Arthritis makes one's joints inflamed, making it hard for sufferers to perform any form of physical activity and affecting their work, relationships and even the ability to carry out daily tasks such as eating and sleeping.

Arthritis is also not a disease of the old. It can happen to anyone, especially those between 25 and 40 like Nina.

Soon after the birth of her son, Nina discovered she had Rheumatoid Arthritis.

"I could not even hold up a plastic bag of bread, I could not lift up a glass of water, the whole experience was him [her son] seeing me in bed most of the time in pain.''

She lamented, “I don’t have a lot of memories of doing a lot of things activities that mothers typically do.”

Arthritis may also occur among those younger. Ryan, was only 18 when he was diagnosed.

“I had about 10 months of pain in my wrists before I got to find out what it was,” he recounted, “I could not sleep. I was opening doors with my elbows”.

However, many treatments options to alleviate the pain have severe side effects, as Ryan describes, “I was taking the same drug that you use for chemotherapy. It was giving me a lot of side effects like brain fog, I was having a lot of nausea, vomiting and I found it very difficult to cope.”

Faced with this issue, An Na, mother of 9 year-old with arthritis, was worried for her daughter, “My biggest fear is that, what are the side effects of taking this strong medication?

Effective treatment with minimal side effects is available for them, but it can come at a cost of more than $36,000 every year. However, for most families in Singapore, this is something they cannot afford, even with government subsidies like Medisave, Medifund, MAF and MAF plus.

This is why our Patient Subsidy Care Fund supports arthritis patients who cannot afford it. For beneficiaries with more severe conditions, we also sponsor medical aids and equipment to facilitate their movements, and transportation arrangements to and from hospitals.

In Singapore, over 45,000 people like Nina, Ryan and An Na's daughter suffer from Arthritis, and we want to help many more in need. However, as a charity, our funds are limited.

But you can help by contributing to our Patient Subsidy Care Fund that helps underprivileged patients with subsidies for their treatments. As we are an IPC-status charity, you will also receive a 250% tax rebate if your donation is $50 and above. The monthly treatment of biologics for someone with arthritis costs $2000, but no amount is too small. Even $50 will help someone like Nina, Ryan and An Na's daughter be one step closer to getting a sense of normalcy.

Your gift will change the lives of many like them and help NAF further its objectives in fighting arthritis.

“During that time where she was taking steroids before the biologic agents, I was like going through a dark tunnel that we don’t know how long the tunnel was and see the bright…*voice cracks*. It is a miracle for her. She is now like any other normal girl, and we are thankful for that." - An Na, mother of a 9 year-old with Arthritis

Thank you in advance for your generosity.