Disability Pride Is For All
The Peter Pan novel which J.M. Barrie wrote in 1911, based on his 1904 play, includes a curious concept about the hideout trees Peter uses for his lost boys' housing.…
Rebekah Palmer is the author of two books published by Aneko Press: A Letter to my Friend and A Letter to Myself. She also has poetry included in the anthology Strength: Lives Touched By Cystinosis. She is a rare disease news curator for her blog Cystinosis Society. Please visit her author profile on Goodreads and her author page on Facebook called Jairus Daughter to ask any questions or to reach out.
The Peter Pan novel which J.M. Barrie wrote in 1911, based on his 1904 play, includes a curious concept about the hideout trees Peter uses for his lost boys' housing.…
By Rebekah Palmer The rare disease community has an all too common problem of not using precise language when it comes to addressing the people and the needs of…
Since April 2019, I have been actively seeking out adults (18+) who are willing to publicly share their stories about their lives with rare and chronic diseases. I feel it…
A few months ago, Patientworthy editor Kathy Devanny asked me some important questions about the assistance I receive from Patient Access Managers as a person living with the rare disease…
One of my better friends within the cystinosis community is Mika Covington. We met at a cystinosis event in 2016. I had read some of Mika’s entries posted in her…
For those with a complicated medical diagnosis, state-funded health insurance bodes little practicality. Patients living with rare and chronic disease must schedule visits to multiple specialty clinics and physicians, especially…
Many persons living with rare disease require a transplant of certain organs. Though this is not a cure for the rare disease Cystinosis, a kidney transplant is often required once the disease…
Another article previously published under "Featured Adult: Rebekah Palmer's Story" in The Cystinosis Advocate/ Volume 10, Issue 1/ Spring and Summer 2017: I feel an obstacle in being the adult patient…
Besides the obvious need for ties within the medical, pharmaceutical, and social industries, I have always wondered internally why it is so necessary that parents, adults, children, and loved ones…
To read part one of this story on cystinosis, click here. Briana and Ashley are two adult women from opposite regions in the United States. Briana lives close to her…
She wears a lacy white dress with a long, white veil. Her beautifully shaped eyebrows arc over long-lashed eyes. Her smile, illuminated by bright red lipstick, speaks of the happiness…
Click to read parts one and two of this story. According to the Center for Disease Control, Lyme disease is the fastest growing insect-borne infectious illness in the United States.…
To read part one of this story, click here. Morgan is a young woman in her early twenties who has been living with symptoms of extreme pain on a daily…
As a female Bible college student, an outside marker of pious and godly womanhood consisted of having a male significant other. While this is not strictly a religious sentimentality about…
As an adult living with rare disease, there have been significant gaps in my employment history. I am sure many adults with health complications experience their workforce years this way,…
….Now what? A master’s degree in teaching? Would that even make sense for my life if I couldn’t even work an eight hour day and was currently seeking employment for…
“What would I give if I could live out of these waters? What would I pay to spend a day warm on the sand? Bet'cha on land they understand Bet…
I was in fourth grade at the K-12 parochial school in a small, northern town in Wisconsin. After Kindergarten, we all were divided into two to three grades per classroom.…
I was laying on the cold, hardwood floor again after drinking phospho cysteamine(the earlier form of Cystagon, treatment for Cystinosis). My stomach was roiling and I was overheating from the…
I remember when the local news reporters interviewed my parents as a child. They asked the caretakers many of the questions at the time. People want to hear the story…
I attended the 2017 CRN Family Conference in Utah this July. As someone living with rare disease who is older, (I am in my early 30’s with a disease which…