Health REAL LIFE
Katie Eldridge, 28, from Kent, used art when times were hard.
Picking up my paintbrush, I was working on my A-level art portfolio.
With art being a huge passion of mine, there was nothing I enjoyed more than being creative.
But experiencing my first big f lare-up during my A-levels, it was a struggle.
You see, I’d been diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis at the age of five.
My parents Chris, 55, and Lynda, 54, had noticed I wasn’t very mobile as a child and took me to the doctors.
My right knee had been swollen and puffy and I preferred sitting with my pens over playing outside.
And as a young girl, I didn’t fully understand what my condition meant.
I would have a lot of time off school to have physio – I felt embarrassed, I just wanted to feel the same as everyone else.
But reaching remission when I was in my early teens, it wasn’t until I began studying for my A-level exams that I had a big f lare.
Lugging lots of folders and my portfolio around the corridor, it was incredibly painful on my joints.
My elbows and knees were the worst affected and stiff, and my body was achy.
BIG health story
I was still quite selfsufficient during my A-levels and kept up with my work, but the pain did leave me feeling fatigued.
My body feels like it’s on f ire, I thought, as I sat down to do some coursework.
But going back to the doctors aged 18, I was prescribed methotrexate – an immunosuppressant that helped reduce the inf lammation.
And this did help – going into my twenties, I was doing yoga, running and going to the gym.
At 24, I was declared in remission again and able to come off my medication.
My body was on fire
Only in May 2020, I had a second big f lare up, triggered by the stress of the pandemic and my grandad sadly passing away.
Noticing my wrists were going puffy and sore, quickly spreading to my finger and elbow joints, it wasn’t long before I couldn’t pick up the kettle to make a cup of tea.
And back living at home during lockdown, my parents had to help me out of bed.
I felt frustrated – I’d been doing so well and now felt like I was going backwards.
I was 24 and needed some support doing basic tasks. Having been doing so well, I didn’t like losing my independence.
And at the start of the f lare, I hadn’t wanted to go back on medication, trying to use diet, exercise and mindfulness to control it.
But in October, I had to go back on methotrexate.
Only this time, my body didn’t respond to it as effectively as before and I was given the injectabl
