Arthritis Life Podcast: Eileen Davidson's Journey from Devastated to Patient Leader
Channel: Arthritis Life
Date: 21/04/2021

In this video recording of the Arthritis Life Podcast, Eileen shares her journey going from devastated and overwhelmed to being a patient leader, writer, advocate and research contributor in just six years. 

She also shares reflections on mental health, single parenthood, the importance of exercise and tips for symptom tracking.

Episode at a glance:

- Eileen shares her rocky road to an RA diagnosis when he son was two years old
- How Eileen’s blog led her to patient advocacy and research 
- How symptom tracking helped Eileen reduce pain and improve fatigue
- How exercise helps Eileen reduce pain and improve fatigue
- What it’s like to be a single mom with RA
- Reflections on  mental health while living with chronic illness

For full episode details, see https://arthritis.theenthusiasticlife.com/2021/04/15/from-devastated-to-patient-leader-eileen-davidsons-rheumatoid-arthritis-story/

Speaker bios:

Eileen Davidson is a rheumatoid arthritis patient advocate from Vancouver British Columbia Canada. She volunteers with the Arthritis Research Canada patient advisory board and the Canadian Institute of Health Research – Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis patient engagement research ambassador. When not advocating she is writing about her experience with arthritis through Creaky Joints, Chronic Eileen or can be found being a mom to her son Jacob.

Cheryl Crow is an occupational therapist who has lived with rheumatoid arthritis for seventeen years. Her life passion is helping others with rheumatoid arthritis figure out how to live a full life despite arthritis, by developing tools to navigate physical, emotional and social challenges. She formed the educational company Arthritis Life in 2019 after seeing a huge need for more engaging, accessible, and (dare I say) FUN patient education and self-management resources.

This episode is brought to you by Rheum to THRIVE, a membership community Cheryl created to help people with rheumatic disease go from overwhelmed, confused and alone to confident, supported and connected.