katethealmostgreat on LTK

katethealmostgreat

I’ve loved getting into punch needle this last year. If you want to try it - especially this kit! - I’ve linked some beginner kits below. This one was so fun!

I’ve loved getting into punch needle this last year. If you want to try it - especially this kit! - I’ve linked some beginner kits below. This one was so fun!

Share:

Shop this post

Paid links

Tree Punch Needle Kit by Loops & Threads® in Null | 8" | Michaels® | Michaels Stores

Punch Needling Canvas Kit - Mondo Llama™: Needle Punch Craft Kit for Adults, Includes Yarn & Needle, Art & Design Theme | Target

Dog Punch Needle Kit by Creatology™ | Michaels® | Michaels Stores

Mountain Mini Punch Needle Kit - Diy For Beginners To Experts, Craft Includes Monks Cloth, Wool Yarn, Embroidery Hoop, & More | Etsy (US)

I’m Kate, a very chronically ill millennial living life to the fullest with 10+ illnesses. Make sure you’re following to see what I’ve found to make my life as good as possible.

#LTKselfcare

As it gets warmer, it’s important to stay hydrated! I need way more electrolytes than most people, and to help with that, I drink Cure. There are so many flavor varieties and they don’t taste like pure sodium. Whether you have POTS or are an athlete (or both), I strongly recommend Cure

#LTKActive

This is the face of coronary artery disease⁣
⁣
Yup, I have heart disease. ⁣
⁣
I've mentioned this in bits and pieces over the last year, but in 2025, I was diagnosed with coronary artery disease.To be clear, I have basically the lowest amount of artery calcification possible to still have heart disease, but I still have it. ⁣
⁣
Coronary artery disease is a complication of rheumatoid arthritis, as cholesterol can be increased by inflammation. As I hung around the border of coronary artery disease, I got COVID. ⁣
⁣
COVID is also an inflammatory condition, which is why research shows that COVID can increase risk of heart disease. ⁣
⁣
We're keeping an eye on it now, and increasing my cholesterol medication has helped keep my cholesterol down. Which is good because I already eat a pretty heart-healthy diet and exercise is tricky for me. ⁣
⁣
If you have an inflammatory condition like RA or Crohn's, you should know that that inflammation can contribute towards cholesterol levels and therefore heart disease, especially if you've had COVID (and every time you get it increases your risks). ⁣
⁣
⬛⁣
⁣
I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 10+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣
⬛⁣
⁣
ID: Kate takes a selfie. She's a white woman with auburn hair wearing a white sweater, silver Claddagh necklace, and pink glasses.⁣
⁣
#RheumatoidArthritis #CoronaryArteryDisease #HeartDisease #ChronicallyIll #AutoimmuneDisease

Mini Amazon haul 💃🏼 when you need skincare, pain relief, eye drops, and more all at once!

#LTKhaul #LTKselfcare

Walk OOTD! 40 degrees is practically balmy in Boston

#LTKootd

New month new calendar new goals! Checkout this calendar and other resources below 👇🏻

#LTKHome

Happy Saturday! I’m working on my next blog post while repping my home state, as one does. Get your own Maine flag gear below (along with some great compression gloves).

Work from home OOTD! All products linked below, although none of the colors match.

#LTKWorkwear #LTKootd

Blizzard conditions called for flannel on this WFH day! As a Mainer, I’m always stocked for this weather. Check out some of my favorite flannels below 👇🏻 and buy men’s for the coziest fit!

#LTKootd #LTKWorkwear

Some products I have because I have rheumatoid arthritis/disease

Working on something so great I had to censor it 😜

#LTKdayinmylife

Another yoga session in the books 💆‍♀️

Video: Kate’s leg on a mat. A pink blanket is also on it. Kate’s hand lifts a pink water tumbler and and sets it down

#LTKfitnessgoals #LTKselfcare

Long weekend in February calls for making chicken pot pie soup 😍 This was truly so delicious, plus gluten free. Get the cookbook it’s from + my favorite tools for cooking with rheumatoid arthritis below!

Video: panning across a table with ingredients and tools for cooking. Music plays

#LTKfoodie

🍞 Week 6 of 2026 Weekly 🍞

1️⃣ I’ve been making bread for ~10ish years and this is the best loaf I have ever made in that time. I’m very proud of it!
2️⃣ Current embroidery project is basically doodling, which is fun!
3️⃣ Ended the week with reading for fun ☺️

⬛

I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 10+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

⬛

IDs:
1️⃣ A loaf of bread in a bread pan on a stove
2️⃣ An in-progress embroidery project on a blue bedspread. There’s a box of embroidery floss and another with embroidery supplies.
3️⃣ Kate takes a selfie lying on her bed. She’s a redheaded white woman wearing a green sweatshirt and pink glasses and she’s holding a Kindle.

#GlutenFreeBaking #PunchNeedle #RheumatoidArthritis #Fibromyalgia

#LTKselfcare #LTKfoodie

Yoga is the only form of exercise that I can do even on my bad days. I’m trying to reincorporate it to my daily life, even in small doses. It’s also proven to improve quality of life for both people with rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia.

Video: a sped up video of Kate doing yoga. There are a couple text boxes talking about how good yoga can be and how you can get some of my favorite supplies by looking below

#LTKselfcare #LTKActive

As seen on my most recent blog post! I’ve spent lots of time reading recently, and nothing is better than reading with a hot drink. Get this mug for the book lover in your life!

#LTKselfcare

The Internet is great for a lot of things, but one of them is the fact that when I wanted to try crafting again, I was able to find more accessible options. ⁣
⁣
Growing up and through college, I loved crafting. I was on crutches a lot in high school, and I would paint them. I tried all sorts of crafting, and I was able to do it a lot longer than I was playing instruments. But my RA - or rather my difficulty in properly pacing - caught up eventually, and when I had my physical breakdown and moved back to New England, I stopped. ⁣
⁣
I wanted to get back into crafting, and I've always wanted to do embroidery, so when the Internet introduced me to punch needling, I was sold. Honestly, my biggest motivator for not overdoing it on my new hobby is the fact that I enjoy it so much and I would be upset if I overdid it and had to stop. ⁣
⁣
It still hurts that playing instruments - any of the ones I played for years - hurts me. I'm determined that the only reason I will stop a hobby is if I get bored of it, and not that RA or any of my other illnesses gets in the way. ⁣
⁣
◾⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣
⁣I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate. Follow me for more content for chronic illness patients and their loved ones!⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣
◾⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣
⁣
ID: An in-progress embroidery project on a blue bed next to open container of yarn and embroidery floss. ⁣
⁣
#AlmostGreatHealth #AlmostGreatLife #rheumatoidarthritis #RA #rheum #rheumatoiddisease #arthritis #curearthritis #chronicillness #chronicpain #spoonielife #autoimmune #autoimmunedisease #autoimmunearthritis #arthritiswarrior #arthritisawareness #rheumatoidarthritiswarrior

Week 44 of #2025Weekly ⁣
⁣
1️⃣ Started the week with refilling my pill boxes ⁣
2️⃣ My meal prepping is often not pretty in a picture, but sometimes it is⁣
3️⃣ IVIG! There’s a lot I can’t show because my personal medical information is allll over it but just know that there is a lot of this ⁣
4️⃣ Ended the week with more tests 🫀⁣
⁣
◾ ⁣
⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 10+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ . ⁣
⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣◾ ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣
⁣
ID: ⁣
1️⃣ 3 pill boxes stacked on top of each other⁣
2️⃣ A bowl of food. It's kale, quinoa, sweet potatoes, and sundried tomatoes.⁣
3️⃣ A bunch of medical supplies in plastic on a gauze underpanel. There are some drawings over parts of it for privacy.⁣
4️⃣ A hospital wall with an art installation of anatomical heart scultupres.⁣
⁣
#AlmostGreatHealth #AlmostGreatLife #ChronicallyIll #RheumatoidArthritis #RheumatoidDisease #Autoimmune #ButYouDontLookSick #AutoimmuneDisease #SpoonieLife #InvisibleIllness #Fibromyalgia #SjogrensSyndrome #POTS #CoronaryArteryDisease #HeartDisease

CHRONIC ILLNESS TO-DO LIST⁣⁣
⁣
Living with chronic illness is more than "just" the symptoms and the appointments. Here are the things I have to do to feel just sort of not awful: ⁣⁣⁣
▪ Drink 80-120 oz of water⁣⁣⁣
▪ Consume 5-8 grams of sodium (sadly not an exaggeration)⁣
⁣⁣▪ Take pills 4+ times a day⁣
⁣⁣▪ Take an inhaled medication 2x a day⁣⁣⁣
▪ Don't miss a dose or a day⁣⁣⁣
▪ Sleep 8-12 hours a night⁣
⁣⁣▪ Move a little bit each day⁣
⁣⁣▪ Eat healthy (without gluten, dairy, corn, soy, or egg)⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣▪ Keep an eye on my mental health (and manage it as possible)⁣⁣⁣
▪ Stay on top of my doctor's appointments ⁣
⁣▪ Work 30-36 hours a week to have health insurance⁣
⁣
It's no wonder I get overwhelmed sometimes! ⁣⁣What's on your chronic illness to-do list?⁣⁣⁣
⁣
◾ ⁣
⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 10+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣. ⁣
⁣
◾ ⁣⁣
⁣
ID: Kate and Harley the golden retriever hugging. Kate is a redheaded white woman wearing a black dress, pink sweater, and round pink glasses.

Week 1 of #2026Weekly - a bit delayed because of high pain over the weekend⁣
⁣
1️⃣ First appointment of the year! Got an iron infusion AND my veins cooperated for the IV - a great way to start the year⁣
2️⃣ Iron infusion 2; IV did not cooperate as much but still a success ⁣
⁣
IDs: ⁣
1️⃣ Kate in an infusion chair. She’s a redheaded white woman wearing a shirt with the old Maine flag on it, a blue mask, pink glasses, and blue headphones. ⁣
2️⃣ The Boston skyline at evening ⁣
⁣
#ChronicallyIll #AutoimmuneDisease #Boston