I was diagnosed with arthritis back in 2018, when I was just 23. Initially I thought the hospital had got it wrong. How could someone so young, healthy, and fit be diagnosed with something elderly people get? However, over the coming weeks and months I realised that arthritis is not just something ‘old’ people get! Arthritis can affect anyone, at any time, at any age and it was very much affecting me. From here on in, my biggest challenge was accepting the fact that I, a young woman, will be battling arthritis for the rest of my days.

People don’t understand

People don’t understand what arthritis is. I didn’t understand what it meant to have arthritis. It’s not just a sore joint that feels stiff. Arthritis is always there. Tiring. Relentless. Debilitating.  For a long time, I felt confused, alone and scared. Very scared. How do you cope with such life changing news? How should you feel? How do you tell people you have something you don’t quite understand? What will my life look like twenty years from now? I didn’t know the answers to any of these questions, no one could answer them for me and so I decided to run. When I ran I felt invincible as if there was no problem at all, in my mind I had almost convinced myself that if I could run I surely couldn’t have arthritis. However I quickly learnt that running away from my problems was a race I was never going to win. Struggling to find the right medication, battling with regular flares and fighting with my body, running started to become almost impossible.

However a couple of months later, I saw an article in our local newspaper about a lady, with arthritis, who was running the London Marathon. I read her story and felt overcome with emotions, if she could do it perhaps there was a chance I could return to running too. Her story reminded me that although with conditions like arthritis there are days when things feel so very difficult, with the right support, guidance, medication and determination things can get better.  Her story gave me the wake up call I needed. Although at that moment in time I couldn’t do things such as run, that didn’t mean I would never be able to run again. It was in that moment that I realised everything could change, that I could run again and perhaps achieve my childhood dream of running the London Marathon.

Ready to move forward

Up until this point speaking out about my condition was something I had very much shied away from, perhaps because of the realness I felt when speaking to others about my disease. However, inspired by the courageousness of those around me and other arthritis warriors,  I felt ready to move forward, accept my diagnosis, accept the support from those around me, learn to listen to my body and most importantly hold on to HOPE….. Hope that things can and will get better.

And so years later, I am now back running. Initially it was hard, I had to learn to take baby steps and listen to my body which sounds easier than it was! During lockdown, alongside my friend, we set ourselves a challenge to run 100km in 10 days to raise money for NHS Grampian who, since my diagnoses, have gone over and above with the support, care, and encouragement they have provided me with, particularly my local GP practice. It hasn’t been an easy journey but by holding on to hope I am now ready to take on the almighty challenge of running the  London Marathon. Running the London Marathon is not only a huge personal achievement but also an opportunity to spread awareness about the realities of living with arthritis especially as a young adult.

You can do what ever you hope to do

Over time I have learnt to no longer allow arthritis to place limitations on what I can do and achieve. I know that some days will be hard and that’s okay. I know that some days I can’t do what I hoped to be able to do and that’s okay. I know that even when I feel as though everything is falling apart, that’s okay too because things can and will get better.  I hope that by telling my story someone out there might feel inspired to get back to something they love and realise that you are not defined by arthritis. You can do whatever you hope to do!

I wanted to end with a quote which I think sums up my journey so far:

‘F.E.A.R has two meanings:

Forget Everything And Run or Face Everything And Rise!’

Hopefully from reading my story you’ll know which meaning of F.E.A.R I chose to follow.