Hey guys,

Welcome to my long over due fundraising page!!! I'm running the marathon for Arthritis Research Campaign (ARC), and as many of you guys know this is a charity that I hold close to my heart (and my joints).

My story with arthritis started when I was 18... I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. At the time I had no idea what it was or how it was going to affect me. All I knew was....the next day I was moving into halls and gonna party with University Chicks (I had a dream!!!).

To be honest with you, it caught me completely off guard, before all this happened I was chilling like anyone my age...loved my sport and was absolutely nutty about dancing. Over the summer things changed, it started off as aches and pains, then one morning I woke up and really struggled to get out of bed. Later on....it almost became routine for my mum to help me out of bed, get changed and even help me eat. In Uni, my brother stayed with me and carried on the helping me, he was practically my carer (thanks Dan). Over the next couple months I had seen a specialist and started treatment...

4 years later...I'm still mad about dancing, playing more sport than ever...and generally a lot happier. In my opinion I was a lucky one, I had such good friends and an amazing family that helped me out through the tough times.

There are still so many people that aren't as lucky as I was. The work ARC have supported has seen advances in medicine that 10 years ago people thought impossible. At the moment there isn't a "cure" and for arthritis sufferers there will always be those bad days...but by supporting Arthritis Research Campaign maybe one day Arthritis will be just a bad memory.

Thank you so much for your Support,

Love,
Jo