Why me?  

The words that went through my mind as I received the diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis from the hospital 4 years ago on my 30th birthday – HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Upon waking up one morning to get out of bed and collapsing back into it due to severe pain in the soles of my feet, I went to my doctor who referred me for painful physiotherapy while we waited for blood results. When I attended the hospital I got my blood results and my CRP levels which should have been approx 1- 3.0mg per litre, were a staggering 92!? CRP levels measure your inflammatory markers in your system.  

The doctor referred me as a ‘’severe case’’ to the hospital where I then received my diagnosis of RA. The pain was just that – SEVERE, I couldn’t tie up my hair, dress myself, my heart sunk and I felt like giving up on .. well.. life.  This being an auto immune disease, there are so many side effects – one of which is depression and even suicidal thoughts, fatigue, pain, inflammation, mood swings, hair loss, skin rash, weight gain. GREAT huh? 

At the time I was running my own eyelash extension and beauty salon solo. The pain in my feet eased but seemed to spread to my wrists and fingers, I would suffer from swollen joints one day and feel ok but incredibly tired and had feelings of depression and anxiety the next. I didn’t have time to be sick and being self-employed I needed to continue working 50+ hours per week to manage financially. I threw steroids (that were prescribed to me) at the problem for a few weeks until I realized this was just masking the problem.  I then had to make the difficult choice of closing my salon (which was doing pretty well) and find another less strenuous job. After working in marketing remotely I have now taken my business in a different direction selling cosmetics in my online shop and I’m branching out into lash supply as well as promotions as a salesperson for other companies at exhibitions/ stalls/ events.  

I won’t let this illness define me, I don’t want it to ruin my life so I’ve been trying to think outside the box and utilise my free time as I work on the business from home. To regain some confidence I’ve been exercising at Dance Mania in Kells as they have trampoline classes which don’t put pressure on my joints. 

As an avid animal lover (particularly cats) I noticed a post about a tiny black kitten stuck in the thorny bushes in Ballymun – the facebook page was that of ‘’The Cat and Dog Protection association of Ireland’’ and the chairperson Carmel had slept in her car for three days, desperate to find this munchkin around Halloween time. She eventually managed to trap him and since herself and one of the other volunteers had no room from a plethora of fosters in their homes they needed a foster home for him. ENTER –Linda! My heart ached looking at his scared little expression in the cage so I offered foster and after meeting with Laura Mulligan who dropped him to me. We got to talking and she stressed how they need more funds, they don’t have a shelter, they rely on donations and volunteers to help them raise running costs of €8,000+ per month! Everyone volunteers with the CDPA in their little free time and they all have full time jobs and not enough time to post on social media or fundraise. 

I wanted to support their fine work and help any way I can so I now volunteer doing their social media posts on Instagram and Facebook and help with fundraising. Please follow and share their page and if you can donate anything at all to help us you can find our Go fund me campaign on the facebook page or contact us to join our team at www.cdpa.ie We need all the support we can get! Animals lovers are kind, generous, good hearted people and the CDPA team emulate this to the max. The CDPA also offer financial aid to anyone with a pet in need of veterinary care that they cannot themselves afford. They do TNR, rescue and rehoming. You can also help by fostering cats or dogs, adopting or setting up a direct debit from paypal of as little as €6 per month. We deeply appreciate any and all help. 

Now named ‘’Vader ‘’ (because sometimes he’s feeling on the dark side and will hiss if he forgets who I am!) he is our forever kitten and loves to play and cuddle up with our other Two rescue cats Scampi and Hobbes. If you search the #vader or #scampiandhobbes you can see what they get up to! 

Animals don’t have a voice , and if WE aren’t their voice, who will be? 

This is my impact and I certainly hope that it makes one on whomever reads this story. Thank you for reading x