the?
Speaker 2 (13:28):
boxes.
Oh my gosh, it wasn't painful.
It wasn't that I couldn'tbecause of fear, it wasn't
physically hard, but it's a lotof climbing and then people had
like their whole families ziplining, so there would be like
an adult couple and then likechildren.
Like when we went, I thinkthere was probably a five, seven
and nine year old with us andthese parents were putting their
kids in the hook and just likegiving them a push and I was
(13:52):
just completely terrified.
I don't know what it was, butit was not as enjoyable as I had
anticipated Maybe.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
I'll stick with the ATV tour.
We seem to really like that one.
Yeah, that sounds a littlesafer.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
I don't want to, I don't want to rain on anybody's
parade, but it was.
My husband loved it.
I mean I have pictures of him,like they have you flip over and
do like Spider-Man and stuffand all of mine.
I'm just like gripping the ropelike a complete psychopath,
like I couldn't even like spreadmy arms and legs for the photo
opportunities.
I was so terrified.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
Okay, well, that could definitely be me.
I'm already afraid of heightsanyway, it's so high.
Well, okay, eyes are watering.
So how about time management?
Do you have any time management, rest rituals, boundaries?
What kind of life skills haveyou mastered that you didn't
have pre-illness?
Speaker 2 (14:47):
Yeah, this is so true .
I think pre-diagnosis I was theworst at time management.
I was a go until you drop kindof lady.
I would just go, go, go.
And of course I worked inhealthcare and healthcare is
very, very demanding, so wewould just work.
I remember we would work likeback-to-back shifts.
We wouldn't sleep or we wouldsleep just a few hours and then
(15:07):
go right back to work.
So definitely, rheumatoidarthritis has taught me to work
smarter, not harder, as much ofa cliche as that is.
It has taught me to plan whatI'm going to do, to research
what I'm going to do, to beready before I start it right,
because we've all done thatwhere we've started some project
and then had to bail because weweren't prepared, I didn't have
(15:27):
the tool or didn't have theresources.
But also I've really learned todo certain tasks when my body is
most cooperative and to notpush myself through.
And then, on the flip side,I've also really learned to
optimize my health for importantthings.
So, for example, today I knew Iwas going to be chatting with
you.
I made sure I got a goodnight's rest, I made sure I
(15:48):
didn't overexert myself allmorning and I wanted to make
sure that my health was optimalfor this commitment that I had.
So I think, whereas before Iwould just work a whole bunch of
days in a row and then try togo on a date night with my
husband and we would go to amovie and I'd fall asleep right,
so I think now I really justtry to do things when my body is
most cooperative.
(16:09):
Rest when my body says rest andwork smarter, not harder.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
I think those are really important tips for people
to think about, because evenwith my diagnosis, I still am
one of those I'm going to gotill I drop kind of people and I
don't know why.
It's like ingrained in me and Idon't know if you know Andy
Byers very well, but she isconstantly reminding me Jen,
you've got to slow down.
You've got to slow down andshe's so right, because you're
fine until you're not fine.
(16:38):
And do you really want to findout in a bad way?
You don't want to push yourbody to tell your.
Well, I'm going to bring up.
If you've heard her storybefore, she died for 38 minutes
clinically and that's why she'swritten the book and talks so
much about redefining fine,because she would wake up every
day and tell everyone she wasfine until she wasn't.
And so I think that she is sucha gift in my life to bring me
(17:02):
back and remind me Jen, you'vegot to slow down, you overcommit
yourself, you do too much, andshe's right.
I want to be there for everyoneand I want to be there for
everyone and I want to do allthe things and every once in a
while, boom life.
Life puts me flat on my back.
It's like no, jen, you cannotdo all the things your body
doesn't want you to do.
All the things you're notcapable.
(17:23):
It's okay to set someboundaries I'm working on it but
it's not easy.
So if you have tips, tell mewhat I need to be doing to do
this.
I'm working on it, but it's noteasy.
So if you have tips on how totell me what I need to be doing
to do this, I'm all for them.
Now I'm finally listening toeveryone.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
I think you touched on a lot of really valid points
there, because you are amazing,you are kind and loving and
you're a nurturing human andyou're very motherly, right Like
.
Even I've come to you sometimeswanting motherly help and your
or even just kindness or supportor love.
I just wanted somebody whowouldn't tell me I was a
complete idiot, right?
(17:56):
So I would go to you, and so Ithink that your life goals I'm
talking about you directly, butthis is very generic we're all
so loving and caring that wewant to help everybody.
I think the most importantthing, though, is to think about
is it worth it?
Because sometimes it is, forexample, so my oldest son
finished fifth grade this year,and here where I live, fifth
(18:19):
grade is the end of elementaryschool, and then they go to a
different school.
They go to middle school forsixth grade.
I know everywhere is a littlebit different so for fifth grade
, every year they have this bigDisneyland trip, and it's like a
3 am to 3 am the next day sortof situation.
You don't sleep anywhere, right?
So, of course, this year, myoldest was badly injured, as you
(18:39):
know, and he fractured hisL-spine and he's been in a
wheelchair, but he insisted,insisted, jen, on going on this
dang Disneyland trip.
We're not talking about that,but I tried to talk him out of
it.
I tried to buy him out of it.
I mean I tried everything, buthe really really wanted to go
and be with his fifth gradem to3 am.
(18:59):
I mean it was like 24 hours.
And then, of course, I had notonly my son who was in a
wheelchair, but three otherchildren I was responsible for.
So I had a group of four and ifyou've ever people listening,
if you've ever been toDisneyland, but having one adult
(19:21):
and four children, you are justcompletely outnumbered and it's
.
I mean, they were great kids.
I have no complaints.
They were very well behaved,but it's still a lot.
They all don't go to thebathroom at the same time.
They all don't know when theyhave to go to the bathroom.
These were 11-year-olds.
They don't know what they likeoff of the menu.
So it was a lot on me and so,anyway, I knew it was going to
be a lot, but I decided it wasgoing to be worth it and I took
(19:44):
extra days off of work beforeand after and it was really
funny because we came home like3am on I don't know, like a
Tuesday morning, and then I wasup all day Tuesday and then we
like had dinner and we were Idon't know.
We were just like watchingsomething on TV and I like I
guess I fell asleep on the couchand I woke up like 13 hours
later, like on the couch, likemakeup salon, like in the same
(20:06):
clothes, everything, and I waslike whoa, like I couldn't even
remember falling asleep.
But the point is sorry I'mrambling, but the point is is
that particular event?
I said it was worth it.
I was going to go, go, go untilI fell over, which I did, but
it was worth it.
I think what's really importantis just that we step back and
(20:27):
think, like, is taking this tripfor my daughter worth it?
Is doing this favor for myelderly father?
Is the reward there?
Is it necessary that I do itright?
Is this necessary to care formy loved one or for my job,
right?
There's a lot of times for myjob, I have to do things that
are odd hours or very demandingfor long periods of time, and
sometimes it's just part of thecommitment.
(20:49):
You have to do it.
I think it's the go, go go isone thing, but sometimes maybe
we don't have to finish all ofthe laundry or do all of the
dishes, or maybe we don't haveto make dinner from scratch that
night.
Maybe you can just order sometakeout and leave the dishes.
So that's what I think.
I think if you prioritize andreally figure out what outcomes
you value the most, that's howyou prevent burnout from go, go,
(21:13):
go.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
I agree and we ask for help.
And if that means asking yourspouse to help out with
something, or even when mygrandson comes to visit, he
exhausts me and I love havinghim.
But now he's at an age where hewants to help do things.
Now sometimes that slows usdown, like he wants to do up his
own car seat, but then there'sother things that slows us down.
He wants to do up his own carseat, but then there's other
things he can help with.
He wants to help fold laundryand help put toys away, and
(21:36):
that's great because it's alearning thing for him, but it's
also helping me and mymother-in-law lives with us.
It's okay if I let her helpwith the laundry and the dishes.
So, being okay with allowingothers to help to make our lives
a little bit easier.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
Absolutely.
You have to be able to accepthelp and it might always not be
like your mother-in-law probablydoesn't do laundry the same way
you do.
You know, same with me.
I keep making this about you.
I don't mean to make it aboutyou, but you know our helpers do
things differently than we do.
It doesn't mean it's wrong, youknow that.
(22:12):
Yeah, I remember right after Ihad my second son, one of my
girlfriends came over and shewas like I'm not here to visit
with you, I'm just going to helpyou with stuff around the house
.
And I was like, okay, and I was,even though he was my, it was
my second child, I was, I stillfelt like a new mom.
I still felt like I wasn't thatexperienced.
Anyway, so she came over and Iremember she did my laundry and
(22:32):
I remember she did there waslike dark colors, light colors
and whites, and she did them allseparately.
And I remember like thinking Idon't ever separate my darks and
lights, I just do colors right.
And then I was like Stephaniejust shut up and let her do the
laundry, Like who the heck careshow she separates it and if
anything, she was doing it likebetter than I do it.
(22:53):
Right, If anything, there wasgoing to be no color bleeding or
damage or like.
If anything, she was better andso I had to.
That was like my first eyeopener, Like okay, you have to
just let people help you howthey can help you.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
I think you just gave me an idea for a fun icebreaker
question for people.
We can talk about things likehow do you load your dishwasher,
how do you do your laundry?
Yeah, because I actually divideall mine up too.
I have the darks, the lights,the whites, and now my husband's
getting into like wearingthings that are super special,
and I had to hand wash a stupidsilk shirt he bought in Hawaii.
(23:29):
I wanted to choke him for that.
So we have a special carefulthings you have to do and things
you can't put in the dryer orthings you need to dry on low.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Remember there's no shame in putting those things in
a bag and take it to your drycleaners.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
You know that's great .
There might be a dry cleanerhere.
I'll have to look into that.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
Something that needs ironing to the dry cleaners, and
I think that the cleaners Itook it to charged me $2 to iron
a shirt.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
That's not even bad, I know, and it looks beautiful.
I'm not ironing it.
It does say that I can iron it,but I'm like you know what you
want to iron, you do it yourself.
Because every time I iron, Icould iron all of his nice dress
(24:21):
shirts or work shirts, and onemorning he can get up and try on
four different ones and they'reall on the floor.
And then I'm standing theregoing why did I iron anything
for you?
And the last time he did that Iwas like nope, never again, I'm
not ironing for you.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
So if anybody asks me about great household tips
because you asked, you said youhave another topic now, but my
go-to best advice ever for allthings rheumatoid arthritis is
run the dishwasher twice.
I do not rinse my dishes at allbefore I put them in the
dishwasher.
I run it once.
I empty the trap Is that whatit's called?
It might be Something like thatthe part you take out that
(25:01):
catches the food and I empty itand then I run it again Every
single day, every single night.
I run my dishwasher twice and Ifeel like that's my tip.
Anytime anybody asks me, I sayjust run your dishwasher twice,
because my husband or he'll dothe pots and pans by hand and
then he'll run the dishwasherand then empty it and then load
pots and pans separate and weend up just.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
I feel like we're just always doing dishes and
with kids, but I there's thingsto do and we need more time in
the day, so why not make it alittle easier?
Speaker 2 (25:32):
I run it twice.
That's my.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
Ooh, I like that one.
What would be your top favoritegadgets that you use in your
house to help you?
Speaker 2 (25:42):
Ooh, that's a tough one because, by personal
preference, I'm not a big gadgetperson.
I don't like the.
I don't mean it negative, but Idon't like the clutter.
I'm not a big gadget person, Idon't.
I don't like the.
I don't mean it negative, but Idon't like the clutter.
I don't like a lot of stuff.
I feel like keeping myinventory low actually helps me
more with my RA than having alot of gadgets, which is that's
(26:03):
just personal preference.
I love gadget people and I loveseeing what is coming to the
market and what's available forus.
I think definitely my favoritewould be I don't have one here,
but those grippy I don't knowwhat they're called like the
grippy, round or square, justflat things that you use to open
jars.
I use those all day, every day.
My kids even use them now, andthen I don't know.
(26:25):
Honestly, I think that the mostadaptive gadget that I have
would probably be my laptop, andI have all.
My whole setup is very adaptive.
My screen is as big as you canbuy on a laptop and then I have
a monitor that also helps.
So it helps with strain, youknow, neck strain, wrist strain,
shoulder strain.
I have adjustable height desks,all of those gadgets I think
(26:48):
are really important.
And then I mean I drive aminivan, which everybody in my
life makes fun of me, but I lovemy minivan, I don't care what
anybody says.
I think that that's like mybest gadget, with three of the
doors on a button and not havingto.
You know, my husband's car isnot, it's not a minivan, but
it's not all automated.
So we have to like close histrunk and open all four doors,
(27:10):
and if he's parked on a hillit's really hard to get in and
out of the doors.
And we have kids.
So you're, you know, you'relike loading the kids and trying
to not let them get their armsand legs caught.
So I think my favorite gadgetis probably my minivan.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
We actually we had two minivans while we were on
our vacation because we had 10of us, so we had two minivans
and we were kind of laughingabout it.
But oh my gosh, I love pushingthat little button and the doors
close and it was just so niceand I kept thinking, wow, I kind
of secretly want one of thesenow.
Speaker 2 (27:45):
If you don't already have one and then you rent one,
you're converted, I know.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
We have a Subaru, but there's this part of me that's
like I wonder if someday I couldtalk him into this.
Speaker 2 (27:56):
Oh yeah, it's so nice and the height to load stuff is
that it's not a car, so it'snot really low, and it's not a
truck or SUV, so it's not toohigh.
It's like this perfect height.
So like I love gardening and Ican like take my wagon into a
store, fill my wagon withwhatever I'm buying and then I
can lift up the wagon and set itin the back of my van and I'm
(28:19):
always like you cannot do thiswith any other car, I don't care
what anybody says, even thebest SUVs it's too high.
So I don't know.
I love my min-bath.
That's my favorite gadget.
Speaker 1 (28:31):
I think my favorite gadget.
I mean, there's a few of themand I'm all about kind of like
you, I don't want a bunch ofclutter and I want things that
are small and easy to use.
So like I have the Jiffy Twistthat's under the cupboard
because you can't even see itthere.
I don't even think my husbandknows I have it, but when he's
(28:57):
not home, if I need to opensomething, just shove it in
there and twist.
And there we go, I have mykitchen mama can opener, which
even my grandson thinks is likethe best thing ever.
And then my third one would beI don't remember what they're
called, but I think you andCheryl and I might all have them
.
They are those scissors thathave the spring in them so they
don't have those why did I thinkyou did?
Speaker 2 (29:12):
my goodness I'm, my house is we don't take care of
scissors, so I have to buy themby like 12 at a time.
Oh, my goodness, because my, mykids break them or they get
them wet and they rot or they Imean, they're my family's
terrible with scissors, so Ican't buy nice scissors oh,
gotcha.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
Well I have these ones.
I got them for when I would doChristmas wrapping, because I
know exactly what you're talkingabout.
I think it was Sheryl Crow thatI saw using them and I thought,
oh my gosh, I have these.
And then I don't remember whoshared it.
I still haven't got it.
But there's this thing that itlike has a little hook and it's
great for opening packages orcutting wrapping papers, like a
(29:49):
little thing that cuts.
I have that too.
For some reason.
I think it was your video thatI saw with it and I still don't
have one, but I keep wanting toget one.
Speaker 2 (30:04):
It's okay, it doesn't .
Sorry, I probably shouldn'ttalk bad.
It works great if it's taped,like if your box is taped or
your package from the store istaped.
It doesn't work well on thatAmazon tape.
That's like paper.
Do you know what I'm talkingabout?
Speaker 1 (30:14):
I know exactly what you're talking about and most of
my Amazon packages come withthat See now they're all that
weird paper tape with like thethreading in it.
Speaker 2 (30:21):
It doesn't work great on that, so I don't really use
it that much anymore.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
Oh well, that's good to know, so maybe it wouldn't be
as great as I think it would be.
And don't forget compressiongloves from grace enable, those
are the best so those are thebest.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
Look, I ducked out of you.
But look, I have like, oh mygosh, I can't even tell you.
Look, I have like three pairs.
Like right here I have everycolor.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
Well, I don't have the red ones and I don't have
the beige ones, but I have everyother.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
I don't have right.
Wait, I need to have red.
I don't think I have red orbeige either.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
But I don't really wear red, so that was the one I
never got.
But I did debate getting thebeige ones because in the fall I
wear a lot of beige so Ithought it might kind of look
kind of cute with it.
I don't know, but which colordo you wear the most?
Speaker 2 (31:00):
Purple.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
Me too.
Purple and teal those are mygo-to ones.
The purple pair because myother pair was like five years
old.
Have your relationships changedin ways that brought?
Speaker 2 (31:14):
clarity, strength or deeper connections?
Absolutely, since I wasdiagnosed with rheumatoid
arthritis, I treat myrelationships so much
differently now.
But there's two sides to it.
So first of all, I value mypositive relationships more,
those date nights I told youabout earlier where I would be
so exhausted I wouldn't reserveany energy or spoons for this
date night and I would fallasleep or I wouldn't have the
(31:36):
energy to give my undividedattention to our conversation.
I make sure that I prioritizethat time because as you live
with these chronic illnesseslike rheumatoid arthritis, you
realize how valuable each dayreally is and how valuable the
people who love you and enrichyour life really are, and you
realize how important it is toactually dedicate time to them.
(31:57):
You know, as a go-go-goer I usedto think, oh, you know, sitting
around the kitchen tableplaying Uno was like a waste of
a Saturday night.
But how wrong was I.
You know it's like that'sbonding time.
That's time when you reconnectwith your family and your kids
and your loved ones and yourpartner, you know.
And but also, on the flip sideof that, rheumatoid arthritis
has really taught me how to notcontinue to support
(32:21):
relationships that don't fulfillme, and I definitely don't mean
that in a selfish way.
You know I I still love peopleunconditionally, especially
older friends I've had, not inage but in the time that we've
been friends.
But there's definitely peopleI've been friends with for
decades that just aren't reallyas supportive of me and my
unique health requirements andso I don't sink as much energy
(32:45):
into them, and it's importantbecause you have to preserve
some of your energy for whatreally matters.
So it's just.
I think it's really been bothways.
Having RA has taught me to lovethe people that really love me
harder and also where to havehealthy boundaries and to maybe
not invest so much in somethingthat doesn't really fulfill me.
Speaker 1 (33:07):
Now on a game night.
What is your favorite game?
Ooh, really fulfill me.
Now on a game night.
Speaker 2 (33:12):
What is your favorite game?
That's a hard one because mykids are at a really weird age
right now where they like theycan't play the same games.
So that's been.
You know we we got this new.
You know, cheryl is big ongames.
She always posts games onsocial media and every time she
does, I buy them because I'mlike man.
This is like she's like myAmazon review, like for board
games.
(33:32):
But she posted one a long timeago called Azul, and it's hard.
It's like my 11 year old isprobably as young as you could
be to play it and I think it'sstill hard even for him.
But I think Azul is really fun.
Speaker 1 (33:46):
I'm not familiar with that one, but one that I've
played with big groups of peoplewith varying ages.
Actually, the first time Iplayed it we had my
mother-in-law, my friend'smother, which is like in her 80s
, but then we had my friend'sgranddaughter and the youngest
one was probably third grade.
We played what the Meme andthey have like a kid's version
(34:10):
and I had never played it beforeuntil playing that and it was
so hilarious and everyone waslaughing and everyone could play
cool.
And you said it's a game.
Yeah, it's a game and there'slike cards and it has a picture
of a meme on it.
And then I'm trying to rememberhow exactly it works.
It's like you all are you havedifferent cards and you pick out
(34:30):
which card you want to describethat meme and so the person
that held up the meme gets tochoose which which card that
you've given them is thefunniest one.
To go with the meme and it getseveryone laughing and there's
just hilarious pictures.
You get crazy ones of dogs andjust all kinds of fun stuff and
it's for kids too.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
they have have a kid's version.
Cool, I'll have to try it.
Speaker 1 (34:53):
That was the version I played for the first time and
I was like I'm good with eitherversion.
They're both funny.
This is hilarious.
So, yeah, cool.
And to go with that, recently Idon't remember who in my family
it was or why we had this crazypicture, but some picture.
It might have been my husbandand my grandson and they had
(35:15):
weird looks on their faces orsomething.
But I sent it in our familygroup chat and everybody was
laughing at the photo and I saidI think we need to make our own
what the Meme?
And do it with family photos,find all the crazy photos and
maybe print them, laminate themand make our own game.
Speaker 2 (35:28):
Oh my gosh, that's such a good idea.
There could be some funnyphotos.
Speaker 1 (35:38):
Yeah, oh yeah.
Especially, you know you getholidays and birthdays and
you're taking pictures of yourkids or whoever, and we get
these fun, crazy expressions onour faces and you just catch the
most unusual and unique moments.
Speaker 2 (35:48):
Oh, that'd be so fun.
Yeah, yeah, that's really fun.
Yeah, I like board games.
I think they're good at.
They conserve a lot of energy.
They help you reconnect withpeople who matter right, like
your family and friends.
Most of them.
You can sit.
Yeah, there's definitelythere's one though, oh sorry.
Speaker 1 (36:06):
I was going to say definitely we need a comfortable
chair.
I think there's been timeswhere I'm at someone's house
Maybe they have the mostuncomfortable kitchen chairs.
That that is like high prioritylist is having somewhere
comfortable to sit.
Because if I don't havesomewhere comfortable to sit,
you're going to notice that I'mconstantly doing kind of a
little bit of this action notthat people can see me, but
constantly moving.
You'll notice my shouldersshifting, my hips shifting,
(36:28):
because I'm hurting.
My hips start to hurt, my backstarts to hurt.
Speaker 2 (36:37):
I want to get up and move, totally.
Yeah, there's this other game,though it's mostly for kids, but
it's called Taco Cat GoatCheese Pizza.
Have you played?
Speaker 1 (36:42):
that one.
Speaker 2 (36:43):
I've heard of it, I haven't played it, it's horrible
.
You have to put it on cards ina certain order, but basically
when somebody notices that theorder is wrong, you have to slap
your hand down on the cards.
But everybody slaps their hand.
My gosh, it hurts my hands sobad.
If you have RA, do not buy tacocat goat cheese pizza.
Speaker 1 (37:05):
Anyway, if your chronic illness turned you into
a resilience superhero, whatwould your superhero name be?
Speaker 2 (37:14):
Well, I would obviously be the rheumatoid
arthritis coach, because I am asuperhero and I play that role
every single day by helpingpeople live their best lives
with rheumatoid arthritis.
Speaker 1 (37:29):
I think for my superhero name it would somehow
I would add in the word tinkeror tinker bell into my name
somehow like gracefully tinkeror something.
Yeah, something like that.
Just because everyone alwayscalls me tinker or tinkerbell
because I'm always tinkering onprojects, I like that.
What's one surprising joy,opportunity or passion that only
(37:51):
came because of your chronicillness journey.
Speaker 2 (37:54):
Share this story every time I'm interviewed
because it's such a good story.
But I started my healthcarecareer in a hospital setting
where I had a very physicallydemanding job.
Not only did I do a lot ofprocedures, but it was a lot of
walking, a lot of standing, alot of on my feet, and we worked
seven days on, seven days off.
(38:15):
So on the seven days on wereally had no breaks.
We didn't go home at night oranything like that.
And when I was diagnosed I wasreally struggling to keep up
with that job and it was reallyhard on me.
And then my week off I would be, I mean, nearly dead at home.
It took me days and days torecover from my week on, and so
(38:35):
I was completely sleep deprived,completely exhausted.
I had no time for medicalappointments because I could
never figure out when my week onor off was, or if I would even
feel good enough to get out ofbed.
So because of that experienceand having that, and then
getting diagnosed with RA, Imean I completely changed
careers, like I took the biggestpivot, the biggest chance I've
(38:55):
ever taken in my entire life,and I left that job, which at
the time was the only job I hadever known.
It was the only field I hadever known.
It was the only thing I knewhow to do as an adult.
And I left and tried a wholenew specialty and went to an
office where I was in anoutpatient setting, where
offices are.
Healthcare is still.
It's still a demanding officejob.
You're still kind of up anddown a lot, but much less than a
(39:21):
hospital.
So you know you're mostlysitting, mostly at a desk, even
though you do go room to room.
But yeah, so I think it reallymade me completely change
careers and directions of mylife and, honestly, it was the
best thing I could have done inmy entire life because it made
me so multifaceted now I have somuch experience now and it made
me more comfortable with makingbig jumps or big changes to my
(39:41):
life and it made me, you know,I'm more like on my toes now,
not physically, but you know, soto speak, where I can learn new
skills and adapt and you know,just pivot, pivot, pivot and
it's.
It's really cool that Iactually got the diagnosis and
then made that change and thatit worked out.
I don't know that it works outthat well for everybody, but for
me it was, honestly, the bestthing that could have happened
(40:02):
to me was being forced to leavethat job and change completely
change careers.
Speaker 1 (40:07):
What would you say is in your toolkit when it comes
to work?
Are there things you do to helpyou get through a day better?
Do you take breaks and walkaround or get up and stretch?
What helps you navigate yourworkday better?
Speaker 2 (40:20):
Well, first and foremost, I make sure that the
job's a good fit, and if youknow me at all, you know I'm an
entrepreneur.
I have like 17 jobs at anygiven time.
People are always shocked likewhat job are you even talking
about when I'm talking?
So the first thing is that youhave to make sure the job's a
good fit.
No matter what your skillset isor your training, there's
(40:40):
something in your field thatworks for you, and this can be
even you know people who arevery, very niche, very, very
highly trained in.
You know one specific area.
There's always that remoteoption out there, or there's
always that desk job within thatfield, or there's always that
remote option out there, orthere's always that desk job
within that field, or there'salways an alternative to exactly
(41:02):
what you think you should bedoing.
So I think just being reallyopen-minded and, first and
foremost, finding the job thatworks for you, that's how I mean
number one, that's how Inavigate career while living
with rheumatoid arthritis.
If the job's not right, I justdon't do the job anymore, and
I've had plenty of things likethat.
And, with that being said, I'mnot a total jerk about it.
(41:23):
Right?
I don't sign a two-yearcontract and then quit after a
week and say, oh, this wasn't agood fit.
I'm very open and honest withemployers, with project managers
, with people who come to me andI say, like, how about we just
try it out?
Where I work as a nursepractitioner now, it's
physician-owned.
You know there's lots ofdifferent structures of medical
groups and offices, but it'sphysician-owned.
And I told the physician I wantthis job, this is a good fit
(41:46):
for me.
Do you mind if I come andfollow you around for two weeks
for free and make sure this is agood fit?
And I think he was kind ofshocked but I was like I don't
want you to pay me, I just wantto work for two weeks, follow
you around and see if I'm a goodfit with the office, if this is
the kind of job that I want, ifI like driving here, parking
every day, right, if the staffis cohesive with me there's all
(42:11):
these other things you look at.
So I did that and I was reallyopen and honest and I mean, what
employer wouldn't be open tothat?
You know, yeah, you just wantto follow me around for a couple
of weeks.
So I think, really making surethe job is a good fit.
And then, of course, you know,if you have really severe
rheumatoid arthritis, you haveto be realistic, and I know
everybody.
We really should all achieveour dreams.
You know, jen, you and I arelike this generation that you
(42:41):
could do anything, right, youcould be an astronaut if you
want.
Honestly, I even tell my kidsnow that's not always true,
sometimes you have to rein it ina little my personality I could
never be a police officer.
I just could not do it.
It's not in my soul.
But so if you have very severeRA, or, like me, I'm never going
to be an acrobat, right?
I'm just never going to be aCirque performer on the Las
Vegas strip.
And I'm never going to be adancer, right, I'm never going
to be.
There's just things that youhave to be realistic about.
(43:04):
Yes, you can still dance as ahobby, you can still be an
acrobat as a hobby and do itwhen you want to, or for small
groups, or you know.
But to say, you're going totravel the world as a trapeze
artist, you know like, I don'tknow, like you have to find a
job that fits and be reallyrealistic with that.
And then, from there, of course, make sure your workstation is
ergonomic and comfortable.
(43:25):
And then the schedule iseverything too.
Being in healthcare, I workednights for so many years and for
me it was not a good fit.
For my health, I was sick allthe time.
I struggled with just managingthe schedules of my life outside
of work.
My relationships were a messbecause I couldn't see anybody.
When they were all havingfamily dinner, I was sleeping,
(43:48):
anyway.
I go on and on.
This could be a whole podcastin itself on how to navigate
careers with RA.
But first and foremost, find ajob that fits.
Second would be be realisticabout what you can and can't do.
Now, I'm a nurse practitioner,but that's a big umbrella of
nursing, and if you have RA youcan definitely be a nurse.
There are so many fields withinnursing or even in healthcare
(44:10):
that are not extremelyphysically demanding.
Now, should you be anorthopedic surgeon?
Definitely not.
Unless maybe you want to dopeds, but it's just just be
realistic too.
So find the job that fits andbe realistic.
Speaker 1 (44:22):
To add to that too.
It's okay if you you changedirections.
It's okay to pivot as you getolder, because I think
especially you're you're 40, I'm45.
As we've gotten older, we'vegotten to know ourselves so much
better.
We know our personalities, weknow what we enjoy, what makes
us thrive, and so maybe you're apeople person, and so you need
(44:43):
a job where you deal with people, you talk with them.
I don't know, maybe you're nota people person, maybe you
prefer working at a desk aloneall the time, maybe you like to
work in groups.
It's okay to pivot once you getto know yourself better and do
something that brings you joy.
Speaker 2 (45:00):
I love that because I've never been.
I'm like a science and mathperson.
I've never been like an Englishor writing person.
So if you had told me 20 yearsago I would be a writer, I would
have laughed in your face.
I'm just.
I'm not really a creativeperson either.
You know, and I don't know ifyour audience knows, but I write
now for Healthline and Bezzyand I used to write for the
(45:21):
Global Healthy Living Foundation, which is creaky joints, and
I've done some pieces for HealthCentral and I write for Medical
News Today.
Now I'm one of their healthwriters.
So anyway, if you had told me20 years ago that I was going to
be a writer or a journalist ofany kind, I never would have
thought.
But somebody suggested it and Istayed open-minded and I tried
it and it worked out great forme and I think it took years of
(45:44):
getting to know myself torealize that it might be a good
fit.
Speaker 1 (45:47):
That's a really good point.
And I even look back and inhigh school they had tests that
we could take of what would begood for you and I even did a
program.
It was called Experienced BasedCareer Education.
It was my senior year and thelast few hours of the day was
doing this program and sometimeswe would meet and we would do
English class for the day andthen other times we were out in
(46:10):
the community working with otherbusinesses and they wanted us
to pick three differentdirections of a career that we
wanted and so they would find aplacement for us to go out and
check out these fields and itwas great.
I was kind of all over the place.
I wanted to be an elementaryschool psychologist, a graphic
designer or an engineer.
(46:30):
I was all over the place.
It's really boring and you workon your computer all day and I
hated it, which I love,computers and people know I love
to be creative.
But when you're an engineer,where's the creativity?
And back then I don't think Irealized how creative I am and
how much I crave that.
Graphic design would have beenperfect.
I should have done that.
(46:51):
I do all kinds of contentcreation now and it's what makes
me thrive and fills my cup forthe day.
So it's interesting that as weget older we figure all these
things out.
Speaker 2 (47:01):
But also as time passes.
Just to add one more thing towhat you said for people living
with chronic illness, careersevolve too.
Like for you graphic design.
20 years ago it was acompletely different world, like
there was no Canva.
You had to buy very expensivesoftware, very expensive
hardware.
You had to have multiplecomputers, multiple screens,
fancy mice.
Speaker 1 (47:22):
It was not like it is now it was so, so different and
they had me working at abusiness called Litho Printing
and I was learning how to makebusiness cards and pamphlets and
all kinds of things and I lovedit and I had fun, but the
program's definitely waydifferent.
The program I would have doneto become one completely
(47:47):
different than it is now.
Now there's different areas.
You're not just taking just agraphic design program.
You can pick different kinds.
So yeah, that's very, very good.
Speaker 2 (47:52):
I mean, business cards are kind of obsolete now I
know.
Now it's like where's a very,very good point.
Speaker 1 (47:56):
I mean like business cards are like kind of obsolete.
Now I know.
Now it's like where's my QRcode?
Speaker 2 (48:00):
Totally, so I think through that yeah.
Speaker 1 (48:04):
Now you brought up a little bit of what you do, and
actually that was one of myquestions for you is can you
kind of tell, besides thewriting and besides the nurse
practitioner, what other kindsof work have you done, and is
there anything else you'rewanting to do someday?
Speaker 2 (48:18):
Oh my gosh, that's such a good question.
I have done so many things.
I've worked across the board inhealthcare, from very niche,
very specialized areas to.
I've done street medicine,which if you work in healthcare
you know it's literally seeingunhoused people on street
(48:38):
corners or in shelters or inpop-up tents.
I've definitely worked witheverywhere, from the underserved
communities to the.
I've had VIP positions as well,where we serve professional
sports teams, and I've met big,famous actors, actresses, people
with a lot of power, especiallyin our city and our geographic
(48:59):
region.
Everything in between I've donein health care.
I've also been a journalistwith many different health
organizations throughout thelast six or seven years, which
has been such an exciting thingto explore.
I've helped develop programsand apps, which has been really
exciting.
I've been behind quite a fewstealth startups, which has been
(49:20):
really really cool, and thosehave definitely been first
experiences for me.
And then, of course, I mean Ilove plants.
As you can see, I have a ton ofplants behind me and all over
my house and I love.
I have an outdoor garden and Ido grow and sell indoor and
outdoor plants.
My kids dog walk.
I mean I'm definitely a jack ofall trades.
(49:42):
I like to keep myself reallywell-rounded.
I like to stay active, I liketo stay busy, but again that go,
go, go.
I know when to take breaks andwhen to rest.
But of course, my biggest andmost proud achievement is
RheumatoidArthritisCoachcom andthat's where I work with women
one-on-one who are living withrheumatoid arthritis to live
their very best lives and thereach that I have with people.
(50:05):
It is so rewarding I can't evenput it into words because it's
just the most beautiful thingI've ever done with my life is
to help these women justredirect their lives and get
back on track and see theirworth again after this diagnosis
and see these they have allthese perceived limitations that
aren't even real limitations,and to just get them back to
(50:25):
living again.
So I love what I do withrheumatoidarthritiscoachcom,
which that's definitely what I'mmost proud of.
Speaker 1 (50:32):
I'm just proud of you .
You are an amazing lady.
Thank you, I'm proud of you.
Thank you.
All right, let's dream big.
If you could give one of yourSpoonie superpowers to the world
, which one would it be, and why?
Speaker 2 (50:46):
Oh, I love this question.
So I think my best Spooniesuperpower is being
underestimated and I realizedthat that sounds funny, but that
the when the entire worldunderestimates you, you have
this motivation to prove themwrong and you have this
(51:06):
resilience and strength thatreally forces you to challenge
yourself.
And you know, beingunderestimated makes me want to
beat my previous scores and oddsand personal records Right.
And then, when you'reunderestimated by the entire
world, you have this element ofsurprise.
Where you come out, you know, Icome on a podcast and I'm like,
(51:26):
yes, I have 17 different jobsand I have kids and I do all of
these really amazing things andI'm actually like a nice person
to talk to and people are alwaysmy gosh.
I'm so surprised that you arethe way you are.
And I'm like, yes, I know, andI told people, I'm like Taylor
Swift.
Everybody underestimated me inthe beginning Because I think
people really did underestimateher, but that's a whole nother
(51:47):
topic.
Yeah, so I think beingunderestimated is my superhero
as a spoony and I just lovebeating my previous records and
just surprising the whole worldwith how amazing I can be
despite rheumatoid arthritis.
Speaker 1 (52:03):
I think that would be a great superhero power to give
to everyone, because there areso many people that have that
superpower and they don't evenrealize it.
I think we underestimateourselves.
Speaker 2 (52:15):
Totally yeah, and then you don't even try to
surprise people, exactly.
Speaker 1 (52:19):
Exactly, I feel like we could talk for hours and
hours and hours, but this hasbeen such a good chat, thanks
for having me.
Speaker 2 (52:27):
I always love seeing you.
If you're in search of somehelp on how to live your best
life with rheumatoid arthritis,head to
rheumatoidarthritiscoachcomantsare always free, and I do have a
special right now.
Speaker 1 (52:39):
Ooh, there you go, okay, well, listeners, until
next time.
Don't forget your spoon.
Popular Podcasts
NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal
Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com