"My arthritis feels like a burning volcano in my joints": nine-year-old Alec inspires the biggest bike ride in the country

By Pete Hughes

A WANTAGE GP is undertaking the biggest bike ride in the UK inspired by a very different nine-year-old boy.
In most ways, Alec Perry is like any other boy his age – he likes riding his bike, drawing and playing with friends.
The biggest difference is that two years ago he was diagnosed with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA).
His arthritis, normally associated with people in their 60s and 70s, can turn the smallest everyday tasks into a nightmare.
The pain, he says, is like "a burning volcano in his joints", but he refuses to let it stop him riding his bike at home in Northamptonshire.
Now, Alec's determination has caught the imagination of Wantage GP Vineet Joshi who knows that pain all too well.
Dr Joshi, 32, who works at Church Street Practice in Wantage, also has arthritis years ahead of his time. He, too, has refused to let the condition stop him riding his bike.
Not only is he still cycling, he is now planning to undertake the biggest bike ride in the UK to raise money for Alec and other children like him.
On Monday, July 4, Dr Joshi and his friend Rob Paterson will set off from John O'Groats, Scotland, on a nine-day, 920-mile cycle to Land's End in Cornwall.
They are hoping to raise £5,000 for the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS) which gives advice and support to adults and children with the condition.
Dr Joshi, who lives in Cumnor with his fiancé, was inspired to take on the challenge after he saw a drawing Alec entered in an art competition run by the NRAS last year.
Alec, who receives treatment at the Nuffield Orthopedic centre in Oxford, drew a picture of a cyclist riding through a volcano, his arthritis represented by the burning lava erupting all around him.
Dr Joshi said: "Alec is an incredible young boy and his drawing was moving and inspirational.
"His slogan: 'JIA cannot stop me going on my bike' immediately made me want to meet him and his family and use his artwork as my fundraising logo as well as his inspirational slogan.
"I finally got to meet him with his mum Leah and this really personalised the mission for me and made me even more determined to see this through."
Alec is one of more than 12,000 children who suffer with juvenile arthritis, many of whom get advice and support from the NRAS.
Dr Joshi said: "This is our motivation, to help Alec and other children who suffer with arthritis and their families by raising funds to aid the important work by NRAS.
"My suffering became insignificant when I compared my troubles to those children suffering right now with arthritis.
"I hope this story will inspire others to act positively on issues that they feel strongly about, to raise awareness that kids get arthritis too and to motivate people to use their bodies and not take their health for granted."
But, he added: "Our target is £5,000 and so we need massive support and help."
Sponsor the cycle online at justgiving.com/gp-on-a-bike

http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/14464730._quot_My_arthritis_feels_like_a_burning_volcano_in_my_joints_quot___nine_year_old_inspires_charity_challenge/