Stuides show that about 8 in 100,000 young adults between the ages of 18 and 34 have been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, unfortunately for me at the age of 31 I fell into that small percentage. Trust me, I wish I had those odds with the lottery!

In late 2017 I was diagnosed with RA which is an autoimmune condition, which means that your immune system attacks healthy cells in your body by mistake, causing inflammation in varied affected parts of the body. RA mainly attacks any of the joints, usually many joints at once and is a lifelong condition that has no definitive cause or cure as of yet.

It can be at times difficult to deal with the unpredictable nature of rheumatoid arthritis and all that comes with that, but the one positive to it that I found is in order to well control it you are almost forced to lead a healthy balanced lifestyle in conjuction with controlling the medication which is what I try to do every day.

This week, I'm fundraising for Arthritis Ireland who help to fund arthritis research, advocacy, and patient support to improve health outcomes among people affected by arthritis.

Thank you for your support!

Aidan

AIDAN GLEESON