A DETERMINED surfer who was “chronically unwell” has set herself the target of becoming Scotland’s first professional adaptive surfer.

Justine Barker was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 2019 and was in hospital for “a very long time”.

Now she faces monthly trips to the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh for infusions of infliximab, which is used to treat a number of autoimmune diseases.

Furthermore, she was also diagnosed with axial spondyloarthritis, which has manifested into ankylosing spondylitis due to going undiagnosed for more than 20 years.

Justine also has limited movement in her knees and feet due to the fusion of two lumbar vertebrae, the fusion of the sacroiliac and the partial fusion of the cervical spine (neck).

However, that has not stopped the Prestonpans mum from conquering the waves and last month she returned from the English Open with a bronze medal.

She said: “It made me feel myself again.

“I realised that I may be down but I am not out – I am definitely not out.

“When I was first diagnosed, I was so depressed.

“My depression was crippling but now I am happy again.

“I feel like myself again and feel I have got a life to live again.”

The 43-year-old kneels on the surfboard as she cannot stand up when she is surfing.

Last year, it was suggested she visit Groundswell Scotland, which is based at Pease Bay.

The programme aims to provide the opportunity for women to come together around the ocean with the aim of promoting health and wellbeing.

Last year, Justine took to the waves for the first time.

She said: “I have been through quite a lot of personal trauma.

“I went there for a course of surf therapy and found I was quite a good surfer.”

Since then, the mum-of-four has developed a love of the sport, which could be part of the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028.

She said: “I cannot run and I walk with sticks but in the sea I feel completely normal.

“It has helped my depression.

“I am not on as many medications as a year and a half ago.

“I just found a community of like-minded people and now have a community of other disabled people I can relate with.

“The group I was sent to originally was full of men aged over 65.

“The arthritis is more common in men and usually manifests itself a bit later in life.

“I was sitting there with pensioners and did not have anything to relate with.

“Now, I have got a community of people who just share my own beliefs, my own goals and my own attitude.

“I feel I have been given another life.”

Justine, who previously enjoyed hillwalking and snowboarding, is regularly on the waves along the east coast.

She said: “I feel free; free and myself.

“That is worth it, it is priceless, you cannot put a price on that.

“I did not realise how much I needed the sport and the adrenaline of the sport. I’ve gone from walking up hills to hills on the sea and the bigger the better!”