“Arthritis is not recognised in younger people" - Co Down woman raises awareness for psoriatic arthritis
27-year-old Claudia Lindsay was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis when she was only 10.
A Co Down woman is raising awareness for arthritis this weekend.
27-year-old Claudia Lindsay was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis when she was only 10.
Psoriatic arthritis is a form of arthritis that affects some people who have psoriasis — a disease that causes red patches of skin topped with silvery scales.
Most people develop psoriasis years before being diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis.
She says the disease is not recognised in younger people.
The Killyleagh woman is holding her annual fundraiser this evening to raise funds and awareness for the condition.
She spoke to CoolFM/Downtown exclusively: “It’s an invisible illness… there’s been times where I have been in a wheelchair. We went on holiday to Barcelona; I had a really really bad flare up and I ended up in A&E. I spent that whole holiday in a wheelchair. Some days I can’t get out of bed.”
“Back when I was in school it was things like in the assembly hall sometimes, we had to sit down for assembly. I found that really hard because I would get stiff If I was sitting down for too long and then I would get embarrassed because it would take me longer to stand up. Sometimes I would go into school late so I could miss assembly.”
“You only ever hear of older people having arthritis. People don’t actually realise how many kids have it. I would have had an appointment every 3 months and Musgrave Hospital was just filled with kids who were bedridden, who were in wheel chairs and who couldn’t go to school.”
“I’ve always felt as if arthritis is not recognised”.
Tonight, Ms Lindsay is hosting a fundraiser in Killyleagh.
It's to raise money for charity 'Versus Arthritis' and bring recognition to the condition which she believes has a 'stigma' that only older people are impacted by it.