Effie is a 30 year old writer and blogger living in Chicago. She addresses various topics surrounding her experiences with autoimmune arthritis, chronic illness and disability, in order to spread awareness. She hopes her stories can be a guiding light to let others know they are not alone in their journey and to help people rise above. Effie has written for The Mighty and Cure Arthritis, to name a few and has worked for the Arthritis Foundation Chicago Chapter. She has been featured in Yahoo India, Yahoo Lifestyle, and Health Monitor. She is working on an upcoming website blog called, RisingAboveRa and a Youtube channel, RAandMyself. Currently, she is attending the Institute for Integrative Nutrition to become a health coach. She holds a Bachelors of Arts in Communication from DePaul University. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, going on walks in nature, baking and trying out new gluten and diary free recipes.
Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis attacked my knee joint. Due to the extensive damage that had occurred, I chose to undergo a total knee replacement at the age of 29 to improve pain and my overall quality of life.