True stories
Future proofing my home has taken away the fear of tomorrow so I can enjoy today to the full, Kate Nash explains
There is no denying that Kate Nash OBE is an incredibly determined woman. She is best known for her work as a disability rights activist and her support for employers during their journey to becoming disability-confident. But she is also one of the 10 million people in the UK living with arthritis. Continue reading
Osteoporosis is absolutely not the end of the world and has not deterred me from doing anything that I want to do, says Suzanne Hewitt from Wolverhampton
I developed osteoporosis in pregnancy when I was in my thirties, which is very rare so my journey to diagnosis was long and difficult. It began in the third trimester of my pregnancy, when I started experiencing hip ache and back ache, which I put down to a normal effect of pregnancy. But when I was delivering my son, the epidural had no effect on the pain in my hips and back, and after he was born I was in excruciating pain. Continue reading
Arthritis is like Gene Langford’s garden: hard work, time and the right weather make it grow, reports Linda Geist
Gene Langford checks the temperature in his small greenhouse at Crooked Lane Farm
Gene Langford, aged 67 years, is one of the 52.2 million people in the US who have arthritis. Due to the physical and relentless nature of their work, farmers are particularly affected by osteoarthritis, with some 30% experiencing the joint degenerating disease. Continue reading
Coping with motherhood, psoriatic arthritis and osteoarthritis in her early forties has been an uphill struggle, but Kate Thouless is determined to make the most of family life
I first started having pains in my knees following the birth of my eldest daughter in 2008. I went to the doctor about a year later who referred me to a physiotherapist as I was unable to sleep most nights due to the pain. For a while I was symptom-free but during my second pregnancy (in 2011) I experienced pelvic pain and the knee pain seemed to return with a vengeance about 18 months later. Continue reading
Having autoimmune disease has been difficult but in many ways has enhanced my life, explains Julie Jo Koehler
I was diagnosed with systemic lupus in March 2010 although I’d certainly had symptoms for many years before then. My diagnosis was finally made after I broke out in hives in reaction to the sun, had three miscarriages due to blood clotting issues resulting from lupus and pernicious anaemia (vitamin B12 deficiency).
Nerve damage in the form of mononeuritis multiplex has been a consequence of lupus. Walking became horribly painful, issues with my carpal tunnel meant that my hands were sore too and very soon I had to reduce my hours; I’m a 53 year old graphic designer from Phoenix in the US. Continue reading
