Wondering where I go from here

With this in mind I thought I'd tell you about the work I do for AC.

When I was 11 I went to a meeting at the Cannock branch of Arthritis Care with my Mum.  My friend Chris was there who at that point was looking into starting a group up for younger people.   In those days we had Young Arthritis Care, a sub charity which ran along side the main charity.

I didn't really have much contact with Chris and the others until much later when somehow I was asked to do some radio interviews on behalf of Arthritis Care and Chris sent me some information to help me through it.  My Mum, Dad and I took a trip to Bush house in London where BBC World Service is broadcast from...yes I was 15 and I was on BBC World Service!  The program was called Megamix and was dedicated to teenagers and the issues that affect them.  The program was broadcast to around 40 million people worldwide.  The interview was with a guy from Blue Peter and took around 10 minutes.  I could see my Mum and Dad's faces through the window to the side of the studio and I think they were pretty proud of me.  It all went very well and I was very pleased with how it went.

Over the next few years I was involved in Arthritis Care by doing some radio interviews for local stations including Radio Stoke.  I also sat on focus groups for YAC and went to positive future workshops with other young people with arthritis.

At 16 Chris got back in touch with me and asked if I would like to become a member of North Birmingham Young Arthritis Care, a new group which she and another friend Nikki were trying to set up.  I became a member and soon joined the committee.

At 17 I became a local contact for young people.  I didn't like doing this very much and really wish I hadn't taken it on.  I suppose I'd been talked into it really.  I never felt like I did that much as I was always at school when anyone called, I don't think they realised how old I was.  I always felt like I was letting Arthritis Care down when I couldn't manage stuff.  Whenever I went on a training course I always had to arrive late or fit it in around school.  It was a good job I could drive by then as I was able to go straight from school.  Sometimes I would have to take schoolwork with me any trying to fit it all in was really difficult.

As Young Arthritis Care fizzled out so did the contact role but I ended up joining the Regional Committee which I still do and I'm now the vice chair.

When I was at university I would often be asked to do media work.  One particular Wednesday in April I had a phonecall from Arthritis Care head office in London.  I was rather surprised when they asked me if I would like to go on GMTV to be interviewed by Lorraine Kelly.  I straight away said YES, absolutely.   As the phonecall ended I ran into my flat mates and told them about it, they were really excited.  The experience was just fantastic.  We filmed for what seemed like hours the following Sunday and my feature was on the TV on the following Tuesday.  It was great fun, I was obviously nervous because it was live but it was great all the same.  Calls to the helplines at Arthritis Care increased far more than they ever thought and I'm so pleased I did it, if I encouraged one person to pick up the phone and get some support that day then it was all worth while.

After I finished university I was looking for things to do as I wasn't well enough for full time work so I was asked by my old friend Chris I'd I would join the local committee again. I went along to my first meeting at Cannock branch and offered to take the minutes to help Chris out. I emended up being the secretary and have been doing it for around 6 years. I also write the newsletter along with my friend Seona. We also do a lot of awareness days at the hospital where we give out information to the public and tell them about our support group.

I hope my work doesn't come to an end as I feel I can be a value to others with rheumatoid arthritis.

Changes in Arthritis Care

Before Christmas I went to a rather sad Arthritis Care Meeting.

Arthritis Care, like many other charities are having financial trouble.  Charities rely on donations, legacies, sponsorship etc, and in this climate the donations coming in have dropped dramatically.

Our problem is that we're not a sexy charity, you can't die from it, and it's not a children’s charity, therefore not sexy.

A business plan has been drawn up which will hopefully pull the charity out of the deficit that we're in, but unfortunately some staff are to be made redundant.

Here is a link to a statement on the Arthritis Care website.

http://www.arthritiscare.org.uk/NewsRoom/Latestnewsstories/planning-for-2012

I'm obviously really upset for the staff members who work so hard to make a difference to the lives of so many people.  I feel sad that they, along with many others at this time, have had to go home and tell their families the news that they might not have a job soon.

Staff might rely on this charity financially but us volunteers rely on it emotionally too.  Arthritis Care has been in my life for such a long time I couldn't imagine not doing it.

Over the last 15 years Arthritis Care has been a massive part of my life and I have treated it like a job.

The best thing about volunteering when you have an illness is that everyone understands if you can't make it on a particular day because you’re not very well.  Volunteering gives me a sense of pride in the knowledge that I am helping support people in community when they’re struggling, something which I know most rheumatology staff at our local hospital value.

I know I would be sad if this all ended and I strongly believe that the NHS will have to pick up the fallout from patients who can't get to talk with anyone with living with arthritis or a musculoskeletal condition.  I believe that if patients don’t have anyone to talk to, who understands their situation, then their health might suffer.  People with any long term condition need to learn coping strategies or 'tools' to manage their condition effectively.  Also some people don’t like to talk to family and friends as they don’t want to upset them or they feel like they’re moaning.

I hope this isn't the end of the work I do, maybe it's a new beginning.  Whatever happens I'm always ready to help people with this condition, whether it is in person, at the branch meetings, on the Arthritis Care forum or on twitter.

And lastly, I would like to thank everyone, staff and volunteers for all their hard work and dedication in helping people with arthritis continue with their lives.   I hope the charity will continue to give others as much support as it's given me.