As you probably know (if you’re reading this post), I took a blog break for most of 2025. After 12ish years, creative burnout finally happened. While it was unintentional at first, it became necessary once I realized I was dealing with new health issues. But that’s not all I did during my break, so let’s talk about it.
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Health
Existing Issues
No infections or hospitalizations!
It’s kind of a bummer that this is notable, but it is. In 2025, I didn’t have any infections and I wasn’t hospitalized for anything. Go me!
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Started IVIG
This has been a debate among my medical team for a while, and in 2025, I started at-home IgG subcutaneous infusions. For simplicity’s sake, I refer to it as IVIG.
One of the side effects of Rituxan, especially long-term use, is reduced production of IgG, which is a part of the immune system. It’s not part of my problems, and it’s helpful for recovering from infections. The reason I take it is to help prevent getting sick and also to give me a boost for any potential sicknesses. One thing that happened in 2025 is that I had weird things showing up on a CT scan of my lungs that could have been an infection or could have been inflammation.
This eventually prompted us to start IVIG. It has been going really well and, as a result, my rheumatologist says that I might be able to increase my Rituxan dose.
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New Illnesses
Coronary Artery Disease
This has been coming for a long time, but at some point in late 2024/early 2025, I officially developed heart disease. This is a complication of RA and we’ve been watching for it since 2019.
I talked about this a lot on Instagram in 2025, but the short version is that I had a lot of chest CT scans over my break, and one of them showed artery calcification. While I have a very low amount of artery calcification, the ideal number for someone in their mid-30s is 0, which is not my number.
What caused this? Not just RA, but more specifically living with long-term inflammation. As the Arthritis Foundation says, “People with RA are almost twice as likely to develop heart disease as those without the condition” (x).
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Osteoporosis
Another condition I developed/was diagnosed with in my break was osteoporosis. The specific diagnosis is pre-menopausal osteoporosis, and my biggest risk factors were a) long-term corticosteroid use and b) having multiple autoimmune diseases. Similarly to CAD, I’ve been headed this way for a long time, so it wasn’t a total surprise.
I actually have started a new blog series related to this. My new metabolic bone specialist has given me some lifestyle changes to make, especially as I’m not starting new medications any time soon. This series will at least track through the rest of the year as I work on creating new habits designed to reduce my osteoporosis progression.
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Periodontal Disease
Finally, yes, it looks like I have periodontal disease. This is the one where I have the least amount of clarity. My former dentist said the reason I had such an intense cavity that I needed the tooth removed was because I “probably” have periodontal disease, but we never really moved forward because I had such a traumatic experience with the periodontist that I saw that I have left the entire practice.
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Personal
If you don’t follow me on Instagram, you might not know that I started posting weekly round-ups of my life. This enabled me to show more about the day-to-day of living with chronic illnesses as well as show how there are plenty of things I do unrelated to chronic illness. I work hard to live as good a life as possible with my horrible body, and I believe it’s important to show that you can still do that, even if it’s tricky. That being said, here are some of the things that showed up on those weekly round-ups.
Travel
New Jersey
In April, I went to New Jersey for my friend Emmie’s wedding. It’s just about the only thing that could get me to New Jersey, primarily because it was annoyingly difficult to get there.
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New York City
In July, I went to New York City. My brother got married in September – which is up next – and my mom threw a bridal shower for my now-SIL. It was a wonderful event and was the only thing that could get me below Boston in July. I did my best to manage the heat but it definitely wasn’t something I’ll be repeating any time soon!
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Georgetown, Maine
And then my brother got married in September! We grew up in the Portland area, but he got married in Georgetown, Maine. It’s near Bath and it’s where Reid State Park is.
We were in Georgetown for 4-ish days and it was a very busy couple of days, as anyone who has had a close relative get married knows. While my family stayed at a bed-and-breakfast, the bridal party stayed at the inn next door.
In addition to the actual wedding, we were at Reid State Park for the welcome party/rehearsal dinner. The BNB is right on the water and I saw a whale from the porch!
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Family Time
I spent a lot of time with my family over my break! It was mostly what I’ve done the last few years – I see my parents sometimes, but then in the summer I alternate between Boston and Maine every couple of weeks. This also means that I get to spend time with my extended family.
On the Healy side, my sister and I are the only ones who don’t live in Maine, and they all live within 1.5 hours of each other. On the Mitchell side, most of my cousins are not in Maine, but all of my dad’s full siblings are in either Orrington or Belfast. And my dad’s dad and stepmom moved back to Maine in 2025 after 20ish years in Florida, which is amazing.
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Piper
Unfortunately, 2025 was the year that Piper the King Charles cavalier spaniel died. She was 13, and her last couple of months were hard. I did, however, get to spend a lot of time with her over my break. I dog sat for my parents twice, as they did not want to send her to the dog hotel given her age. That meant that I got to spend a lot of time with her in her last year, which I’m very grateful for.
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Advocacy
Patient Advisory Council
Just because I wasn’t blogging, though, did not mean that I stopped all of my advocacy work! In addition to still posting on Instagram, I joined a Patient Advisory Council for a pharma company working on something for one of my conditions. I’m very grateful for that opportunity, especially as it meant I could tangibly continue the work that’s so important to me.
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Social Media
As mentioned, I continued posting on all of my social media networks. My Instagram content is basically the only thing that remained the same from before my blogging break. I continued posting on Bluesky (changed from Twitter) and Facebook, but Instagram was the only place I kept the same.
Here are some examples of what I posted:
I also joined TikTok! If you like more chatting-style videos, you should follow me there.
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Hobbies
Reading
If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I’m a big reader. I kept that up over my break and read more than usual because I had more time. I also got a Kindle, which helped.
I read 86 books in 2025 and am aiming for 90 in 2026. I’ve already read 11 books, so I’m off to a good start! As usual, I mostly read fantasy, historical fiction, romantasy (fantasy + romance), and romance. I also read thrillers and occasionally even nonfiction. I know some people don’t reread, but I love to do that, which helps.
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Punch Needle Embroidery
I’ve wanted to try embroidery for a long time, but it’s not ideal for someone with arthritic hands. But when I realized I was going to have one or more new diagnoses, I needed something to do. After some research, I tried punch needle embroidery!
I really enjoy it. It’s fun to be creative and therapeutic to stab a piece of cloth over and over again. These are the kits I started with.
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Kate Mitchell is a blogger, chronic illness patient, and advocate who helps people understand chronic illness and helps chronic illness patients live their best lives.
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