I'm running the London Marathon for NRAS and for my Mum who suffers from Rheumatoid Arthritis and in her own words here's a brief outline on how Rheumatoid Arthritis has changed her life completely.

 "Rheumatoid Arthritis or RA first took its grip of me in 2002.  I went to bed feeling fine, and when I got up in the morning I immediately collapsed in agony. I can only describe it as if every bone in my feet had been broken. My hands were affected too. I discovered this when I tried to turn the doorknob on the bedroom door, but my hands were so stiff and weak, that it was just impossible

At the time of diagnosis, my GP told me that this disease is chronic and incurable. I was shocked, scared and devastated, and that I may end up in a wheelchair a few years down the line. I broke down into tears and disbelief. Then came the hard part: living with it. RA is complex and unpredictable, and not one minute is the same. It strikes joints and tissues, and it causes pain and disability – sometimes without warning.

The RA journey thereafter is a roller-coaster ride. A life with physical pain, lack of energy, chronic fatigue and stress.This crippling monster has taken away a lot from my life. As it takes away, it brings pain, disappointment, isolation, depression, fears, despair and guilt - all of these are the scariest aspect of RA – flood of negative emotions!  People look at you with expectations you can’t meet and its difficult to manage that on top everything.

RA is hard!!!!  And  because public awareness is low, people with rheumatoid arthritis are often misunderstood. Many suffer in silence. 

Please donate and make a difference – we need more research done into this awful debilitating illness…."