At school, I was far more interested in academic subjects and music than sport. In fact, I disliked sport and most forms of exercise. Music became an important part of my life: I achieved Grade 4 in tenor horn, played in my school wind band and senior orchestra, attended the county orchestra on Saturday mornings and performed competitively with Oakdale Silver Band in South Wales. I also sang as one of six senior sopranos and learned recorder and violin.

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My early working life included management, and I completed a Management Diploma while working as a manager at McDonald’s. After having children, I needed a career that would work around school holidays. While raising my growing family, I began my first degree and trained through Merthyr Tydfil College to become a teaching assistant.

I volunteered twice a week at my children’s school while completing my training. Once qualified, I worked at Greenfield Special School in Pentrebach, Merthyr Tydfil.

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Supporting children with different needs began to deepen my interest in health and in understanding how the same condition can affect individuals in very different ways.

That interest became increasingly personal when my father was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Watching his condition progress made me want to understand what might help preserve his independence, quality of life and ability to continue living as normally as possible.

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My own health journey had begun much earlier. I experienced persistent leg pain from around the age of nine and spent years being told it was growing pain. As the pain worsened, my mobility declined and I became dependent on increasingly strong pain medication. At 27, after arranging a private medical consultation, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia.

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The diagnosis encouraged me to research my condition and understand how I might support my own health. At 31, despite having disliked sport throughout school, I began martial arts. Gradually, I improved my fitness, mobility and ability to manage my pain, eventually reaching a point where I no longer relied on the pain medication I had previously needed.

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Further health problems began in 2012, leading to my diagnosis with myelofibrosis, a rare blood cancer, in 2020. Living with myelofibrosis, fibromyalgia, sleep apnoea and perimenopause has continued to shape my understanding of fatigue, pain, weight changes, treatment and the challenge of making health changes alongside family responsibilities.

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My journey has taken me from avoiding exercise to understanding how powerful education, appropriate movement and personalised support can be. It is why I am passionate about helping others understand their health, feel heard and make realistic changes that work within their own lives.