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COVID-19: What Do We Know Now?

By Julie Eller, co-host of the Live Yes! With Arthritis Podcast 

In the past three months, people in our country and across the world have experienced so much change. We have worked together by staying isolated at home. We have supported our health care workers by forgoing elective medical procedures, sewing protective masks and even joining those rounds of applause we have heard in the streets. We have come together to stand as a united community, vocally advocating for those at high risk, like the immunocompromised, elderly and people of color who are disproportionately impacted by medical crises like this pandemicImportantly, we have taken these three months to learn as much as we can about the novel coronavirus. On this week’s episode of the Live Yes! With Arthritis Podcast, co-host Rebecca Gillett and I interview Dr. Kevin Winthrop, and together we get answers to some of the top questions we know have been on your minds. Listen now. 

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Gerica’s Tips for the “New” Normal

By now, those of you reading this are likely experiencing a shelter-in-place order, school cancellations, or other social distancing situations in your own communities due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.  Here in California, our state is under a statewide shelter-in-place directive and I am on week 2 of 4 with my children’s schools transitioning to “distance learning”.  Some districts in our area have already announced this will continue for the remainder of the school year.  If you are anything like me, this sudden and massive change has rocked your family unit and you are trying to navigate the unfamiliar.

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Voices bloggers discuss joy

Voices: How Do You Cultivate Joy?

Gina Mara

Twitter @ginasabres

Gina Mara for VoicesJoy is something that we feel robbed of when dealing with everyday symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and doctor appointments. When I first developed RA, I felt lonely and isolated. I couldn’t do things I used to do that brought me joy, especially during the holidays, like attend parties, drink or even be on my feet for long. Connecting with people on social media expanded my horizons about ways to find joy. Now, I send people positive messages to bring them joy, which also makes me happy. I’ve sent so many of these that now I receive them, too, when I least expect it. I’ve even gotten videos of people from across the country singing happy birthday to me. I am still participating in society, I just do it a little differently than others. I might not be somewhere in person, but when I send some simple words spreading joy, people know they are in my heart and mind.

Joy Ross

Facebook @Through the Eyes of Joy

YouTube @Joy Ross

Joy Ross for VoicesI have always been a joyful person, but my complete loss of eyesight as a result of juvenile arthritis [JA] and my two young daughters’ diagnoses with JA, I have learned that joy is a choice. As a Christian woman of faith, I allowed God to teach me how to truly walk by faith and not by sight or on pure emotions. God began showing me the true meaning of joy even when the circumstances looked hopeless. Every single day I make the choice to begin the day on a joyful note. My story of hope, perseverance and love is changing lives all over the world! If it were not for our challenges and my faith in Jesus, I wouldn’t have this beautiful perspective. I believe when you choose joy, you find strength, hope and purpose.

Lene Andersen

www.theseatedview.com  

Lene Anderson for VoicesGratitude is about slowing down enough to really notice joy, beauty, what’s funny and what’s good. It’s about experiences instead of things and remembering that I am a lucky woman. This is easier during the holidays, when reminders of love and all we have to be thankful for are all around, but I try to practice gratitude every day. Taking note of positive things and talking to positive people help. Going out with my camera to capture the beauty of the world always makes me feel better, and there’s nothing like sitting quietly with a purring cat on my lap to appreciate the present. Life isn’t about perfection or about stuff, but about love. Finding a way to express that – toward others, toward myself – is at the center of how I cultivate gratitude.

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OA helped Chef Ben Bebenroth find the recipe for a balanced life.

Eight days before he is due for a total knee replacement, Ben Bebenroth is nailing shingles onto a wooden walkway to his barn in the pouring rain. Mid-winter warming has turned the snow into muck, and a bride is on her way to check out the event space at his Spice Acres Farm. The centerpiece of his commitment to locally sourced food, the farm is an outgrowth of his popular Cleveland, Ohio, restaurant, Spice Kitchen & Bar. Continue reading OA helped Chef Ben Bebenroth find the recipe for a balanced life.

maude lewis

“Maudie” Stuns and Inspires Audiences

Juvenile arthritis awareness is in high gear – with Juvenile Arthritis Awareness month and two JA Conferences being held between July and August, this is the perfect time for director Aisling Walsh’s movie “Maudie” to hit theaters in most major markets.

“Maudie,” based on the true story of Maud Lewis, follows Maudie’s debilitating experience with arthritis throughout her life. Set in 1937, the movie begins with Maudie painting flowers on a wall with great difficulty. Sally Hawkins’s portrayal of Maud Lewis shines, as she next contorts her body to seem very small as Maudie sits smoking on the porch of her shrewd Aunt Ida’s house (Aunt Ida is played by Gabrielle Rose). Upon learning that the house will go under construction, Maudie is quick to find an opportunity as a live-in maid in a tiny shack with a gruff man named Everett (played by Ethan Hawke). And though rocky at first, the optimist and the pessimist, both social outcasts in their respective ways, begin a relationship.

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