“One day I realized I couldn’t sit on the floor like other kids in my class. I was 9 years old, but I remember noticing that this was abnormal. At the time, I did not know this marked the onset of rheumatoid arthritis.

Having RA feels like a large tight rubber band is keeping my limbs from fully extending or like a metal beam dealing a sharp blow to my smaller joints. I spend an extra hour some mornings convincing my body that it is capable of getting out of bed, but managing this kind of pain without medication is impossible.” Read more at the Miami Herald by clicking here.