Parenting, Faith and Respecting Different Treatment Choices: Conversation with The Rheumatoid Arthritis Mama Renee Anderson

<p><strong>Episode at a glance:</strong></p><ul><li>Renee’s diagnosis journey after a decade of mystery symptoms</li><li>How rheumatoid arthritis has affected Renee’s parenting and homeschooling</li><li>Renee’s Christian faith helps her cope with challenging times</li><li>Cheryl and Renee share their different treatment choices (western medicine and natural only approaches) and how important it is to respect each other despite different choices</li><li>How Renee adopts an anti-inflammatory lifestyle</li><li>The dark side of focusing on wellness and diet: Renee shares about orthorexia, an unhealthy obsession with healthy food</li><li>Why Renee started her Rheumatoid Arthritis Mamas Sisterhood Facebook group</li></ul><p><strong>Speaker Bios:</strong></p><p>Renee is a former middle school teacher turned homeschooling mom of three. She’s been married for 17 years and lives in West Michigan. She started The Rheumatoid Arthritis Mama after her RA diagnosis in late 2017 when she began sharing her journey, faith, and experiences with RA openly and authentically on Instagram and Facebook. </p><p>Since then, Renee has been interviewed by and featured in media outlets such as Healthline, Health Central, CreakyJoints, WEGO Health, Self Magazine, and more. Her Facebook support group, The Rheumatoid Arthritis Mamas Sisterhood, has nearly 2,000 members and she uses the group as a space for all women to come together regardless of their treatment choices to support one another, share their experiences, and connect with other autoimmune disease warriors. </p><p>Renee has a passion to support and encourage other women (especially moms) who are battling autoimmune diseases. Her goal is to provide others with encouragement and hope, feel less alone, and inspire them to live their best lives despite battling autoimmune disease. Her newest endeavor, a podcast called Every Day with Autoimmune, is set to launch during the summer of 2021!</p><p>Cheryl Crow is an occupational therapist who has lived with rheumatoid arthritis for eighteen