Sam; he/him; Arnold Chiari Malformation
Rhupus is a combination of Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Lupus is an autoimmune disorder that can attack different areas of the body. Symptoms can include fatigue, joint pain, fever, rash, etc, and are typically chronic but worsen during "flare-ups". Although it is incurable there is medication that can be helpful for some. 1.5 Americans are thought to have lupus.
Rheumatoid Arthritis is an inflammatory autoimmune disease that targets the joints. With chronic pain as well as swelling, this disease tends to worsen over time. There is no cure, and it's thought to affect around 1.3 million Americans, 75% of which are female bodied.
During my discussion with this subject about her portrait she used the word "burrowing" to describe her painful symptoms. We landed on the wolf spider to represent them, which creates burrows in nature instead of webs.