Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.

[moireach]

Here is how I began my 30th birthday: everyone in my host family solemnly gave me a happy birthday handshake. Then I got a special birthday breakfast the mom had gotten up early to make me: mac & cheese with ground beef! Ahahaha, fantastic. I won't forget that soon

Comments

[twirls]

Augh. The immune system - maybe with the exception of reproductive stuff -always seems to me like just the strangest, most unlikely thing. Legions of cells that just go around secreting weird molecular homing weapons and attacking stuff! It's so unbelievably functional that if something like this happens and some switch somehow gets flipped, then augh. Having a name for this - and some associated actionable possibilities! - sounds like such an important thing.

And home! There are times to be in Indonesia, and the rest of the summer does not seem to be one. I am so glad you have this option and can take it.

Happy birthdayish! Cassowaries are inexplicably terrifying to me, so congratulations on not being dismembered by it every single day. I salute you. Ashy flowerpecker!

[moireach]

This is my fav sentence ever, I am going to use it to explain this to everyone now: There are times to be in Indonesia, and the rest of the summer does not seem to be one.

It sounds like from your research you maybe know a lot about this stuff! Or maybe, idk, I saw the word inflammation in your post, so obvs it's the exact same.

I was just reading about how deadly cassowaries are! WHO KNEW. Which also lead to this amazingly conjugated sign:

[lowriseflare]

You know what? I'm really, really glad you're coming back.

Feel better, chick!

[moireach]

Yay! ME TOO.

[verybadhorse]

you are not at all a failure for going home. i am really glad to hear that you've chosen that.

[moireach]

:) Thanks, that's really nice to hear.

[smallstages]

Ach, so much to discuss with you that I don't even know where to start!

Perhaps the simplest thing to mention is that there is this book about doing yoga with arthritis, and I believe she specifically incorporates thoughts about poses with AS. I also had some doctors who said "no yoga now and probably no yoga ever again" and, honestly, yoga has not turned out to be my friend. I've replaced it with lots of walking and also good PT and massage. But certainly plenty of folks with auto-immune arthritis keep yoga

[moireach]

Wow, thank you SO MUCH for this amazing comment!

I'm SO interested in your biofeedback experience, and would love to try something like that. I've been trying hard to be more aware of what my body's telling me so I can slow down and do something about it, but it's hard when I've spent so long trying to ignore it and power through. I've had the same experience with a higher pain tolerance for more acute stuff, tho'. Even my PT commented on it during our fantastic deep tissue sessions: y-yay?

That book looks really intriguing, I'll have to check it out. (My big worry is that bending forward messes me up, which is kind of a big part of yoga!)

So so awesome to hear how well you're doing now, and the combo that works for you! (They won't give me MTX anyway because I'm Of Childbearing Age, but that's good to know for later.) It's really really encouraging to know that maybe there's good stuff ahead, so thanks.

[irishmizzy]

A gecko that chirps like a bird

MONSTERS!!!! It's good to hear that you're coming home, being away is hard enough but away + in pain, augh, FEEL BETTER.

And happy belated birthday!

[moireach]

Thanks! Doesn't "lizards making bird noises" sound like the first ominous sign in a book about horrible evolutionary experiments?