The photo of my costume seemed to make people smile, so I thought I'd spread the joy, and run around my town dressed as Dobby. I'll do at least 10km on local roads, it might be slow due to a foot injury but that just means more people will see me!

As well as hopefully bringing a smile to a few peoples faces I thought I'd try and raise a bit of money for charity too.

NAAS is a charity close to my heart as its the only charity in the UK that is dedicated to transforming axial spondyloarthritis care, a condition which my husband suffers from.

The charity is experiencing a much greater demand for its services in the current climate with 4 times more calls and emails than usual. 

AS takes on average 8.5 years to diagnose. (Yes you read that right.... Eight and a half years!!!). The charity want to slash this to three years. 

The charity aim to empower everyone with axial spondyloarthritis to manage their treatment and to stay in control of their lives. They are driven to ensure that health professionals around the UK deliver tailored and timely care to every patient, every time.

AS a painful, progressive form of inflammatory arthritis. It mainly affects the spine but can also affect other joints, tendons and ligaments.

Other areas such as the eyes and bowel can also sometimes be involved.

Inflammation occurs at the site where ligaments or tendons attach to the bone

- The inflammation is followed by some wearing away of the bone at the site of the attachment. 

- As the inflammation reduces, healing takes place and new bone develops. Movement becomes restricted when bone replaces the elastic tissue of ligaments or tendons

- Repetition of this inflammatory process leads to further bone formation and the individual bones which make up your backbone (vertebrae) can fuse together

59% of people with AS report experiencing mental health problems compared to 25% of those with musculoskeletal conditions overall. 

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.