Thank you @metametheus for creating a post that really makes you contemplate about your perspective, in this case what sickness/illness means to you and how you would characterize it.

For question #1: Which of the patients has RA?
Response: They both do. I know I'm not picking one or the other, but I believe that they both do have the medical condition of Rheumatoid Arthritis. Each patient is different and unique especially in the treatment of their medical ailment. One is being treated with WM and the other is using a combination of WM and TCM. Even with the advancements in medicine through science there is still a lot we don't know. I think that a combination of quantitative and qualitative factors should be considered in the diagnosis of a patient. Both had initially shown the same observable symptoms through subjective and objective observations (stiffness and pain). I would ask was their any deformities in either patient's hands? As well as were there any imaging test done to see the physical change in bone structure or etc. I know that imaging test are not necessarily a definite tool in the prognosis of the medical condition, but it can help with the monitoring of the progression of the condition over time.

Question #2: When you imagine your own health complaint, how do you characterize it, how do you represent it?
Response: When I see my primary care physician (PCP) I tell her about the symptoms I was feeling. For instance most recently, about a 2 weeks ago, I saw my doctor and I told her this is exactly "For the past couple of days I have been experiencing body-aches, fever on and off for a couple of days, feeling very lethargic...super tired, coughing, my throat is sore, I'm producing dark yellow-brown mucus, chills, head & chest congestion, and I have a headache. I've been taking Tylenol for the fevers and OTC DayQuil syrup for the cough and sore throat." I try to be as descriptive to my physician as much as possible when I present to her "how I'm feeling".

Question #3: When you are sick, do you believe you have an illness, or merely suffering from a number of symptoms?
Response: I think it's a combination of the both. For instance, if I have the flu then unfortunately I will be suffering from the symptoms that are associated from that illness. Symptoms are merely a physical expression of how your body is coping or trying to deal with the foreign organism or virus within yourself. Like a fever, it occurs because your body is trying to kill the viruses or bacteria that are sensitive to high temperatures.

Just to put it out there, I'm not a medical professional like a physician, PA, ARNP, EMT, or etc. These are just my personal opinions based on my experience in the medical field as an Administrator in a private medical practice and assisting the doctor when needed over the past decade.

Thanks again @metametheus for the great post :)