Books by Lorie Ann Grover

Books by Lorie Ann Grover
Kirkus Starred Review, Firstborn: "A fantasy that reads like a lost history tome and deftly examines issues of gender...An engrossing story with welcome depths."

Thursday, February 4, 2010

The Rheumatoid Factor: 2/4/10

I find folks are curious about rheumatoid arthritis so I thought I'd occasionally post about the disease. It may be a metaphor or it may be medical. Autoimmune diseases run in packs so here's the round up of mine:

1. Rheumatoid Arthritis
2. Sjogren's Syndrome
3. Former Hashimoto's Disease
4. Reynaud's Disease
5. Interstitial Cystitis

So those are the monkeys on back.

And here's a note about the title of these blogs. The rheumatoid factor is a test that can verify someone has rheumatoid arthritis. RF is an autoantibody in 80% of people with the disease, and close to 100% in Sjogren's patients. The antibodies are directed against the organisms own tissues.

Okay, here's my metaphor for today:

http://theacousticguitarshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/9string.jpg

RA feels like someone has turned my joint tuning keys too tightly.

Yep. That's pretty spot on.

2 comments:

Trudi Trueit said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Trudi Trueit said...

Oops, I accidentally deleted my first post. Just wanted to say that I am thinking of you and wishing you well. My mom and several relatives have RA and I know how difficult and devastating it can be. Lorie, my heart and prayers are with you.