Top and bottom of this post is that pain is a bitch. Life can be a bitch. I’m not here to complain. I want to be able to voice the ..read more

  This blog is to share the realities of getting married with a chronic illness. There are so many different angles I could come at this – so I’ve chosen to write about my experiences and how I’ve felt through engagement, wedding planning and the big day itself. And then I will do a quick video on hacks and advice I’d give to others. Head over to instagram.com/alidaggett to my Instagram page to see the video reel!   It is one of the best times in your life, one of the biggest commitments. It’s exciting, it’s scary, it’s fun, it’s stressful, it’s emotional, it’s overwhelming; you’re n ..read more

  It seems like a funny time to be writing this as I haven’t worked for over 4 weeks now. But maybe this is the perfect time and a hell of a lot more relevant.   I started my career knowing that I have a chronic illness, but I didn’t know it was going to get in my way, or maybe I was just naïve. One of the reasons I became a Physio is to help others like my physios helped me. I guess when I was young, I didn’t really know that arthritis was a chronic illness or what it really entailed, but I don’t think I would have changed my mind knowing what I know now. Maybe I would have just loo ..read more

I haven’t done a blog post in a while. I haven’t had the time to sit down and write one without just wanting to relax or keep myself from falling asleep.   My arthritis has been relatively controlled recently. Nothings swollen, which is always nice. But arthritis doesn’t stop there. The pain is still there. The fatigue is still there. The multiple complications from having an autoimmune disease are still there. Forever waiting for that day I wake up with no pain and not still exhausted. But really, I don’t ever see that day coming.   It’s easy to get yourself down a hole of strugglin ..read more

I’ve done a small post on this before. Being poorly whilst having a chronic illness isn’t just straightforward. Having a cold or flu or a stomach bug isn’t what anyone wants. It’s especially not what you want when your immune system is already suppressed because of the medication you have to take. When you know it’s going to take you longer than usual to get over it. When you know you can’t just power through like most people. When you know if you push yourself you know to expect a flare-up. Or even sometimes you can rest as much as you possibly can and a flare-up will hit. And then, once agai ..read more

5 years ago, I was just a uni student thinking I was invincible. 5 years ago, I didn’t think of my ‘dodgy knee’ impacting my whole life. 5 years ago, my world changed without me even knowing it. 5 years ago, I got a diagnosis that shook me and put all the pieces together at the same time. 5 years ago, I was oblivious to how my life would be involved around my health. In 5 years, I have put my health first. In 5 years, I have been at my lowest and highest point in my life mental and physically. In 5 years, I have made mistakes. In 5 years, my relationships have been compromised. In 5 years, my ..read more

As it has been a long time since my last blog post, I will re-introduce myself … I’m Ali, I’m 25, I grew up and still live on a working farm in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales with my amazing family and friends. I’m a physiotherapist, currently working on the orthopaedic wards at Harrogate Hospital. I am also a Physio at Harrogate Rugby Club and I run my own business, ‘Fewston Physio’. I started my blog, ‘Under Young Skin’, in March 2020 and created ‘Chronically Connected’ in 2021. My blog has connected me to many people in similar situations and helped me along my journey with chronic illness ..read more

The motivation for this post is through the struggle that I have had just 2-3 months into a full-time job and the emotional impact of accepting that I’m not invincible. That I can’t do what everyone else does and the brute of asking for help. I started at Harrogate Hospital as a Physiotherapist at the start of December. I am currently on the respiratory wards and so I am occasionally in contact with Covid patients. With now having 4 Covid vaccines and with all the PPE, I have never felt unsafe, and I am lucky not to be on immunosuppressants at the moment. Before I started, I thought I wouldn’t ..read more

This was me Monday, sat on the stairs at one of my temporary jobs. So scared for not being able to do my dream job. On the verge of crumbling. Having an Occupational Health phone call for my new job. Answering how vulnerable I am and how capable I am to work. I know jobs can’t discriminate but if I am to work I need to know I can do a good job to put patients first and give them the best quality care. It’s not just about me and my ego. I was terrified that they would say it’s too risky to work in ICU… luckily I’m now off the Meth so I got the go ahead. But it really hit home. It’s not just an ..read more

I am suuuuper late, as always. If you don’t know already, this week is RAAW – Rheumatoid Arthritis Awareness Week 2021. I have just not had chance to write anything before now, and even now I am cramming this in before I go to work! So, I will get straight to the point. Rheumatoid Arthritis is definitely something I had never heard of until I was diagnosed with it and I don’t think that I would know about it if I hadn’t had been diagnosed. Everyone has heard about arthritis – osteoarthritis. Most elderly people in your life will have it to some degree (well especially where I am from anyway ..read more