#RealTalkRA Summit: Pharma, Fun, and Friends

Posted on September 18, 2017 by Arthritis Ashley • 1 Comment

This week, I was invited by Pfizer to attend the 2017 Real Talk Summit in New York City. While they did compensate me for my time and took care of accommodations, I’m going to go ahead and disclaim now that they are NOT paying me for this blog post, and did NOT ask *or* … Continue reading →

Advocacy / Arthritis Ashley / Awareness / Personal Stories / RA awareness / rheum awareness / Uncategorized

Healthcare Should Be A Basic Human Right

Posted on July 20, 2017 by Arthritis Ashley • 1 Comment

Today I was told that health insurance is unnecessary, that the doctor should just charge us for what we use. It should only be for catastrophes, not ongoing or recurring treatments. If someone is too sick to work, or elderly, or born into a poor family, “oh well,” they said — we are all born … Continue reading →

Advocacy / Arthritis Ashley / Personal Stories / Uncategorized / Wellness

Arthritis Ashley Wins Inspiring Lives Empowering Woman in Business Award

Posted on June 13, 2017 by Arthritis Ashley • Leave a comment

I am proud to announce that Inspiring Lives Magazine chose me as one of their 10 “Empowering Women in Business” for 2017. While it is never easy to live with illness or pain, knowing that the work I do (both “as myself” and as “Arthritis Ashley”) makes any kind of difference — however big or … Continue reading →

Advocacy / Arthritis / Arthritis Ashley / arthritis awareness / arthritis blog / Arthritis Foundation / Autoimmune / Awareness / Body Image / chronic illness / Disability / Entertainment / healthline / invisible illness / Juvenile Arthritis / Lady Gaga / Lupus / pain / Personal Stories / Pop Culture / RA awareness / rheum awareness / rheumatoid arthritis awareness / Selena Gomez / SLE / social media / Types of Arthritis / Uncategorized / Wellness

No, Lady Gaga Did NOT Confirm That She Has Rheumatoid Arthritis

Posted on April 2, 2017 by Arthritis Ashley • 5 Comments

A post has gone viral in recent days, feverishly declaring that “Lady Gaga Has RA!” “Lady Gaga Reveals She Has Rheumatoid Arthritis” and “Pop Star Lady Gaga Opens Up About Life With Rheumatoid Arthritis.” Except … she never specifically revealed that she has it. I admit that I was guilty of initially, (hesitantly) sharing it with a … Continue reading →

Advocacy / Arthritis / Arthritis Ashley / arthritis awareness / arthritis blog / Arthritis Foundation / Ashley's Health Diary / Autoimmune / Awareness / Body Image / chronic illness / Disability / Entertainment / giveaway / invisible illness / Lupus / pain / Personal Stories / Pop Culture / RA awareness / rheum awareness / rheumatoid arthritis awareness / social media / Types of Arthritis / Uncategorized

#Longread: LEMONADE: Who Would I Be Without My Lemons?

Posted on February 12, 2017 by Arthritis Ashley • 10 Comments

“Oh, stars in her eyes, She fights and she sweats those sleepless nights, But she don’t mind, she loves the grind, She grinds from Monday to Friday, Works from Friday to Sunday…” – ‘6-Inch,’ Beyoncé, Lemonade. Beyonce and Lemonade The above quote is from a song off of Beyoncé’s album, Lemonade. You see, the Grammy Awards are tonight. Grammys … Continue reading →

Advocacy / Arthritis / Arthritis Ashley / arthritis awareness / arthritis blog / Autoimmune / Awareness / pain / Personal Stories / RA awareness / rheum awareness / rheumatoid arthritis awareness / SLE / Types of Arthritis / Uncategorized / Wellness

#Longread: The Emotions of Thinking and Talking About Illness

Posted on January 19, 2017 by Arthritis Ashley • 1 Comment

I’ve written and posted before about hiding our pain to spare the feelings of others, and many similar topics of conversation. I have also written about the emotions of guilt, resentment, and burden that can accompany a lifelong illness or disability. I decided to revisit the topic and reframe it in a couple of new ways. The first … Continue reading →

Advocacy / Arthritis / Arthritis Ashley / arthritis awareness / arthritis blog / Ashley's Health Diary / Autoimmune / Awareness / chronic illness / instagram / invisible illness / Journey to Wellness / Juvenile Arthritis / Lupus / pain / Personal Stories / Pop Culture / RA awareness / rheum awareness / rheumatoid arthritis awareness / selfies / social media / Types of Arthritis / Uncategorized / Wellness

Walking in My Shoes: Keeping Perspective With a Chronic Health Issue

Posted on January 14, 2017 by Arthritis Ashley • 2 Comments

Today I decided to post a photo to my blog that I had posted on Facebook and Instagram back in November, 2016. Since I finally have my custom medial-unloader knee brace and my custom permanent Arizona cast for my foot, I decided that this particular post would be worthy of a re-share, and you will see … Continue reading →

Advocacy / Arthritis Ashley / Autoimmune / Awareness / healthline / Juvenile Arthritis / Lupus / Types of Arthritis / Uncategorized / Wellness

All About the Autoimmune Registry

Posted on January 13, 2017 by Arthritis Ashley • Leave a comment

Guys, I’m really excited to be working with a great new 501c3 nonprofit called The Autoimmune Registry. We are in the process of creating a hub for research, statistics, and patient data on all autoimmune illnesses. We also aim to establish prevalence of these disease, as right now the estimates for autoimmune disease prevalence are all … Continue reading →

Advocacy / Arthritis Ashley / arthritis blog / Autoimmune / Awareness / chronic illness / Entertainment / invisible illness / pain / Pop Culture / RA awareness / Uncategorized

Karma and Illness: That’s a Nope

Posted on January 13, 2017 by Arthritis Ashley • 2 Comments

I don’t go so far as to reject many ideas. Truly. I’m like a sponge: I soak up as much information as I can and try to equally and fairly weigh all points of view and perspectives. I like to try to learn about things without judging them. Even if I disagree with something, I … Continue reading →