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| Julia Parrish, blogger at These Awkward and Arthritic Adventures |
In one sentence, who are
you?
I'm Julia; an awkward
nineteen year old with rheumatoid arthritis who is a lover of books, baby
animals, and birthday cake ice cream.
What are you passionate
about?
The main thing I'm
passionate about is awareness for rheumatoid arthritis, which branched into a
passion for others with disabilities and illnesses. It makes me super happy to
interact with others at summer camps, and nursing homes, because there is
something truly amazing to see the joyfulness in someone when their lives are
less-than ideal.
Tell the readers a
little about your disease/ailment/illness/syndrome/health annoyance, and what
it was like when you were first diagnosed.
Currently, my primary
diagnosis is juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, and it certainly is a health
annoyance. It's an autoimmune disease which affects the joints and immune
system as a whole, which means I do a lot of hobbling around and being sick.
When I'd first been diagnosed about six years ago, the concept of
juvenile arthritis had been something I was completely unaware of, like plenty
of people I'd been under the impression that 'only old people got arthritis,'
so it was a bit scary. Since then, I've grown to understand and take charge of
my illness a bit more, and realize that arthritis doesn't have me.
People with a chronic
illness face a lot of challenges (A LOT)! What’s a big challenge that
you’ve faced so far in your journey and how have you dealt with it?'
To be honest, it's a bit
devastating as nineteen year old that pretends they're adult enough to know
everything, to put aside that prideful attitude to ask for help. It's a
challenge to say "Hey, I know I'm going to a party with my friends, but
can you brush my hair for me because I can't reach?" It's easier to deal
with it now that I just try to be my same sarcastic self and see the humor in
the situations I face.
Who or what helps you
make decisions about your health?
Definitely my parents.
Even though I'm the type of person to Google every symptom, medicine, and
treatment myself (and get terrified on WebMD), my mom takes me to the doctor
and asks questions to decide what's right for me. They've always treated me
like an adult about my health choices, but they also always know what's best
for me.
I have a ton of funny
and memorable hospital stories. Can you share one of yours?
One memory that comes to
mind was during a jaw joint injection procedure, in which my anesthesiologist
was this hilarious and great guy, that just decided to be our best friends that
morning. He'd been so ridiculously excited for us to try this restaurant that
he had gone and printed off the menu to have us look. It was definitely memorable,
and funny to us because we just looked at each other and were all like
"alright then."
What advice do you have
for other people, young or old, who are living with arthritis?
Just laugh about it. If
you take things too seriously, you'll just be a grumpy person with bad joints,
which is never a good mixture. There's too much to be thankful for and find
humorous in life to sit around sulking about all that's bad in your life.
And finally, what brings
you joy?
Funny cat videos on the
internet, bad puns, getting the last slice of pizza, and knowing that I have
ridiculously amazing people in my life.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
If you are living with chronic illness, waiting on a transplant, or have received a transplant, get at me and you could have your face on my blog next month!
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