I’ve had rheumatoid arthritis for manyyears.As one would expect, having an autoimmune deficiency during a worldwide pandemic caused my mind and body to experience additional stress.
Throughout the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, I focused onsocially distancingand stayingas safe as possible. Since I work at an elementaryschool, safety mitigation rankedas a top priority. Iam a firm believer inlistening to one’sbody when itsays it needs rest and inbeing proactive with yourhealthcare when something feels off.
As such, I took action andaccessed thePriorityOneHealth Centeroperated byMarathon Health, which I am eligible to use as an employee ofShawnee Mission School District.Ihavemet bothin person and virtually with Dr. Shalaunda Gray andDr.Tyler Thomas to manage my rheumatoid arthritis and work on reducing stress.
Everyone atthePriorityOneHealth Center is always helpful and kind. Each team member, including the nurses, call you by name and wants to help with any health issue.
Finding what works for me was critical — being on the right meds is so important.I started doing yoga regularly to help with stress. My stress makes it hard toget high-qualitysleep,which triggers rheumatoid arthritisflare–ups.
Today, my lab results show things at normal levels, and my rheumatoid arthritis and thyroid medicine work well. Ialsoreceivedboth doses of theCOVID-19 vaccine at the health center,whichhas helpedtoeliminate some stress.I am on my way to better health!
