In 2010 I was in my mid 40's, at the height of my career as an Executive Manager in a major bank and was getting ready to take 6 weeks long service leave to spend some quality time with my beautiful husband. We were going on a road trip through South East Queensland down to the Hunter Valley and I was so looking forward to having a break. On the way home I started feeling really unwell and I just could not shake off an extreme tiredness, joint pain like I had never experienced and abdominal pain. As soon as we got home we headed for my GP and a whole list of Specialist appointments followed. Long story short 2 months later I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis after being first diagnosed with Q Fever, Ross River Virus and a list off other false positive diagnosis. My body was not behaving normally and my Doctors and I were to discover over the next 6 years just how abnormal it actually was. I have had 15 surgeries since October 2010. Once diagnosed with RA I continued to work for another 12 months before my body decided to basically break down bit by bit. In 2011, I was diagnosed with a prolapsed bowel which refused to mend with conservative surgery and I now have a permanent colostomy. It has been quite a journey with my medical team including a Clinical Immunologist, Colorectal Surgeon, Endocrinologist, Orthopaedic Surgeon, Gynaecologist, Ear Nose and Throat Specialist, Infectious Disease Specialist, Neurologist and Dermatologist, all trying to work out what is causing my health issues. I have been called "special", "unique", "one of a kind" but really they all believe I have an idiopathic disease ( a disease of its own kind). After each surgery to try and fix my bowel I would also get infection after infection due to the medication I need to take to manage the RA which lowers my immune system. I even managed to get clostridium difficile (c diff) which is not a fun thing for anyone but even crazier when you have a non-functioning bowel. I have lost count of the number of times I have been hospitalised over the past 6 years. Good news is I recovered really well post my colostomy surgery and adjusted to a new & interesting ( to say the least) way of life. I thought that would be an end to what my body was going to challenge me with but I have come to realise I can never say never again. In October 2014 my left femur (thigh bone) broke spontaneously. Yes, all on its own, I didn't fall from a great height or have a major car crash which is apparently the type of accident I should have been involved in to have the strongest bone in my body break. Mine just broke as I was opening my bedroom door!. It is called a pathological break and as a result, I have a rare genetic bone disease to add to my list. My Specialists are leaning towards Osteopetrosis ( not to be confused with Osteoporosis) but there are a couple of factors in my case making them think I am again a one of a kind. My bones are extremely dense, that of an Olympic weightlifter, which they shouldn't be given the medication, like Prednisone, I am on to treat my RA. They should have low density. They are however super dense and it’s causing them to become brittle and break. My right femur revealed a stress fracture in 2016, I have multiple non healing foot fractures and my spine is now diseased with severe spinal stenosis and spondlyothesis. I decided to start blogging to reach out to others who have found themselves suddenly physically disabled and medically retired. I have decided, despite my health issues, I can still choose to have a happy fulfilled life, different yes, but fulfilled all the same. In 2013 I would have thought a stoma was the end of the world. Today I am so relieved to have a functioning bowel. 11 years ago I was facing the fact that RA was causing radical changes to my life, the biggest being saying goodbye to my Executive Manager career and the team I led and loved. My company were so fantastic to me throughout the whole medical retirement process. Today I am medically retired and on a permanent disability pension. My husband is my full time carer. I was planning a retirement future of travel and volunteering and writing a book. My bone disease has brought the travel dreams to an end but I can write. Chronic Illness is a part of my life, not all of my life and I’m very excited about finding ways to live the best life possible, with as much passion and commitment I have given everything prior to RA, my stoma, my leg break and this idiopathic disease coming along. I’ll have difficult days like we all do and days when plans and dreams are restricted by health but one thing I know, if I can focus on counting my blessings on those days, the clouds pass much more quickly. My biggest blessing is my amazing husband who has walked this journey with me and stands side by side with me today. We have laughed and we have cried over the past few of years as each health episode has thrown up new challenges. Today though we are smiling, smiling because my stoma is giving me a chance to put the past strugges behind me, smiling because we have survived a massive leg break, smiling because we are looking forward to a future full of possibilities. We have even managed to laugh at the unpredictability of my health. We can laugh though because we know life can be and is good, even if it is learning to live at a different pace and in a very different way from what is considered normal. I'm looking forward to hearing others stories. They are all precious and unique and so worth sharing. Take care Sam x