Arthritis not just an elderly person’s disease, says Eimear

A young girl suffering from crippling arthritis has spoken out about her condition, urging people to realise it’s not just elderly people who are affected by this debilitating disease.

Eleven-year-old Eimear Daly from Meath suffers from systemic arthritis, which causes extreme tiredness, rashes and fever.

She also has symptoms of polyarthritis which affects her bone joints, largely on the right hand side of her body.

Because of weaknesses in her wrist, Eimear has trouble writing for long periods and when carrying schoolbooks. PE classes are difficult as she has to be careful not to push her joints too far, especially her knees, and regularly takes painkillers during flare-ups.

Eimear was first diagnosed with arthritis when she was only nine years old. She had trouble getting up in the mornings, felt tired all day and wasn’t eating.

She said: “It used to be really bad. I’d wake up every morning in pain, it was horrible. It’s easier now with the medication. It’s not affecting me as much but I still don’t like to talk about it. I don’t like to bring it up.”

Her mother, Christine, said: “She was so sick and the doctors thought it was a viral thing. Weeks and months passed and she was only getting worse. They thought she was fighting an infection but I knew something was really wrong.”

After three months of medical tests and uncertainty, Eimear was eventually diagnosed with arthritis.

Today, she is able to keep her symptoms at bay the majority of the time, though the medication affects her immune system leaving her more vulnerable to colds and flu.

While arthritis affects people of all ages, 60% of sufferers are below retirement age.

Despite this, Christine says people still associate the illness with the elderly.

She said: “When you say arthritis, people just automatically think of old people. People give you a look when you say it and say ‘no, you must be wrong, kids don’t get that’. There needs to be more out there about this because children are suffering from this, and suffering badly.”

Video Campaign for National Arthritis Week

A hard-hitting video about arthritis has been launched as part of a National Arthritis Week.

The footage gives an emotional insight into the lives of five people who suffer from the disease, adults as well as children, detailing the impact it has on their daily lives.

The campaign aims to raise awareness of arthritis in Ireland and change stereotypes about the affliction.

Arthritis affects one in five people in Ireland and is the most common cause of disability nationally.

Fiona Poona (44), who is featured in the video, has lived with the condition for the past 11 years.

She said: “I know full well what suffering in pain while still looking well is all about. Trying to explain to people what it’s like to have an invisible, chronic condition is extremely difficult and very frustrating.”

John Church, Arthritis Ireland CEO, said sufferers in Ireland are “fed up” living with the preconception that arthritis only affects the older generation.

He said: “The reality is very different. Ireland is now in the midst of an arthritis crisis. It is the single biggest cause of disability here, affecting three quarters of a million people from newborn babies right through to the elderly. This figure is expected to rise by 30% to over a million by the year 2030. Funds are urgently needed to address this crisis”

To donate 4 to Arthritis Ireland, text JOINTS to 50300.