A Tale of Fortitude...
Greetings my fellow readers! Trevor here with our new tale intertwining both Arthritis and Brain Tumor Awareness Month. The reason being, Brenda has lived with RA for 30 years and is almost a 13 year brain tumor survivor. Her craniversary or the anniversary of her craniotomy falls on September 8th. We are going to be focusing on the word fortitude. Webster defines fortitude as "strength of mind that enables a person to encounter danger or bear pain or adversity with courage." Brenda has certainly exhibited this in many aspects of her life. None more so than arising to the challenge of living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for 30 years now and continuing on her path as a brain tumor survivor. One cannot be separated from the other and this will be demonstrated with this tale. When Brenda was first diagnosed with RA she felt her life was over in a sense. She was working full-time, single and 31 years old. Brenda was sole breadwinner even though her first rheumatologist sugge