Inside story of a new YouTube video about RA Warrior
A few weeks ago, a Johnson & Johnson video team visited our house. See my sons spoofing with the big video camera? The things that captivate teenagers, right?
Anyway, it was hard to explain to the Johnson & Johnson folks why it was difficult to have visitors or cameras in my house (or yard) after six and a half years of un-pausing RA. I didn’t bother explaining why I felt so awkward, but just focused on the message for the 5 hours they were here.
However, I have a feeling many of you will understand how I felt. I was grateful that the kids worked hard to vacuum away the cobwebs, but most things are just not the way you would find them if I got even a little break from the RA. I like to think I’d paint my front door and hang a new wreath the very first day… but that should probably come after a day of running around at the beach.
What was tough about the J&J RA Warrior YouTube video
Would you humor me and let me share about just one part? In my back yard, near the swing set, a large green and white contraption makes an appearance (at minute 1:45). Do you know what that is? Every year for Christmas, I would make gifts. This is a homemade tomato tower that I made several years ago out of PVC and canvas. I bought a power saw and a special blade to cut the PVC and included those as another part of the gift to my husband. The fabric is thick outdoor upholstery canvas so I had to buy an attachment for my sewing machine to work with it. Florida summers are too hot for tomatoes, but winters are great. And it’s best if you can keep the tomatoes away from the ground where the sand is full of nematodes. (Smaller versions of a tomato tower can be bought on lots of websites now.)
It worked great to grow yummy tomatoes upside down, but after several years, the tomato tower is barely a shadow of its former wonderment. And to strangers who see the RA Warrior video on the Johnson & Johnson YouTube site in the future, it just looks like a random piece of garbage behind a house.
I know I’m not the only one – that many people with RA don’t have guests over very often because they aren’t able to make things “right.” It’s part of how people with RA can get cut off socially because it’s so hard to go out and even harder to have others in. Only my dearest friends visit me anymore. And now I hope that includes all of you.
Recommended reading
- Men and Rheumatoid Arthritis: Video PSA
- Video Blog: Two Essentials with a Rheumatoid Arthritis Diagnosis
- Mayo Clinic Video Interview: Patients at ACR Scientific Meeting
- Video: Rheumatoid Patient Foundation Gives RA Patients a Voice
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