Arthritis Humor and the Therapeutic Powers of Laughter and Social Media

Last week I started a GIF based Tumblr blog called “Arthritis Humor.“   My goal for this blog is to help patients with autoimmune arthritis (and other chronic illnesses) transcend their experiences via humor, and feel less alone by connecting to others through shared laughter. Why find the humor in arthritis? As a healthcare professional and patient, I will concede that there is nothing intrinsically funny about either category of arthritis: osteoarthritis (“wear and tear” arthritis, the kind associated with aging) or  autoimmune arthritis forms such as rheumatoid arthritis (whereby one’s own immune system mistakenly attacks the lining of one’s joints and other body systems as well). However, as a patient with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), I believe…

From decorative tissue boxes to puppies: first lessons from my OT fieldwork internship

It’s an exciting time in my life – in the last 3 months I finished the classroom portion of my Masters in occupational therapy, got married and went on a wonderful honeymoon, and started my first occupational therapy fieldwork internship. After I finish two full time, three-month internships*, I will officially graduate with my Masters and be qualified to sit for the board exam. This is the last step before I can actually be an OT in the real world! My Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) houses mostly geriatric patients who are rehabilitating from a variety of physical ailments, from hip replacements to strokes.  The occupational therapist’s role in this setting…