RA has made me into the person I am today Chantelle Foley, 33, has been living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for more than 21 years. Here, she tells herstory I was first diagnosed with RA at the age of 13. The illness did not really affect my life that much in my early teens I had a few swollen and sore joints, but life was normal. I was able to participate in most things and did not feel left out; however, I did feel different, as people didnt really understand how a young person could have rheumatoid arthritis. When I reached my late teens and early twenties, my arthritis started to affect my life. My joints were more painful and were constantly swollen and I suffered from regular flare-ups. It also started to put limitations on me. I was in my second year at university, studying nursing, and I loved it but I had to give it up because my RA was getting worse and I would often struggle to get out of bed. I returned to my parents house and was hospitalised for a couple of weeks to get my RA under control. This was a hard blow for me, as I had become used to my new life at university and it had been taken away from me. My independence was slowly going I was back at home and had no clue what to do next. At this point, my joints began to look different my fingers started to become knobbly and my knees were constantly swollen. In my mid-twenties, with my RA slightly under control, my best friend and I decided to go travelling around the world. My doctor was not terribly happy with the decision, but I couldnt let the opportunity pass me by. While away, my joints were good. The weather really helped, and I had an amazing time. But, unfortunately, my knees got more painful and had started to seize to the point that they wouldnt straighten. Back to reality So far, I have had two elbow replacements, a left shoulder partial replacement, neck operation and left hip replacement When I returned, my knees and joints were constantly in pain and swollen. Some days my knees made it unbearable to walk. I had a full-time job, which I would walk to it should have taken 10 minutes but, because ofmy knees, it took me half an hour. My posture was terrible I was hunched over and became shorter because of my knees seizing. I was hospitalised again to get everything back under control. X-rays were taken of my knees and they showed that the cartilage had worn down so much that the joints in my knees were bone on bone. This was the reason they had seized up and creaked every time I moved. In my late twenties, my operations journey began. I was advised to have two total knee replacements to get my independence back. The operations were amazing I got my height back and it stopped all the pain in my knees. From then on, my body would need an operation every year or so. It got to the point where I knew my body so well that I could feel the signsthat a joint was heading towards an operation. Operation checklist So far, I have had two elbow replacements, a left shoulder partial replacement, neck operation and left hip replacement, and I am now recovering from a triple-fused left ankle operation. But I would not change a thing, because these operations have helped me to keep my independence and given me a new lease of life. Having RA can sometimes be hard, but I would not change it for the world. It has made me into the person I am today. It has given me the strength to face my obstacles and given me my stubborn streak not to let my limitations define me. It has helped me realise that you cannot judge a book by its cover just by looking at a person, you cannot presume to know what they are going through. It has also helped me to be patient with people who are not good at that, and who do not really understand how RA can affect your life. I have always from day one of being diagnosed with this illness told myself I am lucky because my situation could have been so much worse. It has helped me to snap myself back to reality when those bad days happen. I would love to say I go to the gym, and run to keep myself positive and work out my stress about the situation but, sadly, this is not true. I have had to find other ways to keep myself positive and to help me to deal with stress, such as crafts, baking and blogging [www.starsandcraft.wordpress.com]. These things have helped me so much. I started to make crafts when I had my first operation, and decided todesign and make jewellery. I needed something to keep my mind occupied, which for me is the most important thing. A beautiful mind Even though my body is changing and going through all kinds of pain and struggles, my mind has still stayed the same. I have to remind myself of my limitations, but at the same time use it to push myself and not let RA take over my life. So crafts have helped me to keep my mind focused on something else, rather than me. Baking is something that relaxes me and just makes me happy I love feeding people my treats! Blogging is something new to me; I have really enjoyed it because it helps me to share my situation or any obstacles that I need to face with others, and to make people aware of RA and how it can affect your life. Being positive is very important. It prevents me from being overwhelmed by the situation and helps me to be happy. I have never wanted this illness to take control of my life, I have always made sure that I am the one in control. So keeping positive is important it helps me to enjoy life and to see the amazing things around me, and not to be in my own cocoon. I would not be me if I was not positive. I see the best in bad situations because it gives me hope hope that things will get a little better and I can overcome the limitations that other people put on me. My family and friends help me massively; they are there to support me and to listen when I am having my bad days. They help to remind me that I am not alone and that I can face anything this illness wants to throw at me and they help me to see the light when things get dark. I can honestly say I am blessed. Without this illness, I would not have the close relationships I have with family and friends and, more importantly, I would not be me.