A teenage girl with arthritis has set out to help other young sufferers of a disease commonly associated with the elderly.
Aberdeen girl Kirsten Black was diagnosed with the painful joint condition aged just eight.
The 19-year-old has now set up a support group to assist sufferers of juvenile arthritis.
Ms Black told STV News: "Most people would be feeling what I felt when I was growing up that you didn’t want to talk about it because it was something older people got – and if you were classed as an older person you’d get laughed at and joked about. It’s not a nice feeling."
A debilitating, barely understood, and incurable condition, juvenile arthritis affects around 20,000 under-25s every year.
However, much of the help available is targeted and tailored towards the elderly. Ms Black’s organisation is aimed at Aberdeen-based sufferers aged between 17 and 25.
She explained: "Because you’ve got arthritis doesn’t mean you can’t do anything. You can still do your Highers, you can still have a partner, you can still have children – all these sorts of things. It doesn’t stop you from doing anything."
Ms Black hopes to help young people with arthritis to achieve their hopes and ambitions in spite of the condition.
To that end, she hopes her experiences will serve as an inspiration.
Angela Donaldson from Arthritis Care welcomed the new project, saying: "I can’t articulate actually not just how proud I am of the young people who are going to be delivering this programme but actually knowing the benefits of people helping others People with a condition supporting others to live with the condition."
For more information, see Arthritis Care
