Arthritis Under 30 with Jacob McCrae
Jacob McCrae was diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis (Rheumatoid) in his 20’s, mind blowing right? He shares the difficulties he faced and the amazing journey he went on to lose over 90 lbs, find exercises that were doable with Arthritis and then he went on to help others.
Getting to know him
Jacob lives in Richmond and works for a company helping reduce food waste. On his spare time, he works on a vlog and blog to share his story about how Arthritis has affected his life.
He was a full-time student working on his computer science degree. He had a bad fall and hurt his shoulder. He wasn’t able to use his arm to write and began writing with his left arm. It was April 2013 and slowly his body began to hurt. His left arm was soar to write with and it progressed to feeling as if he had aches and pains.
When he turned 30 in 2017, he decided to make a change and has lost about 90lbs so far. While working out he had to find modifications for exercises, as well as learn to push through the chronic pain from arthritis in the joints of his fingers, hands, wrists, hips, knees, ankles and toes.
He was so surprised that he could have Arthritis at a young age and did some research on google. Soon he realized that children can have Arthritis and he began to ask the question, how do they get on with their lives, the pain is so great?
Jacob was going through the stages of coming to accept such a difficult diagnosis and was angry. He was angry and blamed himself, and sometimes still doesn’t accept it. Scientists don’t even understand why we get it as far as he knows, he invited you to educate him if you know more!
Asking for Help
Jacob accepted his wife’s help on the odd occasion yet was very independent. He began to feel gratitude for simple abilities such as putting on socks, zipping zippers and buttoning buttons.
Change
Change came and it started with a decision. He decided that once he turned 30 he was going to become healthy. Jacob purchased a plan, Danny Gets Fit. He binge listened to Rob Dial and improved his mindset. Improvements took place and then he fell back temporarily into a dark place.
This is where he realized that if he listened to a good podcast at least once a week he was good. Mindset is really important, a quote from Rob, “You can not solve a problem with the mind that created it.”
Jacob began the Keto diet and found that it made him feel much better. He tells us he loves it, and I wanted to remind you to check with your doctor to ensure it is safe for you to try.
His mindset was better, he knew he deserved better and he left his job. Today he works remotely for a company that is able to support his needs to have good self-care when his Arthritis flares up.
As you can see Jacob really turned his life around despite the difficulties he faced. He shares his story to inspire you and invites you to reach out to him. You can hear the entire interview here or on his youtube channel below. You can listen to the whole interview: Here
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