Welcome to this episode of AiArthritis Voices 360, featuring a conversation we had on World AUTOimmune & AUTOinflammatory Arthritis Day ( AiArthritis Day) with our Honorary Chair, Angela Durazo - race car driver, award-winning actress, and a person living with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). Angela was asked to be our Honorary Chair, in part, because of her RA and AUTO racing connection, but more importantly, she exemplifies what it means to "shift gears" when Ai Arthritis takes away your identity. 

Angela's triathlon ambitions came to a halt four years after she was diagnosed with RA after her 24th birthday. Multiple surgeries and much physical therapy later, she was determined to find a way to reinvent herself in a way that truly represented her core being. "I used my pain and I turned it into power," she says in this heartfelt conversation. "You too can reinvent yourself in a way that represents you, that aligns with your core values." 

Many of us have experienced the 'Who am I Now?' phenomenon, as these diseases challenge our capabilities to continue doing some of the things we once loved - things that we identify with as personal identifiers. The invisibility of these diseases adds to the frustration. But we can shift gears, we can find our new normals, all without having to change who we are as a person.