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chronic pain

Text reads: What is considered a chronic illness? And other chronic illness basics (end text). When it comes to chronic illness, there's a lot to learn. Maybe you have a chronic illness, maybe someone in your life has one. I've talked a lot about specific elements to chronic illness over the years, but I thought I would go into some chronic illness basics today, such as the question, "What is considered a chronic illness?"  
Text reads: What is considered a chronic illness? And other chronic illness basics (end text). When it comes to chronic illness, there's a lot to learn. Maybe you have a chronic illness, maybe someone in your life has one. I've talked a lot about specific elements to chronic illness over the years, but I thought I would go into some chronic illness basics today, such as the question, "What is considered a chronic illness?"  
in Health · May 3, 2022

What Is Considered a Chronic Illness? And Other Chronic Illness Basics

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What Is Considered a Chronic Illness? And Other Chronic Illness Basics

Text reads: 9 Ways To Advocate for Disability Rights (end text). I absolutely love the disability community and am a vocal advocate for disability rights, so I thought it was a good idea to help any of you who want to be an advocate or be a better one. We’re going to talk about what the disability rights movement is, as well as 9 ways that you can advocate for disabled people and our rights.
Text reads: 9 Ways To Advocate for Disability Rights (end text). I absolutely love the disability community and am a vocal advocate for disability rights, so I thought it was a good idea to help any of you who want to be an advocate or be a better one. We’re going to talk about what the disability rights movement is, as well as 9 ways that you can advocate for disabled people and our rights.
in Health · April 5, 2022

9 Ways To Advocate for Disability Rights

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9 Ways To Advocate for Disability Rights

Text reads: Buy my ebook for chronic health bloggers, worth $140, but buy for $10! There is also an image of the ebook cover. The ebook is named "Take Your Blog (And Income!) To The Next Level: Resources for Chronic Health Bloggers".
Text reads - Alike: The Best Way To Feel Less Alone & Better Manage Your Chronic Illness Journey (text ends).
Text reads - Alike: The Best Way To Feel Less Alone & Better Manage Your Chronic Illness Journey (text ends).
in Health · February 11, 2022

Alike: The Best Way To Feel Less Alone & Better Manage Your Chronic Illness Journey

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Alike: The Best Way To Feel Less Alone & Better Manage Your Chronic Illness Journey

Text reads: 14 amazing simple healthy dinner recipes (end text). In advance of moving, I compiled a list of simple healthy recipes for dinner that I made previously and liked. I figured I would share them in case you’re looking for recipes that are delicious, healthy, and easy to make if you're like me and you have chronic illnesses, especially arthritis in your hands. 
Text reads: 14 amazing simple healthy dinner recipes (end text). In advance of moving, I compiled a list of simple healthy recipes for dinner that I made previously and liked. I figured I would share them in case you’re looking for recipes that are delicious, healthy, and easy to make if you're like me and you have chronic illnesses, especially arthritis in your hands. 
in Health, Lifestyle · February 8, 2022

14 Amazing Simple Healthy Recipes for Dinner

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14 Amazing Simple Healthy Recipes for Dinner

Text reads: 6 tips for how to accept your chronic illness (end text). I personally think that the hardest part is accepting you have a chronic illness. To make that easier, I thought I would share my tips for how to accept a chronic illness, as well as what that means.
Text reads: 6 tips for how to accept your chronic illness (end text). I personally think that the hardest part is accepting you have a chronic illness. To make that easier, I thought I would share my tips for how to accept a chronic illness, as well as what that means.
in Health · January 11, 2022

6 Tips for How To Accept a Chronic Illness

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6 Tips for How To Accept a Chronic Illness

Text reads: 10 ways to find fibromyalgia relief (end text). One of America's 4 million people with fibromyalgia shares 10 ways to find fibromyalgia relief, including 5 ways that help her personally.
Text reads: 10 ways to find fibromyalgia relief (end text). One of America's 4 million people with fibromyalgia shares 10 ways to find fibromyalgia relief, including 5 ways that help her personally.
in Health · December 10, 2021

10 Ways To Find Fibromyalgia Relief

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10 Ways To Find Fibromyalgia Relief

Text reads: Holiday gift ideas, chronic illness patients (end text). This post has the best gifts for someone with chronic pain or a chronic illness. I’m serious! Read on to see these 58 chronic illness gifts.
Text reads: Holiday gift ideas, chronic illness patients (end text). This post has the best gifts for someone with chronic pain or a chronic illness. I’m serious! Read on to see these 58 chronic illness gifts.
in Health, Lifestyle · December 3, 2021

Holiday Gift Ideas: Best Gifts for Someone with Chronic Pain & Illness

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Holiday Gift Ideas: Best Gifts for Someone with Chronic Pain & Illness

Text reads: 9 arthritis products that help my rheumatoid arthritis (end text) I've tried a lot of arthritis products over the years to help. my symptoms. Here are the products that have helped me!
Text reads: 9 arthritis products that help my rheumatoid arthritis (end text) I've tried a lot of arthritis products over the years to help. my symptoms. Here are the products that have helped me!
in Health · October 8, 2021

9 Arthritis Products That Help My Rheumatoid Arthritis

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9 Arthritis Products That Help My Rheumatoid Arthritis

Text reads: What to expect after subtalar fusion surgery, a patient's perspective (end text) I have had 2 subtalar fusions, 1 in each foot. I have tarsal coalition and rheumatoid arthritis. This is what I think you should know about the surgery recovery.
Text reads: What to expect after subtalar fusion surgery, a patient's perspective (end text) I have had 2 subtalar fusions, 1 in each foot. I have tarsal coalition and rheumatoid arthritis. This is what I think you should know about the surgery recovery.
in Health · September 21, 2021

What To Expect After Subtalar Fusion Surgery: A Patient’s Perspective

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What To Expect After Subtalar Fusion Surgery: A Patient’s Perspective

Text reads: Starting a chronic illness blog, tips for blogging with fatigue and pain (end text) For those of you who want to blog but haven’t started to because you live with chronic illness, I figured I would share my tips. Starting a chronic illness blog isn’t always easy, but I hope that these tips help you succeed.
Text reads: Starting a chronic illness blog, tips for blogging with fatigue and pain (end text) For those of you who want to blog but haven’t started to because you live with chronic illness, I figured I would share my tips. Starting a chronic illness blog isn’t always easy, but I hope that these tips help you succeed.
in Writing & Blogging · August 24, 2021

Starting a Chronic Illness Blog: Tips for Blogging with Fatigue and Pain

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Starting a Chronic Illness Blog: Tips for Blogging with Fatigue and Pain

Text reads: resources for chronic illness, how organizing can make it easier (end text) If there’s one thing I love, it’s organizing. I’m a big planner person, I love planner stickers, it’s a whole thing. And that organization has helped me a lot with managing my life with chronic illness. I figured that I would share my organization tips for chronic illness life. I hope that these organizing tips and tricks help you out!
Text reads: resources for chronic illness, how organizing can make it easier (end text) If there’s one thing I love, it’s organizing. I’m a big planner person, I love planner stickers, it’s a whole thing. And that organization has helped me a lot with managing my life with chronic illness. I figured that I would share my organization tips for chronic illness life. I hope that these organizing tips and tricks help you out!
in Health, Lifestyle · August 17, 2021

Resources for Chronic Illness: How Organizing Can Make It Easier

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Resources for Chronic Illness: How Organizing Can Make It Easier

Text reads: Arthritis Diagnosis, Diagnosis Stories + The Diagnostic Process Explained Since July marks 11 years since my arthritis diagnosis, which was 9 years since I developed symptoms, I thought I would talk about the process for getting a diagnosis of arthritis. In this post, I’m sharing how 7 different forms of arthritis are diagnosed, as well as my rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis process.
Text reads: Arthritis Diagnosis, Diagnosis Stories + The Diagnostic Process Explained Since July marks 11 years since my arthritis diagnosis, which was 9 years since I developed symptoms, I thought I would talk about the process for getting a diagnosis of arthritis. In this post, I’m sharing how 7 different forms of arthritis are diagnosed, as well as my rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis process.
in Health · July 27, 2021

Arthritis Diagnosis: Diagnosis Stories + The Diagnostic Process Explained

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Arthritis Diagnosis: Diagnosis Stories + The Diagnostic Process Explained

life with chronic illness, living with chronic illness, how to live with chronic illness, living life with chronic illness, chronic illness symptoms, chronic illnesses, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, endometriosis, POTS, dysautonomia
life with chronic illness, living with chronic illness, how to live with chronic illness, living life with chronic illness, chronic illness symptoms, chronic illnesses, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, endometriosis, POTS, dysautonomia
in Health · July 2, 2021

Life with Chronic Illness: One Patient’s Life with 6 Illnesses

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Life with Chronic Illness: One Patient’s Life with 6 Illnesses

In this post, long-time arthritis patient Kate the (Almost) Great explains key information about TMJ arthritis, including answering your questions about it; shares the full details of her extremely messed up TMJs; and talks about TMJ arthritis treatment, both what doctors recommend and what she does for her flares.
In this post, long-time arthritis patient Kate the (Almost) Great explains key information about TMJ arthritis, including answering your questions about it; shares the full details of her extremely messed up TMJs; and talks about TMJ arthritis treatment, both what doctors recommend and what she does for her flares.
in Health · June 22, 2021

What You Should Know About TMJ Arthritis

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What You Should Know About TMJ Arthritis

Living with chronic illness takes a toll on you, and not just physically; it is also hard on you emotionally. I’ve been in pain for nearly 20 years, and I have 6 chronic illnesses, so I know a lot about this. I want to talk a bit about mental health and chronic disease management.

Mental Health and Chronic Disease Management: What You Should Know

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Chronic health lifestyle blog

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Drop your suggestions in the comments _______ Drop your suggestions in the comments 

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Video: the view of a sun setting over a lake as seen through the trees. Upbeat music plays. Top text reads “How To Deal with Unsolicited Advice”. Then a series of messages pop up. The are: 
“Sorry, my mom said I can’t do that”

“Didn’t you hear? The new pope said that was heresy.” (Ideal if you’re not Catholic)

“I have to wait until mercury isn’t in retrograde, and it’s always in retrograde”

“My psychic said that will kill me”

#AlmostGreatHealth #ChronicallyIll #ChronicIllnessHumor #ChronicPainHumor #InvisiblyIll
Having decades-long health problems sometimes mean Having decades-long health problems sometimes means coming across something in your health history that you completely forgot about⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate. Follow me for more content for chronic illness patients and their loved ones!⁣
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⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ID: Screenshot of a thread post written by Kate Mitchell | Kate the (Almost) Great with the username katethealmostgreat. ⁣⁣The background is dark teal. All text is what’s above the first black square.⁣⁣⁣
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#AlmostGreatHealth #rheumatoidarthritis #arthritis #spoonielife #healthblogger #autoimmune #autoimmunedisease #chronicallyill #healthblog #dysautonomia #fibro #fibromyalgia #endo #chronicallyill #disability #disabled #invisibleillness #spoonielife #healthblogger
Here are some ways I practice self care, aka talki Here are some ways I practice self care, aka talking care of myself AND who I am as a person separate from illness⁣
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This is my Wonderful Things jar. Every day, I write down something wonderful or good that happened that day. ⁣
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I know it looks like I'm forcing Harley to sit like this, but he was making this face before I put my arm around him. Dog snuggle time is the best!⁣
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I got a Kindle this year and it has been amazing. It's so much easier on my body than lugging around books and it makes borrowing from the library a lot easier.⁣
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Yes, I share this all the time, but filling my pill boxes every 3 weeks make it so I stick with all of my medications. But the self-care part of this is that I don't have to take the time to refill a box every single week.⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 7+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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1️⃣ A glass jar on a desk with a lot of multi-color post-its inside⁣
2️⃣ Kate has her face in a golden retriever who is slumped onto her. They're in a teal room with a red rug. Kate is a brunette white woman wearing red pants and a gray sweater.⁣
3️⃣ A Kindle on dark mode in Kate's lap⁣
4️⃣ 3 open pill cases on a yellow bedspread ⁣
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#AlmostGreatHealth #AlmostGreatLife #SelfCare #ChronicallyIll #ChronicallyAwesome #SpoonieLife #Spoonie #ChronicLife #ButYouDontLookSick #InvisibleIllness #MentalHealthMatters #RetrieversOfInstagram #Readers #Kindle #WonderfulThings #GratitudePractice
What I Bring To the Doctor _______ Video: a pa What I Bring To the Doctor 

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Video: a pan of an exam room. White text reads “What I Bring To the Doctor ” and the “1. Planner/notebook
2. List of current medications 
3. Notes on my biggest concerns and questions 
4. My kindle for wait time” 
The intro to Maroon 5’s Priceless plays. 

#AlmostGreatHealth #ChronicIllness #ChronicPain #RheumatoidArthritis #SjogrensSyndrome #Fibromyalgia #Endometriosis
💃🏼 Week 17 of #2025Weekly 💃🏼⁣
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1️⃣ She’s married!! ⁣
2️⃣ She married the best person in the world for her!!!!!⁣
3️⃣ I got dressed up! ⁣
4️⃣ The reality of doing fun things with chronic illness and pain is that then you have to recover from the fun things. It took … a while. One million percent worth it, but this is why I don’t do big events on a regular basis. ⁣
5️⃣ And then I had to be a person again for an appointment!⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 7+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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1️⃣ Kate stands hugging Emmie. They're both white woman. Emmie is in a wedding dress and Kate is in a red dress and wearing round tortiseshell glasses.⁣
2️⃣ Kate and Emmie stand next to Matt, Emmie's husband. He is a white man.⁣
3️⃣ Kate takes a mirror selfie. she's in the same red dress but now also wears a jean jacket and holds a cane and mask.⁣
4️⃣ Kate takes a selfie while giving a thumbs up. She looks tired. She's now wearing a pink flowery dress. ⁣
5️⃣ Kate takes a mirror selfie. She's wearing black shorts, a gray shirt, a jean jacket, a blue mask, and black aviator sunglasses. She has a bag over her shoulder and holds a cane.⁣
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#AlmostGreatHealth #AlmostGreatLife #ChronicallyIll #InvisibleIllness #SpoonieLife #RheumatoidArthritis #RheumatoidDisease #Autoimmune #ButYouDontLookSick #AutoimmuneDisease #SpoonieLife #InvisibleIllness #DisabledAndCute
On the one hand, you should always believe what pe On the one hand, you should always believe what people tell you about their bodies.⁣
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On the other hand, I’ve had so much ridiculous and unconnected health things happen that I do understand why people might not believe me.⁣
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⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate. Follow me for more content for chronic illness patients and their loved ones!⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ID: Screenshots of a thread posts written by Kate Mitchell | Kate the (Almost) Great with the username katethealmostgreat. ⁣⁣The background is dark teal. All text is what’s above the first black square.⁣⁣
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#AlmostGreatHealth #ChronicallyIll #ChronicPain #Autoimmune #AutoimmuneDisease #RheumatoidArthritis #RheumatoidDisease #SpoonieLife #InvisibleIllness
Last week, I talked about how it surprised me how Last week, I talked about how it surprised me how systemic autoimmune arthritis can be. But something else that surprised me was how much pain can be caused by small things.⁣
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In this picture, I was getting ready to have an MRI on my knee. It has been bothering me a fair amount the last 6+ months, so I'm trying to do something about that. ⁣
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Unsurprisingly, some of the tissue is damaged, but it's not bad. What's probably causing it to bother me so much is a teeny tiny cyst. ⁣
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Baker's cysts are a type of cyst in the knee that are generally caused by arthritis. But having a cyst in my knee means that it's causing pressure on that damaged tissue. ⁣
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The body is a weird thing, and one of these weird things is developing tiny cysts that cause a lot of pain. ⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 7+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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ID: Kate takes a mirror selfie. She's a brunette white woman wearing a hospital gown, scrub bottoms, black mask, round tortoiseshell glasses, and round tortoiseshell glasses. ⁣
🌸 Week 16 of #2025Weekly 🌸 ⁣ ⁣ 1️⃣ S 🌸 Week 16 of #2025Weekly 🌸 ⁣
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1️⃣ Spring has sprung … ⁣
2️⃣ … Which means I am overheating! ⁣
3️⃣ A quick view of NYC on my travels ⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 7+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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1️⃣ A flowering tree on a street ⁣
2️⃣ Kate takes a mirror selfie. She's a brunette white woman wearing a blue t-shirt saying "The Future Is Accessible," a black mask, a green hat reading "Facilities Management), black shorts, a black knee sleeve, and a black knee brace. She holds a pink cane.⁣
3️⃣ A picture of the New York City skyline behind a bridge.⁣
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#AlmostGreatHealth #AlmostGreatLife #ChronicallyIll #RheumatoidArthritis #SpoonieLife #Autoimmune #AutoimmuneDisease #ChronicPain #Arthritis #RheumatoidDisease #Dysautonomia #PosturalOrthostaticTachycardiaSyndrome #POTS #InvisibleIllness
If I met my newly diagnosed self for coffee ... ⁣
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I tell her how things would get worse before they got better. ⁣
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I'd tell her to stop eating gluten, dairy, corn, soy, and eggs immediately (although that would have been a lot harder in 2010, more than it even is now). ⁣
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I'd tell her that she still needs to keep advocating for herself. ⁣
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I'd tell her that having a diagnosis unfortunately doesn't mean everything automatically falls into place. ⁣
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I'd tell her that she'll develop many more illnesses but her quality of life will actually get significantly better. ⁣
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I'd tell her that she would eventually have to get her right foot fixed, although she does expect that.⁣
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I'd tell her that using a cane is not a sign of failure, but a tool to make life better.⁣
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(I did a sort of tongue-in-cheek post about this a while ago and thought I'd post a more serious one).⁣
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⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate. Follow me for more content for chronic illness patients and their loved ones!⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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ID: Kate poses for the camera holding a mug with the letter M on it. Kate is a brunette white woman wearing a blue sweater and round tortoiseshell glasses. A white text box reads "If I met my newly diagnosed self for coffee ...". ⁣
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#AlmostGreatHealth #RheumatoidArthritis #RheumatoidDisease #ChronicallyIll #Autoimmune #AutoimmuneDisease #AutoimmuneArthritis #Rheum #InvisibleIllness #Arthritis #ButYouDontLookSick #ArthritisWarrior #CureArthritis
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