By Charis Hill, as told to Susan Bernstein
I was diagnosed with axial spondyloarthritis in 2013 at the age of 26. I had symptoms, though, as young as age 13 and probably earlier than that. Getting a diagnosis takes something like 8-12 years for women and even longer for Black women. I was socialized as a girl, so I was diagnosed as a woman, but now, I identify as non-binary. I call myself “professionally disabled,” and I am proud of being disabled. It’s an identity.
I have a lot of low back pain, as well as hip pain at the joints, and…
