This May, me and my lovely dog Tarka 🐶 are part of the NASS Paws team taking part in the Walk Your AS Off challenge to raise awareness about axial SpA, and vital funds to transform the diagnosis and care of people living with axial SpA.

A condition which has impacted my family, Axial spondyloarthritis (axial SpA) affects an estimated 270,000 people in the UK. What is Axial SpA? (No it’s not a dinosaur 🦕🦖) Axial SpA is an inflammatory disease of the spine and joints. Inflammation where muscles attach to the bones, causes extreme pain. If left untreated, it can permanently fuse bones together. It’s an invisible and misdiagnosed condition. Often leaving people feeling powerless, in increasing pain and extreme exhaustion.

Progress to Mars

Walk Your AS Off is a virtual step challenge organised by Walk AS One, a volunteer-led organisation based in the US that motivates the global axial SpA (AS) community to raise awareness about the condition.

They’ve walked around the globe. And they’ve walked to the Moon! Now our aim is to collect enough steps to walk to Mars! This is the ten-year goal of walk AS one. Why 10 years? Well, because the average length from symptom onset to diagnosis of Ankylosing Spondylitis globally is 10 years! This is too long, and just one of the reasons why they raise awareness.

Tarka and I will be doing as many steps we can every day in may to raise awareness of axial SpA and to support the NASS charity with the hope of quicker diagnosis of axial SpA!

Thank you for your support ❤️