Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page! 

I am running the Cardiff half marathon on October 1st 2017 in order to raise awareness and money for the research and treatment of Ankylosing Spondylitis, which is a chronic form of athritis in the spine where the spine itself and various other areas of the body become inflamed. Ankylosing spondylitis tends to first develop in teenagers and young adults. It's also around three times more common in men than in women.

I, myself am not a sufferer of ankylosing spondylitis, but that doesn't mean it doesn't affect my life. In February 2016 I met Jordan and we started dating. As I got to know Jordan better, I also was able to understand AS and how much it can affect someone's life. I learned how every day was a struggle, some days were better than others and some days were worse, but every day presented him with a new challenge. Even taking all the prescribed medication, Jordan would still get up every morning with aches and pains which would affect all different areas of his body, not only his back, but his neck, eyes and legs as well as causing sleepless night and extreme tiredness. Sometimes the pain would be so bad that it was almost impossible for Jordan to walk and even sitting down would be a struggle

After countless trips to see specialists and the medication not helping enough , Jordan was offered the enbrel injections, which is an anti inflammatory injection that reduces the symptoms of AS. The difference is incredible! The aching painful news and stiffness of his joints is virtually gone. No more sleepless nights and painful mornings and no more struggles when walking. It has literally changed Jordan's life and it's amazing to see him no longer struggle. 

The research into ankylosing spondylitis is not funded from the government at all so all the money they have to research is from people fundraising and donating. This is why I want to raise money and awareness for AS, so that more research can be done into the treatment and cure of it so that hopefully more lives can be improved just as fantastically and dramatically as it did to Jordan's. 

Thank you again for taking the time to read my JustGiving story.