Painting distracts me from chronic pain in my joints

A 30-YEAR-OLD wheelchair-bound since childhood because of a mystery degenerative condition that causes her joints to “grind together” says she paints to distract herself from her chronic pain.

- HANNAH COTTRELL Press Association [e-mail]

Angharad Brawn, based in the village of Ynysddu, Caerphilly county, said she was born “perfectly healthy”, but from the age of five she started to experience aches in her legs, which worsened throughout her childhood.

By the end of primary school, she needed a wheelchair and her condition continued to worsen, to the point where she developed scoliosis and needed a hip replacement at the age of 18.

Angharad underwent genetic testing, where her symptoms were likened to a rare genetic disorder - but as she was not a direct match, she has been left without an official diagnosis.

Since her youth, Angharad has been experiencing pains in most of her joints due to her condition, where she can “literally feel [her] bones grinding together”, and she uses a motorised wheelchair to move as she cannot walk or stand.

Angharad says she has “no idea” how her condition will deteriorate in the future, with her latest “scary” struggles impacting her speech and ability to swallow - but over the last two years she has “rediscovered [her] love of painting” to provide a distraction from her pain.

Determined to remain independent, Angharad has published a children's picture book based on her experience, regularly sells her artwork at craft fairs and on her website, and showcases her creations to thousands of TikTok followers.

"I've never had an official diagnosis. All the geneticists I've seen have basically said they have never seen anything like the symptoms I have,” said Angharad.

“Being in pain is draining, but there’s nothing that can be done about it, I've just got to get on with it.