Real Arthritis Stories

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. 

Judy has rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia. Judy was in her early 40s when she started getting pain in her lower back and hips. An x-ray revealed she had arthritis in her spine.

In March 2015, I woke up with a swollen and sore foot and a toe that looked like a sausage. Thinking I must have kicked it during the night, I continued with life as usual.