Have you ever heard of the Six degrees of separation (also referred to as the "Human Web")? The human web refers to the idea that, if a person is one step away from each person they know and two steps away from each person who is known by one of the people they know, then everyone is at most...six steps away from any other person on Earth. I wanted to test this theory with my new book. There are 48 million people who have some form of arthritis My new book: A Complete Illustrated Guide to Cooking with Arthritis. shows ways to prepare foods using items around the house. I suffer from five forms of arthritis and a birth injury. I have worked very hard to not allow it to stop me from pursuing my dreams. Actually, I never thought of myself as any differnt than anyone else, but I am. Pain was stopping me from living my life.  I developed my first form of arthritis in my early twenties. That was over 23 years ago. When the doctor informed me I had RA, I was not sure what it was. I quickly realized that it was an extremely painful and debilitating disease that I would have for the rest of my life - a disease that would steal my life as I knew it, if I allowed it to. At first I felt robbed, then depressed and then really mad. I was mad at everyone and everything. Of course the pity parties were not far behind nor was the hundred pounds I gained. As the years passed, so did my life. So, I got so depressed and then really mad at myself, once again, but this time it was different. This mad was fueled by shear determination. Determination to take back my life. I began the battle of my life. I lost the weight the whole 100 pounds. I began to not only help myself but to help others as well. I quickly saw the need to reinvent my entire life. I began to develop new ways to live with even more disability than I was born with. I found cooking to be almost impossible on bad days. However, when you have a family, not feeding them is not  an option. So I started using things around my house to complete each kitchen task. For example, plant stands with wheels became one of my most useful tools for transporting everything from babies to water. The weight of my body was my most powerful weapon. I used it to cut vegetables and open doors. Then, as Oprah says, I had a light bulb moment. I wanted to share my arthritis tips with others like myself. So I wrote the book. I was also tired of people not knowing what RA is. So I came up with the idea to use the six degrees of seperation to make the public aware of just how dangerious RA and other forms of arthritis are.. My goal is to walk across America via the Internet. I want to touch the hearts of all in need. So I ask you...please do not allow me to stop. Please send this page to all of your friends around the world. Help me to help others. I may stumble but I will never fall. As for the six degrees, I think it would be fun to see who you are six steps away from. Add your Name to the comments section of this page, and the name of the person you hope to be only six steps away from, and then ask your friends to view it and also do the same, tell your friends to ask their friends to pass the word along to their friends, then stop back to see how close you are to whom. By doing this, it will allow you to see just who you are six steps away from. Please pass it forward and allow me to keep walking across the country helping those in need. As I said, I may stumble but I promise to never fall. If you would like to help in my fight against arthritis visit my web page and join myself and others like me in the fight for our lives.

Melinda Winner Animated walking around the world. Please share this, do not let me stop! Push the send button to your friends and give Me a little boost.