Living Life to the Fullest 
How one woman beat rhumatoid arthritis
It was supposed to be a joyful time. It was 1997 and Tannis Charles and her husband Bill had just welcomed their second child, Liam, to the world. But within a very short time Tannis couldn’t do things a mother should be able to do. She couldn’t lift him up or change his diapers. She describes it as “the maternity leave from hell.”
Tannis’ original diagnosis was reactive arthritis brought on by her pregnancy. She was told it would go away in two to 3 years and given medication to help control her symptoms. But the medications weren’t effective and soon Tannis was struggling to get out of bed in the morning and go up or down the stairs. Read more.
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Living Through Pain
A young man's story of perseverance
Steven Croucher is like any other 19 year-old. He goes to school, likes to hang out with his friends and see movies. The difference is Steven does all these things in pain.
Diagnosed when he was young with neurofibromatosis, Steven lives with neuropathic pain every day. A genetic disorder, neurofibromatosis causes tumours and lesions to grow on or within the body where nerves are present. At the age of 9, doctors discovered a tumour on Steven’s brain stem – he needed multiple surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation. Read More.
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Barely Surviving to Thriving 
A remarkable 27-year journey with HIV
Tiko Kerr doesn’t look sick. He’s a healthy and active man who rows four times a week. He defies anyone’s image of a man who has lived with HIV for almost 30 years.
Tiko was diagnosed with HIV in 1985 while living in Australia; he took it as a death sentence. If the virus didn’t kill him, the medication available at that time might. Little was known about HIV when Tiko was diagnosed, medications where only just being researched and the stigma and fear associated with HIV/AIDS where overwhelming.
Read More.
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