I will always remember the moment when I knew for sure that I would become an occupational therapist. I was a senior in college and had signed up for a program that allowed me to shadow an occupational therapist at the Rusk Rehabilitation Institute in New York City. I immediately fell in love with the idea of helping people in this way. [Not so surprising considering I had been seeing physical and occupational therapists since I can remember. I was just two years old when I was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and I can't remember a time when the struggles associated with a RA diagnosis were not a part of my life. Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects many joints, including the joints of the hands and feet, causing painful swelling and, in severe cases, even attacking internal organs.

As any RA patient will tell you, this disease will humble you. Throughout my childhood and adolescence, I suffered from such intense pain that it was difficult to maintain a sense of normalcy. In college, I had a very difficult time socially because it kept me away from many of the things my peers were doing. So when I found my calling as an occupational therapist and pursued that path, things changed. I realized that I could help others who were struggling with the same issues that I was.

I worked as an outpatient occupational therapist in a nursing home for 10 years. I really loved this job. I was in remission at the time, young and healthy, and RA never got in the way of my work.

However, like many people with this chronic disease, the medication that had brought me into remission stopped working. Over time, my symptoms began to creep up with a vengeance. My joints became extremely swollen to the point where it looked like two grapefruits under the skin where my knee bones should have been. Along with the debilitating pain came extreme fatigue. So painful was the pain that his coworkers once recommended that he use a walker to get around.

A few days later, I went to see my doctor and told her that it was getting really difficult for me to do my job. She opened her mouth with a pout. 'Are you working? 'No, I can't work right now.'

And she was right - soon after that, my RA got too bad. I had to quit my job and got a disability check.

Having to take time off work may sound great, but it's not. I was devastated. If you have a job that you can go to every day and be fulfilled, even if that job isn't perfect, it adds so much to your life. So when it is taken away from you, you feel like you are constantly trying to fill that hole. I have found that there are a lot of misconceptions around people with disabilities. The truth is, most people with disabilities really want to work.

When I was free from pain, I often thought about what I liked best about being an occupational therapist. I realized that even though I may not be able to work in a therapeutic setting, education is a large part of it, and that I am helping people help themselves. In addition, my most meaningful interactions with patients almost always occurred when I shared with them that I, too, was living with pain and understood what it was like to walk in their shoes.

I discovered that writing about my disease allowed me to take care of myself while continuing to do this work. I began freelancing for RheumatoidArthritis.net (an online community for RA patients and caregivers to learn, educate, and connect with peers and health professionals) and used my experience as an RA patient to share tips and tricks that helped me in the process and helped others to I helped. I also wrote two books: A Resilient Life: Learning to Thrive, Not Just Survive, With Rheumatoid Arthritis and True Health: The Inside Job."

Giving up a career I loved and shifting my focus to an entirely new job was not easy. When asked for advice on managing RA in the workplace, I respond.

Rheumatoid arthritis is the kind of disease that takes a lot out of you. But when you find a way to give back to yourself, it is remarkable. And what I know for sure is that you can do it by pursuing your passions and doing work that you truly care about, even if it has to take years to take shape.