Hello All!!

   I've put off posting on here until diagnosis, possibly because i was in a spot of denial! But i do want to become an active member of this online community as it was very useful to me in the first unsure weeks before diagnosis. I'd love to try and offer support to anyone who might need it, and share experiences with people who have already been through what i'm going through now.

   As you can guess i have been diagnosed, yesterday infact and am starting methotrexate on friday. And i'm really scared but i'm propbably just in shock.

   I thought a good way to start would be to give a very abbreviated version of my life story so you all know a bit about who i am before and after this disease and perhaps to offer some inspiration to someone out there who is where i was last month.

  I'm a college student at the moment who does very well and i'm not giving that up for anything, english, writing and reading is where i shine and idon't think RA will stand in the way of my dreams too much. I'm thankful i was never sporty!!

  I'm really optimistic, i hardly ever get sad about this because, to put it bluntly our family has had such a rough time of it the last couple of years it seems like another thing in a long lone of things, and you do learn to just cope with the tough stuff. For example when i first became ill this summer my best friend was having brain surgery over in australia at the age of 14 and my thoughts turned to her and another friend of the same age who had passed away recently and although i felt like i was facing losing my youth and mobility and so much more at the time, i felt like the lucky one. It really helps to put life into perspective when you witness tragedy first hand and all the things that have happened have really made me a better person.

  So i was thinking... No matter how severely naff it seems now, it'll probably look better in the morning (Y)

  So until i come back seriously annoyed about side effects as i'm sure i shall, i leave you on a cheerful note. Hope everybody is having a very comfortable day, Much love. Brooke x