Aren't you a bit young for that?

Well, obviously not.

I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at the age of 14 and since then I have been at war with my body doing everything in my power to not let it stop me living a 'normal' life. With two failed treatments and a hip replacement behind me I am about to embark on a new treatment - Rituximab. If successful I could be symptom free for up to a year - a dream come true for someone who has been in pain every day for over nine years.

So I have decided to turn to the world of blogging to share my journey over the next 365 days to see if this so called 'miracle drug' will transform my life. I plan to update this as much as possible - whether it be to vent my frustration or to educate the world about what it is like to be me right now and suffer from a crippling disease that has, as yet, no cure. And to all you other young sufferers out there I hope to show you that yes, it sucks, but arthritis does not have to ruin your life or stop you achieving your goals.

Plus hopefully along the way I can raise awareness of the disease in young people and get the message across that it is not just an 'old person's disease'. After all, if one more person says 'aren't you a bit young for that?' I'll... well, if my hands weren't so crippled I'd punch them in the face.