Beautiful and courageous post, @veckinon.
Reporting on your lived experience both informs us about the specific challenges associated with ankylosing spondylitis and lays bare the process of acceptance of personal challenges. Such first person narratives are so much more compelling than third person prescriptive statements like "To deal with X, you should do Y and Z" offered by "experts." In the quest for objectivity, the latter can sound preachy and emotionally detached. Sharing your subjective shared experience engages us emotionally and inspires us to consider how we can adapt your learnings to the different challenges we all face.
As others have said, I honor your courage and vulnerability in sharing this story.
I agree. There is a power in story-telling that cannot be matched by reciting facts and statistics. As a more 'science-orientated' person, I sometimes forget how powerful and (as @meno mentioned) healing this can be. Thanks for checking it out and joining in on the conversation.