EP 99 - AiArthritis Diseases and Protecting Against COVID-19 in Healthcare Settings

In this episode, co-hosts Charis Hill and Jae Walker delve into life after COVID-19, focusing on the unique challenges faced by individuals with AiArthritis diseases. They discuss the importance of continued precautions in healthcare settings, share their own personal experiences, and offer practical advice for staying safe. Tune in for an insightful conversation on navigating the ongoing reality of COVID-19 while managing chronic illnesses.

Episode Highlights

• Understanding the ongoing complexities of COVID-19 for immunocompromised individuals and those on immune-suppressing medications.
• Jae and Charis share their journey living with chronic disease, their experience with COVID-19 and managing COVID prevention now.
• Discussion on recent public health recommendations and the importance of wearing masks, social distancing, and testing.
• Addressing the need for safe healthcare environments and advocating for better protections for high-risk patients.
• Encouraging listeners to resume mask-wearing, improve air quality, and initiate conversations with healthcare providers about safety measures.

Join us for this episode to gain valuable insights and actionable steps to protect yourself and others in the AiArthritis community.

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Resources & Links:

• Jae’s blog - When I Had Co-Vid: https://creakyjoints.org/living-with-arthritis/coronavirus/patient-perspectives/when-i-had-covid/

• COVID Keeps Rising in Bay Area Wastewater. What to Know, From New Variants to Symptoms: https://www.kqed.org/news/11987343/covid-bay-area-wastewater-variant-symptoms-isolation-guidance

• CDC “People with certain medical conditions” page: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-medical-conditions.html

• CDC page “How to protect yourself and others” https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html

• People’s CDC resource page for requesting COVID healthcare reasonable accommodations: https://peoplescdc.org/2023/05/09/ada-rights-workshop/

 

 

Connect with our Co-Hosts:

 

Charis Hill, who uses they/them pronouns, is a disability activist, writer, speaker, and model living with conditions such as Axial Spondyloarthritis and Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. They use narrative engagement to advance social justice for multiply-marginalized disabled people and have been featured internationally in media and the documentary "Becoming Incurable." Charis has written for HealthCentral, Healthline, and Business Insider, and has been recognized by the Arthritis Foundation and Spondylitis Association of America for their advocacy work.

 

Connect with Charis:

• Twitter: @beingcharisblog 
• Tikok : @beingcharisblog
• Facebook: @beingcharis

Jae Walker, who uses they/them pronouns, is a disabled artist with multiple autoimmune diseases such as Rheumatoid Arthritis, Reynaud’s Syndrome, Asthma, Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, Small Fiber Neuropathy and more. They express their issues with chronic pain, fatigue, brain fog, loneliness, disconnect, etc by blogging and creating art for Creaky Joints. They have also exhibited artwork in New York and Michigan, as well as spoken out on the patient experience at conferences such as Medicine X. Advocacy about treating patients with compassion and humanity is a driving force behind everything they do.

 

Connect with Jae:

• Threads: @JaelehWalker 
• Instagram : @UnexpectedAdvocate
• Facebook: @UnexpectedAdvocate

 

AiArthritis Voices 360 is produced by the International Foundation for Autoimmune and Autoinflammatory Arthritis. Visit us on the web at www.aiarthritis.org/talkshow. Find us on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook (@IFAiArthritis) or email us (podcast@aiarthritis.org).  Be sure to check out our top-rated show on Feedspot!