I’m currently a high school English teacher. I grade papers like I breathe. I’m also the head coach for the boys’ and girls’ tennis teams. I continue to coach private lessons at an indoor club year round and run day-long summer tennis camps at various facilities in the area. Prior to my career shift into teaching, which was sparked knowing that my R.A. would make full-time tennis coaching tough, I also worked in advertising and marketing. I live in a Chicagoland suburb, keeping me close to my family. This is helpful as we often need to lean on each other.
I was officially diagnosed with R.A. in the summer of 2008. I do believe I had symptoms for at least a year leading up to that. I was nine years old when my mom was diagnosed with R.A. in 1983 (although she suffered for two years prior to finally meeting with a Rheumatologist and getting on medication). R.A. has been a part of my life, both growing up witnessing my mother’s struggle and dealing with my own issues now.
I do write a lot – that is the English nerd in me. I blog here and also work on freelance projects. As a coach, I have also presented speeches that parallel athletics to life. I enjoy writing and sharing my experiences of coaching top-notch student-athletes across the span of a decade. I feel blessed that my R.A. didn’t strike until after I had managed to develop such a great group of young tennis stars.
I invite you to read along as I will attempt to make a weekly post here.
Rheumatoid Arthritis Warrior's Log 
3 comments
Comments feed for this article
August 31, 2009 at 12:14 am
Brian Kenney
Hi,
I recently discovered your blog and enjoy reading your posts. There are many RA bloggers (as you include in your blogroll) and each has such a unique approach to sharing insights about living with RA, as you do through your perspectives.
Recognizing the focus of your blog, I wanted to make you aware of an initiative/resource about RA that we (Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc.) recently launched. It’s an online talk show called New Way RA and is available at http://www.NewWayRA.com. If you have an opportunity to take a look at the site, please let me know your thoughts. We tried to bring together a number of expert guests to discuss various topics related to RA and have also been trying to raise awareness of the condition through the launch of the program/website. Feel free to drop me a line via email and let me know what you think.
I wish you all the best and continued success with your blog.
Kind regards,
Brian
Brian Kenney
Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc.
Corporate Communications
June 14, 2010 at 4:10 pm
warrior2ra
Hi Mr. Kenney,
Thank you for the feedback! I appreciate the website you’ve created. New Way-RA is impressive. I can’t believe the experts that you have. It is quite wonderful to browse through that panel and see all the different people associated with RA in some way or another. The content is thoughtful as much as it is helpful. I will add the site to my links as well as write about it in my next entry. Thanks for pulling all of it together into a site that I will certainly use.
Take care and best wishes!
“Rheumatoid Arthritis Warrior”
June 16, 2010 at 6:08 pm
Telleen
As a woman with RA, you know the pain associated with this misunderstood autoimmune disease, and the frustration that arises from repeat doctor’s visits and explaining this stereotypically “old person’s” disease to others.
To help RA patients and their caregivers make the most of rheumatologist visits, the Arthritis Foundation offers the free Let’s Talk RA program that provides education on how to be a better patient and advocate for one’s own health – resulting in a more accurate diagnosis and more effective treatment. The program includes a communication kit with step-by-step doctor discussion tips and a symptom tracker that patients can use with their rheumatologists, as well as town hall meetings, educational podcasts and more – all at no charge. The program is designed for those who are newly diagnosed, but includes valuable information for all RA patients. I know this could be something valuable to your readers.
If you’d like to receive a copy of the kit or additional tips on the steps to being a better patient, please contact me at 404.814.1330 or tanderson@c21pr.com. In the meantime, you can learn more about the Let’s Talk RA program at http://www.arthritis.org/letstalkra.php.