About

This is a blog by Collette. She was diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis at the age of three, back in October 1993.

Since then she’s been on all kinds of treatments – from steroids to growth hormones – and seen all kinds of medical professionals – from dietitians to surgeons. She goes to rheumatology clinics where everyone is about 40 years older than her. She had her right hip replaced in May 2018 and her left hip replaced in January 2019. She’s fairly sure her surgeon has his eye on her knees, but she’s holding onto her original joints for as long as possible.

People tend to think that arthritis is a disease that only affects the elderly, and Collette would like to change that. She has literally no medical expertise but tends to have a lot to say about most things, and one advantage of having arthritis for nearly 30 years is a whole lot of anecdotes. This is a blog to share them – all with the best intention to increase awareness of arthritis in children and young people.

When she’s not moaning about her joints and drug side effects, Collette works as a health information editor at a charity. She lives in Sheffield with her husband, Mike, and cat, Bowie. She likes eyeliner, chips, pizza, tea, prosecco, cheese, reading the news, having opinions on things, and gin.