Ramadan with IA
Ramadan with Rheumatoid Arthritis: Finding Balance Between Faith, Fatigue and Family Ramadan has always been a deeply meaningful time for me, a month of reflection, gratitude, and spiritual reset. But living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has changed the way I experience fasting. It has taught me something unexpected: that Ramadan is not about perfection, but […]
Charlie Robards – Living with Axial SpA
Living with axial SpA, an invisible illness: I have always loved sport and was lucky enough to have played most of them growing up. As a youngster, I was extremely driven and competitive — I simply had to win. All I wanted was to become a professional sportsman, especially in cricket. However, life […]
Mick’s Journey Through Gout and Polymyalgia Rheumatica
I’ve always been driven by a passion for staying active and embracing new challenges. From enjoying sports in school, playing squash and golf in early adulthood, to finding a deep connection with cycling to bond with my son in my 30s and beyond, activity has been my lifeline. Even now, at 76, I still race and am immensely proud […]
Katy’s Personal Journey – Part 2 Road to diagnosis
In the year leading up to my rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis, I was navigating an uncertain and frustrating path. The symptoms started subtly—stiffness in my hands during the mornings that made getting dressed or making tea difficult. At first, these moments felt isolated. By the time my workday began, I felt mostly fine, and I could […]
Katy’s personal journey – Part 1 Pre diagnosis
Growing up, movement and sport were the cornerstones of my life. From the moment I first donned tiny ballet shoes at age two, I fell in love with the joy of expression through dance. This passion extended into sports as I got older. At seven, I started playing short tennis, and it wasn’t long before […]
Debbie’s Personal Journey – Part 4 Where I am now
It is strange what having inflammatory arthritis does to you. The fluctuating nature of the disease is very much reflected in my life. There are times when I hate it, cry, and want to scream into a pillow. I have learnt it is OK to feel like this, it is normal, but it is how […]
Debbie’s Personal Journey – Part 3 Curveballs & a puppy!
Life on the whole was pretty good, I had given up my career to bring up my daughters. I loved picking them up from school everyday, taking them to all their clubs, parties. They had a much better social life than I did. I learnt to cope with the ups and downs of living with […]
Debbie’s Personal Journey – Part 2 How uni changed my life
Throughout the rest of my childhood many more joints were affected, both knees, hips, jaw and ankles. I was still given the same advice from doctors I just had to deal with it and get on with it. I did see an adult rheumatologist who had an interest in children. I remember feeling so uncomfortable […]
Debbie’s Personal Journey – Part 1 My childhood
I cannot remember a time when juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) was not a part of my life. It took many years to get a diagnosis, I was eventually diagnosed when I was eight years old and still affects me to this day. Throughout the years I have learnt how to live with it, I cannot […]
