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I was working as a lorry driver when I started getting aches and pains in my ankles. I was initially told – after lots of tests– that I was clear of arthritis, but later was told they had been wrong.
For five years it ravaged me. Every joint flared up – knees, elbows, jaw, top of my spine, top of my sternum. I was in and out of hospital and, although it was a cry for help, I tried to do myself in.
I was made redundant because of the arthritis and was out of work for five years. We really struggled. I watched my wife holding down four or five jobs to try and keep our home. I’d always felt like I was the breadwinner, and then suddenly I wasn’t any more.
Misunderstood
Also a lot of people misunderstood me. I wasn’t working, and when I had a good day I would try and do things, like wash the car. People thought I was a scrounger, creaming off the state. They didn’t realise that one good day was counteracted by weeks of terrible days.
1988 I started going back to work as a lorry driver. That was OK for a while, but after five years I had another huge flare up. This time it was primarily in my hands and feet. I was made redundant again, but not before being told my job was safe as long as I went private for my knee operation. I took out a loan, paid for the operation but was then told I didn’t have a job to go back to.
Taking control
I’m now self-employed. I was approached by a franchise business which provides you with the skills to run a profitable business on a shoestring.
The franchise business pays us a royalty income for anyone we introduce who sets up their own company. I received training and, as I got more confident, I knew I had to take on a leadership role so I started to deliver training courses for the business.
Empowerment is a fabulous word. When I joined the business my self-esteem was on the floor. Through the business I am a completely and utterly changed person.
I’m confident in anything that I do. I’ve found a passion and a vocation. I’m helping people and I’m enjoying my life.’
Brian Wallace from Poole in Dorset was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) 1982, when he was 23 years old.
