Since getting diagnosed with RA, I’ve gotten two, carefully crafted tattoos. They are reminders to have hope, be positive, dream big, and stay strong.

There’s been stories out there about how healing tattoos can be for breast cancer survivors, but what about the rest of us?

I’m not about to say that tattoos are for everyone, but for me, a tattoo can be a very cathartic experience. I got my first post-RA tattoo about six months after being diagnosed. I had to get a sign-off from my doctor (and would recommend you do the same) because I was worried that the heavy doses of RA drugs I was taking at the time to suppress my immune system would make it difficult to heal.

My tattoo artist, the brilliant and beautiful Sandi Calistro, made the experience *relatively* painless. Four hours later, I had a custom compass/dreamcatcher on the side of my ribcage. A reminder to stay on the path to my dreams, my true north, despite the set backs of RA. A symbol to ward off the bad thoughts, the worry, and to keep the hope.

I recently got a second post-RA tattoo, also by Sandi. This one a quote from one of my favorite poems, Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost, along with an image of a fox inspired by the poem. It reminds me that I’m not giving up yet. I’m not passively floating through life.

As Robert Frost so eloquently wrote,

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep

And miles to go before I sleep.

Do you have a tattoo you got to help you heal? I’d love to see it!!