Interview: Claire Wood: Determined to help others – even from a hospital bed

CLAIRE Wood has suffered from a debilitating form of arthritis since she was 15 years-old.

It means that she struggles to walk and even needs help to get in and out of a chair as if she were a woman more than twice her age. Claire is just 30.

There is no cure for her condition and she spends a lot of time in hospital receiving steroid injections to ease the excruciating pain she lives with every day.

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But this courageous woman doesn't spend her days worrying about her own health or becoming depressed about her condition. Instead, she spends her time dedicated to helping others, even organising charity events from her hospital bed.

"It doesn't do any good dwelling on your own problems. Doing voluntary work helps me, knowing that I am helping others. It also takes my mind off things," says Claire, from Boston Spa, who has spent the last few months organising a host of events for Ovarian Cancer Awareness month which runs throughout March.

Claire started suffering pains in her knees and crippling fatigue when she was 15.

"The doctors said it was growing pains and just something to do with puberty," says Claire.

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But the pain spread to her back and she struggled to join in activities such as PE with her friends at school.

"It was difficult for people to understand because I looked okay, but I wasn't. It was hard to explain. People thought it was all in my head and I was bullied at school as a result. I couldn't even go out to the shops with my friends because I found it difficult to walk far. It was a really difficult time for me."

Eventually, Claire was referred to a specialist at Harrogate District Hospital who diagnosed Psoriatic Arthritis which means the arthritis attacks all her bones, not just her joints. It is caused by the same gene that causes psoriasis, but rather than developing the skin disease, it develops into a disease of the joints and bones.

Tests revealed that she had inherited the condition from

her grandfather.

"It skipped a generation," she explains. "My grandad felt terrible about it, but we were very close as he was the only one who really knew what I was going through."

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She struggles to get around and relies on her husband of five years, John, and her family a lot which she finds frustrating.

It wasn't long after her diagnosis that Claire started to get involved in charity work.

She started doing voluntary work for Arthritis Care, helping other children and teenagers diagnosed with arthritis. For this she received a Millennium Award in 2000.

Her desire to be a veterinary nurse was dashed when, after studying animal care at college for three years, she was told her condition meant being a vet wasn't possible.

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"I felt that I had wasted three years of my life working really hard, to be told that I couldn't do what I wanted to do. It was another difficult time for me. All my friends were going to university and I was stuck at home not being able to because of the pain."

Because of her condition, Claire found getting a normal job quite difficult. "I had to have a lot of time off and I also was very tired. I found the best type of jobs were the ones I could do from home."

Over the years, Claire has raised more than 20,000 for various charities, including running her own branch in the Wetherby area for the Arthritis Research Campaign.

She has achieved all this despite being in constant pain and relying on steroid injections directly into her ribs, and other medication to help her cope.

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Her latest venture is raising awareness of ovarian cancer by organising a number of fund-raising events including a race night, cupcake coffee afternoon and an '80s disco.

For most of March, Claire has been confined to her hospital bed undergoing treatment and intense physiotherapy at Chapel Allerton Hospital, Leeds. Doctors hope that by stripping away all her medication she will be able to take part in a drugs trial which could help her.

"Since I was 16, I have had so many pain killers and different drugs. I know there will never be a cure for what I have, but if they can find a way to control the pain, I will be able to have some sort of life again."

But she has not spent her time in hospital worrying about herself. She sent out 600 emails asking companies and business to support her various fund-raising events.

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"I wanted to raise money for Ovarian Cancer Action because my own Nana died of ovarian cancer in 1991, aged just 52.

"I was 11 years old at the time and I always said that if I could, I would do something to raise awareness of this terrible condition."

Sam Gibson, head of communications at Ovarian Cancer Action, said she was overwhelmed with what Claire was doing for the charity.

She said: "Every bit of fund-raising is vital for us.

"It means such a lot to us that someone like Claire who has so much to deal with herself, is giving her time raising money for research and, just as importantly, awareness of ovarian cancer which is a major killer in women."

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For more information about The Ovarian Cancer Action '80s Disco, at 8pm

on Saturday, March 20 at The Crown Hotel, Boston Spa, call Claire Wood on 01937 843613.

Fighting a common killer

Ovarian cancer is the most common gynaecological cancer in the UK.

6,600 new cases of ovarian cancer are diagnosed each year (18 a day).

4,400 women die from ovarian cancer each year

(12 a day).

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An awareness of the key symptoms currently provides the greatest chance of detecting it early.

The average GP will only see one case of ovarian cancer every five years.

Ovarian cancer screening takes 30 minutes based on a scan and a blood test.

Ovarian cancer accounts for six per cent of cancer- related deaths in women.

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The survival rates from ovarian cancer in the UK are the worst in Europe.

Most cases of ovarian cancer present late, after it has spread.

Survival is strongly linked to the stage of the cancer when it was diagnosed and treatment started.

If you would like to support Ovarian Cancer Action by arranging your own Love Women event, call 0208 238 7560 or visit www.ovarian.org.uk

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