Jennifer Yane once said “Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what happened. “ You have heard the old joke, that you would not know if you were alive if it was not for the aches and pains every morning. But if you have rheumatoid arthritis it is no joking matter. According to the CDC: An estimated 46 million adults in the United States reported being told by a doctor that they have some form of arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, lupus, or fibromyalgia. Here is something even scarier: 2.5 million are diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis – that is 1 in 108. That’s about 1% of the population. By 2030, an estimated 67 million Americans ages 18 years or older are projected to have doctor-diagnosed arthritis. People with rheumatoid arthritis experience pain that results in stiffness, swelling, deformity, and loss of function in the joints. The pain zaps your energy. Our guest today knows all about this type of arthritis. She has had it since she was 2 ½ years old. She has written the book “A RESILENT LIFE: LEARNING TO THRIVE, NOT SURVIVE WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS” hoping to give the millions of people with this concrete knowledge and ideas for handling the ups and downs of the disease. She is an author and a health professional. Please welcome to Your Life Matters Show Kat Elton.