Real Arthritis Stories

Andie and almost 200 other people proved that small regular gains can make a difference if we work together.

I started Arthritis Moves again recently. The classes increase my fitness so I can walk to the bus stop and use public transport. You must keep doing things for yourself or you’ll develop learned helplessness.

It was pure joy standing on the start line, I had zero expectations and was simply happy to be doing what I love.

This financial support has made it possible to travel to all the training and games and I am very grateful for the assistance from The Arthritis Movement, thank you.

I first knew something was wrong when Amelia was 16 months old and couldn’t straighten her legs in the morning,’ said her mother Lisa. ‘She couldn’t walk properly, cried all day and all night and couldn’t play with her friends or at the park anymore.’

I first realised something was really wrong with me when I developed ankle pain in May last year. After seeing a physio for a few weeks, it was getting worse rather than better. I was eventually diagnosed in October with arthritis – different doctors refer to it as “spondyloarthritis”, “ankylosing spondylitis” or “seronegative arthritis”

The greatest challenge in having rheumatoid arthritis for me physically is having two naturally fused wrists and a foot joint which is basically the same. This has always gotten in my way, giving me excuses as to why I can do this or can’t do that.

Deidre’s arthritis story began in 2022 when she began feeling fatigued after a walk. In November, her knees began to give her a lot of pain and she would struggle to walk or stand for very long, until she found it difficult to stand in her kitchen to prepare dinner.