This is a letter I wrote just recently for my instructor for Arthritis Tasmania and I thought I would share the letter with you all minus a few details. 

To whom it may concern,

My name is Danielle Briggs and I am 33. At the end of 2012 I had a mystery virus which lead to me being diagnosed in late 2013 of psoriatic arthritis, fibromyalgia and then chronic fatigue I have tried to work out the best I can by walking or going to a pool.

I started looking online to see if I could find something that would suit me and I found Martin O’Toole’s Joint Movement therapy class (warm water arthritis therapy) and I thought I might give that a go, so I contacted him on the 19^th of January this year and started my first class on the 22^nd of January and I haven’t looked back.

I have done other things before starting the class like walking around 3-4kms a day, well tried to do it as much as I could. Things did happen like injury, rain, my body just couldn’t do it all on that day. I have tried so much to work on this so I can help my condition and not only that but be healthy. I also do a pool session privately on a Saturday.

Not only am I enjoying the class, but I am getting so much out of it. I have already lost nearly 10kgs, it is easing the amount of pain in my body plus my flexibility has improved so much.  I can tell the difference from my first class, so can Martin, others in the class and my friends and family have also noticed.

I got back my sparkle in my eyes, no dark circles under my eyes, I feel healthier, my clothes are looser, my muscles are starting to tone up, my balance is so much better. I feel great in the inside and in the outside and it is showing.

I talk up martin a lot to my friends and family because I really think he is an amazing guy that truly cares about his client’s needs and what they want. Martin just wants to help them and make them feel better even if it’s for that amount of time in the class. He has been so encouraging and supportive I honestly am very thankful to have him part of my team. (along side my doctors and my massage lady, everyone with a condition needs a team of people to make life just that little bit easier) I do know that I am the one that is doing all the work these team mates are the ones guiding me and helping me get where I want and need to be and making sure that everything is fine along the way,

I am kicking myself that I didn’t start this sooner. I have always been a water baby and I love being in the water, it’s one of the many reasons why I am loving the class. Martin has also being helpful with advice on food and other things to help me get where I want to be and get out of all of it. I am attending all three classes and I wish I could do more.

I may be the youngest in the class and a lot of people my age and in the same circumstance are embarrassed to be in a class with people who are a lot older than them but I honestly don’t mind at all everyone is so supportive and amazing and we are all there for the same reasons and that is to make our life a lot easier with the conditions we have.

You and I both know that just because you are young doesn’t mean that these conditions can’t happen to us. If I had a spokesperson my age talking and telling their stories and knowing that I am not alone it might have been easier for me to go through everything I went through at the beginning. I would take any opportunity in being a spokesperson. I have written a blog post about living with a disability which was picked up and posted on the website The Mighty which is a blog site for people with disabilities. I have added a copy of the post to this letter.

I want people to know these conditions don’t define the person that we are, it may be part of our DNA but at the end of the day they don’t make you who you are. we may have restrictions and hurdles like everyone else but that doesn’t make us less of a person just because we have a disability. I want to stand up and help those who are around my age who are going through this process, have gone through this process but aren’t coping with it or are fine and just want someone to talk to and knows what they are also going through. Not that any two diseases are the same, we all have our own fingerprint of a disease.

Please feel free to contact me to talk more about this or you feel that I could be of help with campaigns, talking to the government to help them understand the needs of those of us with the condition. I really want to make a difference and speak up about arthritis especially those who are at a younger age like myself.

Yours truly,

Danielle Briggs