AT THE WATER’S EDGE:

Prompt: My Mascot! Give your condition, community, or self a mascot. Who is it? What do they represent? What is their battle cry?

Meet Platy.  Platy is a platypus who is my mascot, cheerleader and super hero.  He was entirely inspired by @unguidedmissile and @geeklygibby and he represents #rheum patients in way.  The platypus is somewhat of an anomaly — being a mammal, yet laying eggs; possessing the bill of a duck, the tail of a beaver and the feet of an otter; and the males have a spur on their hind leg that releases a painful venom.  RA and other rheumatoid diseases (and hence the patients) are a bit of an anomaly, too — never quite acting the way they’re “supposed to” and always full of surprises.  We can relate to Platy in the sense that sometimes nobody really knows quite what to make of us.  Yes, Platy is a mammal — but he’s different in many ways from every other mammal that exists.  Yes, RA patients have the same “disease” (or do they?), yet everyone of us experiences different symptoms and responds differently to treatments.  Let’s use that platypus venom to fight RA!  For me, I guess the venom would represent my Enbrel, which works in me to block the attacks from my immune system.


As for his battle cry, I’m going with the “Mutant Enemy” under-enthusiastic exclamation of “Grr. Arg.”  I find myself quietly saying these words frequently in response to RA and they express the frustration that often comes along with it.  Platy seems to be saying it, too.  But, Platy and I will stand together, with the rest of the #rheum community to fight for awareness, research, better care, and new treatments (cure?).  With Platy on our side, perhaps we can attract some attention!

This post was written as part of NHBPM – 30 health posts in 30 days: http://bit.ly/vU0g9J