Year 11 NayCol student Nat Whall has had more than his fair share of challenges. Here he generously shares his story of living with arthritis.

I’m Nat Whall and at the age of 11 turning 12 I was diagnosed with JIA (juvenile idiopathic arthritis) in the right knee and a couple of months later it started to attack the left. After that I got flown up to Lower Hutt and Wellington hospitals to have cortisone injections in both joints.

Later I got invited to Arthritis Camp 2017. Before I attended the camp I thought I was alone and the only one that has had this but after the camp I soon realised I wasn’t alone and others my age and younger have similar arthritis in joints.

Ever since I stopped playing sports such as rugby because it’s too hard on my joints and it made me sore and tired for the rest of the weekend. It’s stopped me from being active and playing full games of ball.

This year I had an opportunity to be a volunteer leader to share my experiences with the young and help others to understand they ain’t alone and the only ones with it. At camp as a leader I helped little kids with activities and helped them understand stuff about their condition.