My name is Nicole Michelle Aldape.  I am seventeen years old; I live in Nashville, Tennessee, with my mom.  I have lived here for the past 10 years; I was born in California, but moved here when my dad got transferred, on account of his job.  (My dad is now dead; he died in a car wreck; I still miss him terribly.)

I am in the 11th grade at my high school; I do pretty good, all things considering.  (I miss a lot of school because I have juvenile rheumatoid arthritis; I sometimes have to go into the hospital for surgeries or for "flares", or when my disease is active.  It's a royal pain!)  I get A's, B's, and C's.

My best friend is Ronee' Reaux.  I've known her since we were seven (okay, she wasn't quite seven when we first met).  We met at Camp SteppingStone, which is a camp for kids ages 7-18 who have juvenile rheumatoid arthritis or any other serious muscularskeletal problems; we hit it right off the day we met.  I love Ronee' like the sister I wish I had; she and I get along great (most of the time).

When I am not hurting (which is most of the time, I'm afraid), I am like any other normal teenager.  I like to talk on the phone, play on the computer, write stories/poems, swim (this really helps with my range-of-motion; swimming is great for people who have problems like mine!), go to church (I go to St. Martin Catholic Church), visit the shut-ins with my mom on Saturdays after catechism), and read.  I like reading about ghosts and vampires the best.  I also love trashy teen romance novels.  LOL

I help out once a month with our church's soup kitchen.  That is, we feed the city's poor or homeless population; it is always rewarding to know that we are helping others who are in need.  I do the dishes or help with the potatoes, but I'd rather do the dishes; the hot water feels great on my joints, especially if they're giving me fits!

I can walk, but I use forearm crutches.  For longer trips, or if I have to go somewhere that requires a lot of walking, I use a wheelchair, as it's a lot easier on me.  My best friend sometimes uses her crutches, but since she had her hips/knees replaced, she walks on two canes instead; she does really well.  Sometimes I get jealous because she gets around a lot better than I do.

I never could get around that good.  I've never known what it is like to walk under my own power, without anything to assist me.  My joints are too bad; oh, I get 'em replaced, but in a period of five to ten years they go bad, and then I have to have 'em replaced with new ones made out of plastic and metal.  Then I have to worry about setting off alarms when I go to school or to places like the airport, which is highly embarrassing!!

People say I am an inspiration.  I don't know about that.  I'm just a typical teenaged girl who happens to live with chronic pain and/or disability.  I just try to go on the best way I possibly can, though at times it's hard.

If there's anyone people can learn from, it's my best friend Ronee', and also her brother, Johnny.  Johnny doesn't have arthritis, but he does have his own set of problems.  He has muscular dystrophy; he is in a wheelchair, and he has to use a respirator to breathe because his lungs have gotten weaker.  Yet even with all that going against him, Johnny is one of the happiest, bravest kids I know; nothing really gets him down, and he is fighting so hard to try to beat the demands his muscular dystrophy has put upon him.  He's already lived 12 years longer than doctors thought he would, so he must be doing something right!

Well, I gotta go.  I have homework to do.  Spanish and Latin; I do believe my teachers are purposely plotting to kill us!  (Sigh!)  I will write in here again another time; until later, this is Nicole Aldape saying so long!  God bless you and keep you well!

~Love, your friend in Tennessee, Nicole Michelle.  :)