2007 - Vol. 4, Issue 1

I had the pleasure of interviewing Robin Mayhall for this month's StaffShot. Robin lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and has always been a writer.

Robin is a public relations practitioner who writes speculative fiction and poetry in her spare time. Her poetry has appeared in Strange Horizons, ChiZine, Astropoetica, Scifaikuest and Ultraverse, as well as in Breath & Shadow. She has a website at http://www.hieran.com. We're glad she shares her talents with us at Breath & Shadow. Here's what she had to say.

CK: Let's start with the basics. Do you have a mate? Children? Pets?

RM: No mate, no kids. I like kids, but it just seems my life was not destined for marriage and motherhood. I do like animals, especially cats. I have four former foster kitties — Mulder, Buster, Queenie and Minya — who are essentially like my babies. When I was a bit more physically able, I used to foster cats and kittens for my local Feral Cat Coalition group. Now, I still try to help homeless animals by volunteering for the Capital Area Animal Welfare Society, doing publicity and PR for them.

I recently became a first–time homeowner, so I live with my cats in a nice little two bedroom condo. I also have a nephew who just turned one — my brother's little boy. I'm his godmother as well as his obnoxiously doting aunt.

CK: Can you tell me about your disability and how it has impacted your life?

RM: I have rheumatoid arthritis. I was diagnosed in 1991, during my senior year in college. In July of 1990, I took a trip to Washington, D.C., and stayed in a dorm at Georgetown that was normally closed for the summer. I was bitten by a spider while I was there, and I am convinced that's what triggered the RA. My hand swelled up for a few days, then got better for a while. But in October it swelled up again, and that time it didn't go away. I ended up having exploratory surgery, and while I was still in stitches from that, one of my knees suddenly swelled up. The orthopedic surgeon referred me to a rheumatologist, and by the time I saw him in December my joints were swollen, very hot, and painful.

He initially diagnosed me with unspecified arthritis, but after a lot of bloodwork, X-rays, and more time, he became certain it was RA. I remember taking the diagnosis fairly well, because I honestly didn't know what was in store for me. A long–anticipated trip to Disney World in a wheelchair, was my first real experience at the way disabled people are treated.

For the first seven or eight years after I was diagnosed I took naproxen, prednisone, and methotrexate, a chemotherapy drug originally developed for cancer. It suppresses the immune system, which helps to slow down the immune system's attack on the joints in RA.

At the eight–year point I started having more and more problems and stopped responding to the methotrexate. I tried just about every other drug available at the time between 1997 and 2002. During that time I had both knees replaced, and my prednisone dose was greatly increased so that I started having all the side effects of long–term steroid use. I now have severe osteoporosis and have broken several bones including both hips. I had my left hip replaced in 2004, and the right one in 2005. I am very happy to say that 2006 was my first full year since 1998 in which I was not in a hospital for any reason!

Before my diagnosis, I didn't know people my age could get arthritis. I didn't know anything about RA or how it was different from other forms of arthritis. My mother signed us up with the Arthritis Foundation, and I learned that the most common group diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis is women in their early twenties.

Information helped me manage the symptoms of my condition and the side effects of my many medications. It also helped me more than anything to know that I was not alone. Just when I thought no one else could ever have experienced these weird symptoms I was having, I'd get my latest issue of Arthritis Today and read a whole article about it.

Then there's the emotional trauma of becoming more and more disabled, and watching one's body deteriorate. I have some pretty spectacular scars from all the orthopedic surgeries. I have become a strong advocate for pain management and greater awareness and education about effective pain control for medical professionals. It's long past time to remove the stigma that society, including doctors, places on the use of narcotic medications, especially for chronic pain.

A particularly difficult experience for me was losing a job in 2001, partly because of my illness. I had always excelled at work and been a valued employee. I felt like a real failure. Now I work at Blue Cross and Blue Shield as a writer in the corporate communications department, and my boss and coworkers are extremely supportive.

On the negative side, my brother and sister–in–law don't trust me to baby–sit my nephew. They are worried I'll fall (I've had two falls in the past six years), or not be able to handle him. It breaks my heart, makes me feel very incompetent, like I'm defective.

On the plus side, I finally seem to have found a new RA drug that works well for me. Humira is an injectable drug, but I only have to take the shot once a week, and it doesn't have any side effects that I can tell.

CK: What do you like to do for fun?

RM: I have two main hobbies. One is writing science fiction poetry and short stories, particularly "scifaiku" or science fiction haiku. The other is playing ClanLord, an online multiplayer fantasy game. It probably eats up too much of my time, but it's a lot of fun, and I've met some real–life friends in its virtual world.

CK: How did you get into writing?

RM: I have written down stories literally since I can remember. My parents have old "stories" of mine written when I could barely hold a pen. I've always been smitten with words.

Two wonderful teachers also deserve credit. My fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Florida, encouraged me to turn the negative energy I had as a result of my parents splitting up into creative projects, and my eighth–grade writing teacher, Mrs. Borne, really solidified my writing interests. She not only praised and encouraged my writing; she was the first person who planted the notion in my head that I might make a living from writing in some way.

CK: If money wasn't a concern, what would you do?

RM: Write full–time and do more charity work. I am heavily Involved with the Arthritis Association of Louisiana, a fledgling local nonprofit that is struggling to try to fill the gap left by the national Arthritis Foundation pulling out of our state.

CK: Now, some quick, short–answer, profile–type questions. Favorite book(s)?

RM: The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Watership Down, the Outlander trilogy (a historical romance series with a touch of the supernatural), Rebecca, The Sun Also Rises, and most anything by Stephen King.

CK: Favorite movie(s)?

RM: Amadeus, Gladiator, the Lord of the Rings movies, The Silence of the Lambs.

CK: What makes you happy?

RM: Being with friends and family, especially my baby nephew; cuddling with my cats; volunteering/helping others; writing, especially poetry; a job well done.

CK: What makes you angry?

RM: Injustice, discrimination, unfairness, being taken advantage of or seeing someone take advantage of others who are vulnerable.

CK: Chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry?

RM: Definitely chocolate!