Celebrity Friends of NRAS
Juliette Kaplan
Juliette is best known for her role in The Last of the Summer Wine as 'Pearl'. However, she has played a wide variety of roles throughout her career, from being up on the stage in the West End, to being the back end of a cow in a pantomime!
NRAS first spoke to Juliette after we read her very touching article in The Daily Mail describing how one day she 'woke up' with rheumatoid arthritis. Juliette explained how she pushed herself through rehearsals even though her joints were swollen and excruciatingly painful.
Fortunately, Juliette heard about the anti-tnf drug Etanercept and injects herself once a week, "Now for the first time in years I feel stabilised, with more energy, and I'm back to my normal self. I have occaisional flare ups if I've been over doing it or had an emotional upset, so I make sure that I rest and exercise gently."
Since her recent visit to our offices, Juliette has been very proactive and happy to take part in fundraisers, speak to patients about her RA and atttend NRAS events. We look forward to working with her on future campaigns and events.
Nicky Campbell
NRAS met Nicky at a rheumatology conference in Glasgow, where he was chairing a meeting discussing 'Milestones in Rheumatology'.
Nicky's Mother-in-Law sadly passed away after living with RA for many years, so the charity has a special place in his, and his wife's heart. Nicky supports NRAS as much as he can and we were very pleased that he was able to welcome everyone to our Christmas Carol Concert in December 2009.
Ainsley Harriot
Ainsley is a supporter of NRAS and understands the difficulties arthritis can have on everyday life after recently having a hip replacement.
He says, "I am happy to be a supporter of NRAS and the valuable work they do. Raising awareness of this disease and the impact it has on people's lives is so important. For those who live with RA, knowing that NRAS is there to support them when they feel most in need is an invaluable service."