I have been incredibly lucky. On 4 October 2010 I was sitting with my husband in a consultants office being told that the lump on my breast was cancer. Thanks to all the thousands of people over the last 25 years who have walked, baked, cycled and done all kind of mad things  to raise huge amounts of money for breast cancer research and support charities, I am still here. 

The time has come for me to “Pay it Forward”.  I have known Lauren since before she was born.  She is the same age as my son, 26.  But their lives are very different.  Lauren has been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA).  Please read Lauren’s story.  I want to raise awareness and money to help those like Lauren who have to live with RA, a chronic disease that has many forms and no cure.  Please make a donation but also follow my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/MaggiesRATrek) to learn more about this disease and share the information with all your friends.  Thank you.

My Rheumatoid Arthritis Story - 1 January 2015

Sitting here sipping white wine and planning my wedding 225 days to go!! It's everything everyone always says, exciting, scary, stressful... But as well as everything else young couples deal with we live with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA).

I was diagnosed 6 months into our relationship and it changed everything overnight. Once we got over the shock of the diagnosis, we researched.

RA is  an autoimmune condition that makes the body attack its own cells as it would a germ or infection. This causes swelling, pain, fatigue and flu like symptoms. There can be constant symptoms, pain and fatigue, and then times where RA is very active. This is called a flare.

 My personal experiences of flares are scary. They can last anywhere from 48hrs to months at a time. During this time I am unable to do much for myself due to the pain and inability to use my hands due to swelling. Sometimes I sleep through it, only waking to have top up on pain medication. Other times I can't sleep at all, no matter what.

There are a lot of medications available for RA, but as of yet, NO CURE.

All of the medications aim to knock the immune system back to stop it overreacting and attacking it's own cells. This causes 'us' to become 'immunosuppressive' meaning a common cold can easily turn to a chest infection or pneumonia.

My mixture of 3 weekly infusions, weekly injections and daily pills keeps me able to work part time. I love my job, but it does mean that my fiancé has to pick up the pieces at home. Instead of me cooking everything from scratch and baking for him every week (as he got used to in our first year living together), he has had to take over the majority of cooking and cleaning in the house. He also regularly needs to get up in the night to get me painkillers.  

We have been told that my RA is as controlled as it can be with the medication that's currently available and I am so grateful with the improvement. However, we both know, one infection stops me being able to take my drugs, which very quickly cause my body to flare until I can retake my medication. But I hope, one day, people won't have to go through the things me and my family have. The last 4 years have been the hardest of my life. Without the support from the people I love I would have struggled to get by. But I hope and I pray that one day there will be a cure, and with your help, there could be.