Welsh rheumatoid arthritis sufferer
drives off with brand new car in ARC grand draw
A long-time supporter of the Arthritis Research Campaign in Wales has won a new car in the ARC's annual Grand Draw.
Pamela Waterhouse, of Bolgoed Road, Pontarddulais, who suffers from severe rheumatoid arthritis, and has supported the ARC for 15 years, won the first prize - a top of the range Toyota Avensis.
The car was presented to Mrs Waterhouse and her husband Ron by Welsh rugby international and Neath scrum half Patrick Hogan at a Toyota dealership in Skewen, near Neath, on Monday, November 5.
"I thought it was a wind-up at first," said Mrs Waterhouse, the mother of two grown-up sons, who set up the Pontarddulais branch of the ARC in 1986. The branch, under her secretaryship, has since raised more than £57,000 for the charity's research programme.
"I've never won anything like this before. My arthritis is really bad at the moment but to hear that we'd won this car has really lifted me out of the doldrums."
Mrs Waterhouse has suffered from severe rheumatoid arthritis for the past 19 years. RA is an incurable condition that leads to joints becoming inflamed and swollen, which affects around 350,000 people in the UK. Mrs Waterhouse has RA so badly she has to use an electric wheelchair to get around. She had to give up teaching in a primary school as a result of the disease, but still manages to teach adults English part-time.
She and husband Ron, who is branch treasurer of the branch, give countless hours of their time to raising money for the charity through holding well-supported events, from coffee mornings to Santa's Grotto...
"I think research will finally lead to a cure for arthritis, and I just hope that future generations of people will not have to suffer the way we suffer," added Mrs Waterhouse.
"We're very glad that the car has been won by such a dedicated supporter of the ARC as Pamela Waterhouse," said ARC marketing manager Elaine Ingram. "She has done so much to raise funds for the charity over the years despite being in constant pain. People like Pamela are the lifeblood of charities such as ours."
The ARC's Grand Draw 2001 has raised more than £150,000 - the highest-ever total. Toyota donated their one-millionth car to come off the production line at their plant in Derby as a first prize.
