Hi SKBE, glad to have you in our forum!
This is the best one I've found for sympathetic listeners.
As to whether your RA was caused by your Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, who knows...the immune system is still a vast mystery. It would be interesting to know, though, whether there is a higher incidence in those infected...My daughter-in-law has Lyme disease, and I recently heard about
a new tick-borne illness, Babesiosis, a relatively new and possibly fatal infection. Unlike Lyme disease, the infection doesn't show the target-like rash usually present in Lyme disease.
It could be you are just unlucky, and have been "blessed" with both of these afflictions. I was diagnosed at age 40 with UC, after a horrible bout of bleeding. I was sure I was dying of cancer or had some horrible parasite. Then, a few months later I was diagnosed with RA, sero-negative.
...Sure glad to have you in the forum! Hope you're doing OK, and be sure to post on here for any help and understanding. RA is an overwhelming illness, and sometimes you have to talk to someone who "knows where you're coming from".