Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.Millions of people wake up with arthritis every morning and face the day in pain, without the support and recognition they deserve. Arthritis attacks what it means to live, and people with arthritis are often left to manage alone.Versus Arthritis invests in breakthrough treatments, the best information and vital support for everyone affected by arthritis. Please sponsor me so that together we can overcome the pain, isolation and fatigue of arthritis.... this is my story of what the last 29yrs has been like living with this disease.

At the age of 10 I was diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis in my right knee, as I hit my early teens the disease had spread to my feet, hands and wrists. Effecting most of the small joints and causing my young teenage life to be full of physiotherapy, consultant appointments and not being able to join in and do what other kids could do due to my restricted movements, pain and often having my hands and legs in splints.

I was on methotrexate from the age of 14 and this helped to give me some day to day normality, attend school and start to do some pysical activity. This really helped me as staying active helped me to keep the weight off and I seemed to have a remission period as the drugs worked. At the age of 18 it was then diagnosed that the arthritis had now also spread to my left shoulder and neck and my spine, I had developed a dropped shoulder and underwent physio, I had started to develop rheumatoid arthritis in my hips and elbows and some of the uneffected joints in my hands/ feet. I wanted to be a nurse, and while at college i worked in a nursing home where being on your feet all day was the norm and things like lifting laws didnt exist. Then boom My consultant told me "need to change jobs or you'll be in a wheelchair at the age of 30, your body just can't do this type of work" I was devastated. 

So I changed jobs, got a nice office job where I was sat down and I spent my 20s living on medication and just getting on with life, I was luckily I had a few years remission (odd flare ups) but for most of my 20s and in to my early 30s it was ok. Around 5 yrs ago it came back with all it's force. I was placed on weekly injections as new medication, as methotrexate wasn't working, I wasn't able to exercise and a problem that started in my late teens got much worse, my toes on both my feet became so deformed like hammer toe is the best way to describe it now become such an issue my husband and I had to start looking for us to purchase a wheelchair for holidays as I no longer could walk any distance or spend a great deal of time on my feet. I could manage day to day at home but I was slow, in pain and didn't really go anywhere. It destroyed simple things like a night out with friends or walking the dogs and really got me down so I finally gave in and took the offer of surgery on my feet to have my toes broken and fused straight.

Once this was done on my right foot I set the goal to start running. Just a 5k in 45 mins, and I did it 2 weeks before I was due to have my left foot operated on, same procedure however sadly it's not been as successful, a risk i knew, and now I can't run further than 5k continuously but what I can do is run walk run (RWR) or jeffing. Since May 2018, I've completed 5ks, 10ks, 5 mile race,10 mile trainings and I did my first half marathon in May. I have to manage my condition with medication before a race and during (all guided by my GP)

This year I want to RWR the GNR for a charity that is so very close to my heart, without the research and support they do, my last 29yrs of having this disease would have been much harder if they hadn't found new treatments, I also want to show other suffers it doesn't always control your life.. it will the day after the race but I accept that too and love a movie day in bed just resting. Thank you for reading my story and supporting me.