I’m Céline Leroi, 40 years old, with a full and fulfilling life, a great job as a graphic designer… and ankylosing spondylitis.

When I fell ill at the age of 21, it took over 2 years for the doctors to discover my pathology. During this complicated and painful period, my body suffered irreversible damage to my spine and pelvis. Following the discovery of this disease and after several ineffective conventional treatments, I was put on anti-TNFα.

In spondyloarthritis, sport, or at least physical activity, is considered essential. The more you keep moving, the slower the progression of the disease. Combined with physiotherapy sessions several times a week, we manage to maintain mobility in the spine and pelvis. I have since radically changed my lifestyle, as I was not really athletic …
My primary commitment is to raise awareness of the Fonds de Recherche Scientifique en Rhumatologie (FRSR ) and inflammatory rheumatic diseases, in the hope that they can be diagnosed as early as possible.

Through various actions and challenges, I try to give visibility and raise funds that will be donated in their entirety to the FRSR.
My second aim is to promote sport, physical activity and cycling in particular as a complement to therapy. Everyone at their own pace and at their own level, with the primary motivation always being to have fun and develop.