Lost and Found with RMDs

This is the title of a new original collection of stories written by people with with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs) on what they lost but also what they found, having to live with their condition. The story collection was launched by the Slovak League Against Rheumatism in support of the global World Arthritis Day campaign 2016 “The future in your hands”.

The original and authentic patients’ stories talk about living with chronic inflammatory diseases. Examples include rheumatoid arthritis (RA) as well as its child form juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). The lesser known diagnoses include psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and Bechterew's disease (also known as is ankylosing spondylitis). The stories also include rarer rheumatic diseases, such as Systemic Lupus, Sjögren's syndrome (SJS), Sharp's syndrome and also the poignant and very inspiring story of a patient with a rare autoimmune rheumatic disease, the CINCA syndrome. There are only about 100 cases worldwide known with this particular disease.

Jana Dobšovičová Černáková of the Slovak League Against Rheumatism says: “We would like to contribute to higher awareness of RMDs, their impact on patients’ quality of life and promote prevention and education of patients and also indirectly contribute to early diagnosis and treatment with this book. If we are able to encourage people with RMDs and those who care for or work with them directly with “Lost and Found with RMDs”, then our intention and mission would be met.“
Click here to read the stories. They are in Slovak and in English in this bilingual edition.