Jennifer Hunter - Chronic Illness Advocate

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Jennifer Hunter - Chronic Illness Advocate

Powering through psoriatic arthritis, chronic migraine, thyroid disease, PCOS, hEDS, and MCAS Hope and community for chronic illness patients.

Powering through psoriatic arthritis, migraine, thyroid disease, PCOS, hEDS, and MCAS
📍AZ ☀️🌵

01/19/2026

Are you an autoinjector person or a syringe person??

My arthritis group was discussing this the other day and debating which was more popular. Some said syringes are better because you’re in control of the flow—and some of these meds really sting going in!

I said I prefer autoinjectors because
1) I’m a ‘fraidy cat and I pass out. 😆 Needles don’t bother me at all, but my brain = NOPE at the idea of putting one in my own body. 🤮 The pen means I can’t see the needle.

2) I can’t feel it. Apparently, Bimzelx stings?? But 12 years ago, after two sets of twins and losing nearly 100 pounds, I needed skin removal surgery. I was ✨really happy with it✨EXCEPT that I was left with a nerve-dead spot on each side of my navel. It drove me crazy!

Over time, the nerves healed and these areas got far smaller (and I got larger), but I’m left with two half-dollar sized spots I can’t feel, one on each side, about 1” away from my belly button. Guess where you’re supposed to inject things? 😂 Small mercies. 💜

So, which one are you?

01/16/2026

What was I doing in 2016?

✨We moved into a funny little old house in the perfect cul-de-sac full of kids in the best small town in Idaho. We had some of the sweetest years of our lives in that home. We were acclimating to our new environment and loving every new day.

I had four busy kids: two in 7th grade and two in kindergarten. They were involved in all kinds of activities, and I spent a lot of time chasing them!

But when the kids were at school, I was busy. I baked. I gardened. I made jam. Our 30-yo house needed upgrades, so I planned and demo-ed and laid new floors. I dabbled in embroidery. I was knitting up a storm, began writing my own patterns, and considered launching myself as a designer. Life was full. I hit the ground running every day.

I was 39 and in the best shape of my life: running, lifting, practicing yoga and dipping a toe into paddleboarding. My Graves’ finally in remission, I had battled PCOS & insulin resistance for 3 long years and worked off 90 pounds. Good Housekeeping wrote a center-spread article about me. Psoriatic arthritis was still almost 5 years in the future, not even a blip on my radar yet. I *was* struggling with rampant chronic migraine, branching out into injectable therapies and thinking hard about Botox. I was desperate to get some relief, since nearly every workout brought on an attack.

But generally, life was good. I was living with chronic pain, but it was manageable. I look back now and think: girl, you have no idea what’s ahead of you! But I also look though those next 10 years and I see how far I’ve come.

Here’s hoping for a year more like 2016! Wishing you all the best. 💕

12/12/2025

Seriously, this is monumental. I was hobbling to the bathroom, living on the couch, and struggling to find any hope things would get better a year ago. Thanks, , Lindsay, and my biologic. 💜 Life is so good, and I don’t take a single step for granted.

12/12/2025

I didn’t used to have nail ridges from psoriasis. Originally, I had horizontal waves. Now I have both. Strangely, I only have nail psoriasis on my thumbnails and first toenails. 🤷🏻‍♀️ This disease is strange.

12/03/2025

Sometimes I worry about posting that I feel well when so many of you are struggling with pain and fatigue. I know how hard you’re fighting. I see you. I remember.

A year ago, I was walking with a cane and contemplating buying a rollator, which I really needed but couldn’t quite bring myself to admit. I had struggled for almost a year to feel well. Two years ago, my husband was laid off from the job that supports 6 of us, and that we left home and family for. A few weeks later, we discovered our daughter was struggling deeply with her mental health. I spent months carting her to the city for an intensive outpatient therapy program, stressing over whether she should go inpatient, and being terrified to leave her home alone. Similtaneously, I was trying to prop up my husband who was struggling with unemployment and his own self-worth. It kicked off an immense flare and ultimately led to my body rejecting yet another medication.

My faith in God held strong, but my faith in my body utterly collapsed. As my ability to stand or walk degraded, I found myself grieving the future I had imagined for myself. I tried to adapt to the idea that my body was broken, and that I could keep moving mentally and emotionally, even if I spent the next 40 years trapped in my body.

This may yet become my reality, but for now, I’ve received a reprieve. A switch in biologics has been life-altering for me, and I’ve been in clinical remission for a year now. It may not last. But that year of struggle and grief and adaptation has helped me to realize what a gift and blessing this time has been. I will never again take a single walk down the street, outing with my children, or workout for granted.

Grateful every day. 💜 Hopeful for the future. Wishing you the best as you continue your journey.

11/18/2025

Putting up Christmas decor today and realizing how much I was struggling this time last year. I had to put things up in chunks: wreaths one day, tree setup (with help) another. Ornaments took two days and I didn’t enjoy it *at all.* I was just a few days into starting a new biologic after a months-long steroid-resistant flare that had basically disabled me.

This year, I put up wreaths, stockings, & kitchen decor, and set up the tree myself with plans to decorate it with the kids when they get home. I’m so grateful for remission, for however long it lasts. 💜

Keep hoping and fighting, friends. Sometimes when things seem the most bleak, they’re just about to turn around.

10/25/2025

I went to bed last night thinking, “Hopefully I’ll be a little looser tomorrow. Maybe walking will be easier.”

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve felt my tendons (especially my Achilles) stiffening—I’ve felt just like the Tin Man, realizing he’s beginning to rust. I can feel it the moment I step out of bed in the morning: my ankles refusing to move smoothly, forcing me to hobble to the door. Heading downstairs is a joke, both feet necessary on every step because my ankles are so inflexible and painful. No amount of stretching makes any difference.

I took my shot yesterday. Not fully awake this morning, I stepped out of bed to brush my teeth and stumbled halfway to the bathroom when I realized—no stiffness! P**f! Gone!

Apparently I just needed my little “oil can” to get things moving again. It always surprises me with how quickly it works!

10/24/2025

Gonna take this sucker and get going on painting my front door blue. 🎉 It’s been an eyesore since we bought the house—it came with a retractable screen (that was too small!) screwed in to the frame. I removed it and saw that they’d painted around it last time. 😄 The whole door/frame look bad, especially inside—screw holes and bad caulk painted over, large paint shadow where the door handle was changed, etc.

I haven’t had the ability/energy to do much DIY home improvement over the past several years, so I’m excited to have a little project!

10/20/2025

It’s 5 days before my next biologic shot. I’m noticing that the stiff, achy days at the end of the cycle are slowly extending. It used to just be the last 2-3 days. This time, it’s looking more like 15.

It’s easy for me to forget how awful I felt before this biologic because I’ve been well for almost a year, now, but these achy days remind me: YES, I was in pain. YES, I still have this disease. YES, that spot of scalp psoriasis is still my first sign something’s going on.

Unthinkingly, I put in several hours of hard work on Saturday and yesterday was rough—I woke up with puffiness and lines on my face I’ve never seen before. I spent the day feeling like I got hit by a truck and took a 3 hour nap after church.

Today’s a good bit better, but I’m taking it easy and watching season 3 of The Diplomat while I cross stitch. Thankful my husband has Mondays off so we can enjoy a slow day together. 💜

10/16/2025

Hey, friends - the AI Arthritis Foundation is looking for patient feedback on the affordability of high cost meds. I know our group has TONS of experience fighting to get our meds affordably, so this is your chance to share your frustrations in a way that might be productive!

Their goal is to ensure that future drug pricing laws in the US are designed with patients like us in mind. Your experiences can directly impact decisions made by state legislators—your voices are needed!

If you’d like to help, please take the survey here: bit.ly/PatientWhy (screenshot and click or use link in bio).

It takes about 10 minutes to finish, and you can remain anonymous. Deadline is October 31st. Any high-cost medication for ANY condition qualifies. You may take the survey more than once if you have multiple high-cost meds.

If you’d like, when it asks who referred you, please list Zebra Unicorn Project. 💜

10/12/2025

Living with psoriatic arthritis has been a journey of perseverance. I’ve been in so much pain that standing made me cry. I’ve been so exhausted I was afraid I might actually be dying. I’ve had periods when walking as far as the bathroom required courage, and getting down the stairs took monumental time and effort. The mental and emotional toll of losing my independence has been intense and overwhelming. It would be so easy for me to give up hope.

But I believe in grit, and I have a tenacious hold on optimism. I also have a family—five people who depend on me to be here for them, even if that means I can’t always do things in the same way I used to. I’ve had arthritis for 4 years, now, and in that time, I’ve doggedly refused to let arthritis win. I keep moving, keep working, keep traveling, keep living.

I’m 48. I have a lot of life left to live, and I intend to enjoy every minute of it I possibly can. What does life look like with arthritis? It looks like this. 👆⬆️

Happy World Arthritis Day! Keep celebrating life, hope, and perseverance.

10/09/2025

We’re building a house! Because I have arthritis, we’re spending a lot of time planning for mobility issues. When I flare, I have real issues functioning in our current home!

While I hope to never need some of these accommodations, using accessible and universal design should make our home beautiful and functional for everyone, and give me options in case my disease progresses.

Have you had to adapt your home for disability? What would you add to my planning list?

♿️

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Phoenix, AZ

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http://zebraunicornproject.wordpress.com/

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Jennifer Hunter - Chronic Illness Advocate

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