I thought I had pins in my fingers – but it was terrifying to discover that my bones could become dust.

Elle Wilson woke up one morning with pins and needles in her hand.

Elle was only able to feel the pain for a short time, then it disappeared. Elle, now 24, began to worry about her fingers turning red and swelling up, which caused her pain.

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The pain began to spread into her wrists, feet, and it lasted for a few months before becoming more severe. She said: “The pain became debilitating.

“I couldn’t do normal things around the house – and I even had to get my boyfriend Adam to help me in the bathroom.”

She was having trouble putting her coat on and getting toothpaste in her mouth. RA (seropositive rheumatoid) was actually crippling.

Elle said: “When I was first diagnosed, I felt my whole world crumble.

“I was riddled with anxiety and I feared for the future while experiencing the most unexplainable pain, so much so I couldn’t even lift my arms up or get out of bed.”

Seropositive RA is a condition Elle, now 27, from Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear, hadn’t even considered due to her age.

When the pain became too severe and started affecting her ability walk and talk, she put off going to her GP until 2020.

Now she is raising awareness of the condition, which affects as many as eight in 100,000 people aged 18 to 34, as she doesn’t want others to suffer for as long as she did.

Elle said: “An immune system protects the body against viruses but for me and people with rheumatoid arthritis, our immune systems go into overdrive and it attacks itself.

“Medication needs to be aggressive and if you don’t have any treatment, it gets to the point where all your joints seize and are not able to work anymore.

“If I wasn’t on medication and I kept letting it attack, it would eventually turn my bones to dust.

“I was completely scared to learn all of this because although I had loads of support around me from my loved ones, I felt like I was on my own.

“When I was diagnosed, my rheumatologist gave me a website to look at but it only had elderly people on it and I was 24.

“I’m usually a private person, but once this happened, I decided to open up and have found comfort in the online community.

“I have a bond and a connection with others going through it.

“I’ve met so many amazing people and I’ve had people reaching out to me to thank me for helping them. “Now, I feel confident in my ability to fight arthritis.”

Elle felt the first pain in her fingers when she was in December 2019. It would subside after a few hours so she didn’t think much about it.

Elle became increasingly ill over the following months and was unable leave the house. This seriously affected her mental state.

Elle thought that her fingers would swell up to twice their normal size, and that her wrists would hurt. Elle believed it was due to injury or sleeping in a strange position.

BARELY STAND

Elle then struggled to do daily tasks like lifting a kettle in January 2020. Elle knew she had to see her GP for help.

Her job was in a nursery, but she was having trouble with her daily tasks because everything was so painful.

Elle said: “I was in tears and I said to my mum, if there was no cure I wouldn’t want to live because it was no life.

“It put everything into perspective and I really thought about what I wanted, but I also feared for my future.

“I had a phone call with my GP in March as it was lockdown. He suggested that it might be inflammatory arthritis and sent me to have a blood test.

“Doctors knew something wasn’t right as my inflammatory markers were off and my rheumatoid was high.

“I was transferred to the rheumatologist at the hospital and waited for my appointment.”

But Elle’s condition took a drastic turn. She became so unwell she couldn’t walk, and struggled to talk due to the pain in her jaw – she used a crutch as a walking stick as she could barely stand.

She woke up paralysed on her right side the day before she was due to visit the rheumatologist.

She was worried about her arm, which was dead, and that something was wrong with her brain.

Elle said: “I deteriorated so quickly. I couldn’t accomplish anything. When I was away from my home, I needed constant support.

“I just didn’t have any way to explain to anyone what was going on and because I looked fine, it was really difficult for others to understand.

“Family, friends and my partner were really supportive, but we were all just at a loss at what to do because I was just getting so poorly and every day I was just getting worse.

“At my appointment, the rheumatologist immediately diagnosed me with seropositive rheumatoid arthritis and prescribed steroids and medication to help the pain.”

Elle was provided with a lot information about the condition. She felt it was very important. “overwhelming”She felt like she was going home, and it was a strange feeling. “into shock”.

However, she was completely isolated as she believed arthritis was something that only older people have.

When Elle’s boyfriend had to help her in the bathroom and she was at her lowest, she decided she wasn’t going to hide away, but wanted to talk about what she was going through.

So, she began an Instagram page @rheumatoidarthritis_andmeShe wanted to be able to share what she felt and to help others.

Elle said: “I don’t want anybody else to be diagnosed and then feel how I felt because it was the loneliest I’ve ever felt.

“It’s by far been the best thing I’ve ever done. I have so many messages from others who are going through it too – we all support each other and it feels as though we’re not alone.”

Elle can now walk, stand, talk and sit more easily. “minimal pain”.

She is on strong medication.

Her immune system is weak and she has seen many side effects.

“I can’t put into words how different my life has been since I started taking the medication.

“Although I still have my painful days, I am nowhere near where I was and I hope this gives those who are suffering hope that it does get better as I am living proof of this.”

Elle added: “If I could literally help people with RA as a full time job, I absolutely would. I love it so much and want to raise awareness.

“I have always wanted to be transparent and my page is very authentic to show the severity of arthritis, how it affects my life and how it really doesn’t discriminate.”

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