Playing With Words 365

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Join Us in Our Fight Against Juvenile Arthritis!

April 13, 2012 by Katie Filed Under: Family Life, Juvenile Arthritis 9 Comments

I know that I usually post free stuff on my blog on Fridays. However today I am taking a break from making and sharing freebies to focus on something that is very important to me: Juvenile Arthritis.

What is Juvenile Arthritis? Juvenile Arthritis is NOT the “arthritis” that most people think of when they hear that word. Juvenile Arthritis (aka Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis or Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis) is an autoimmune disease that causes the body to attack its own joints. It is NOT the same arthritis that your grandmother has.  It causes pain, swelling, inflammation and deformity. Some forms can attack organs. It also can attack the eyes, causing blindness.

Why do I care about Juvenile Arthritis? Because my daughter, Esella, was diagnosed with JA just after her second birthday. One morning, she woke up and could barely walk. You can read her story HERE. Now at age three, we have to give her a weekly injection at home of a chemotherapy medication to help suppress her over active immune system. This is unacceptable. Juvenile Arthritis is unacceptable.

What is the treatment for Juvenile Arthritis? Unfortunately, Juvenile Arthritis cannot be treated with just a couple Advil. Treatments vary depending on the type and severity but most children require weekly injections of various types of medications or even monthly infusions (think Chemotherapy) of even stronger medications. My daughter is currently receiving a weekly injection of Methotrexate, a chemotherapy medication, to suppress her over active immune system. We will find out in mid May after an MRI (my 3 year old needs to be sedated so that she can have an MRI of her hands to determine the level of inflammation) whether we will need to start her on an even stronger medication or if her current medication is working. Other treatments include steroid injections (E got one in her knee just after her diagnosis. She again was sedated for this) and oral steroids. In addition, many children may require physical and/or occupational therapies (my daughter had BOTH last year). Because JA can effect the eyes, children have to be watched closely by pediatric ophthalmologists as there often are no symptoms until there is damage.

Why should YOU care about Juvenile Arthritis? Well…why wouldn’t you? 😉 Seriously though…if you are wondering WHY you should care, take just a few minutes to watch this short video I made.

How we are fighting against Juvenile Arthritis: We will be taking part in the Arthritis Foundation’s Arthritis Walk for the second time this year on May 5th. Last year was our first year and we ended up raising quite a bit of money (over $17,000). The money raised go towards funding research for better medications and hopefully one day a CURE for this disease. The money also helps fund educational programs as well as community programs such as camps for children with rheumatological diseases and special events dedicated to the cause such as Juvenile Arthritis Education Day (which we just attended last month). In addition to raising funds, we are out to raise AWARENESS and educate others about this disease. You have no idea how many times I have had to explain how Juvenile Arthritis is NOT the arthritis your grandmother has and that my daughter can’t just take an Advil and move on. This is a serious autoimmune disease with no cure.

How YOU can help: If you have found my blog helpful, perhaps you might share this blog post with your friends and family. This can help spread awareness about JA which is our #1 goal. You can also help by making a small donation in my daughter’s name, if you would like. You can do so by going HERE. Every penny counts 🙂

Because, doesn’t SHE deserve a cure?

Thanks so much for taking the time to read and watch my video! Happy Friday!!

Cheers!

About Katie

Katie is a licensed, credentialed and certified pediatric speech-language pathologist and mom to four (8, 6, 3 and 6 months). Her passion for educating, inspiring and empowering parents of children with all abilities led her to start her blog playing with words 365 where she shares information about speech & language development & intervention strategies, parenting, photography and a little about her family life too. Katie has been working in the field of speech pathology for 12 years and is certified in The Hanen Centre’s It Takes Two to Talk ® and Target Word ® programs and holds a certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). In addition to blogging and being a mommy, Katie works part time in her small private practice in the San Francisco Bay Area. You can follow her on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.

Comments

  1. Casey says

    April 13, 2012 at 7:33 am

    What a wonderful video Katie, and congratulations on raising so much money and awareness for JA. My family and I have participated in activities here in MN for JA, so I know how important they are to helping with research. Good luck to you, and God Bless Esella and your family!

    Reply
    • Katie says

      April 13, 2012 at 10:44 am

      Thank you Casey!

      Reply
  2. Rebecca says

    April 13, 2012 at 10:40 am

    Beautiful video, beautiful post. My prayers are with your family. I live too far away to walk with you but know I’ll be thinking of you during the walk time..

    Reply
    • Katie says

      April 13, 2012 at 10:50 am

      Thanks Rebecca!

      Reply
  3. Lorrie says

    May 2, 2012 at 4:10 pm

    How inspiring!!! I’ve had JRA since I was 18 months and have recently been helping another family whose daughter was just diagnosed. We are doing the RA walk in June 🙂 Best wishes!!!
    Lorrie recently posted..Ashley’s Arthritis Fighters Fundraiser Walk!!!!My Profile

    Reply
    • Katie says

      May 2, 2012 at 4:52 pm

      Thanks Lorrie! Good luck to you! 😀

      Reply
  4. Lorna Bauer says

    June 18, 2013 at 9:58 am

    Hi Katie,

    I happened accross your website as I was searching for information on Juvenile Arthritis. My daughter, who is now almost 9, has JIA. Just like your daughter, she presented at 15 months, and limped for 6 months on a swollen knee. Overnight, with injection, that was almost cured, however at just before 3 years old she was affected by uveitis. She has chronic persistent uveitis, and luckily after many years of NSAIDS, methotrexate, and 3 years of infliximab infusions, she is stable. She continues with leflunomide daily, and infliximab infusions every 6 – 8 weeks, but she is active, healthy and otherwise unaffected. I am attaching a video that she was involved in, for a study in Canada called LEAP. She is the hockey player in the video, however it is a great production to encourage parents of children with JIA, that keeping their children active is a good thing, and also is hopeful that despite the challenges of JIA, these children with the research, and medications available to them today and going forward have a much better chance!
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEcstaUcXX4

    Good luck to you and Estella! I was touched by your video, as it was so familiar to me.
    Lorna

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Saturday Bloggie Must Reads | Check Out These Awesome Blog Reads says:
    April 21, 2012 at 4:12 pm

    […] With Words 365 – Join Us in Our Fight Against Juvenille Arthritis Jenn Filed Under: Bloggy Reads Tagged With: Good Blog Reads Next PostPrevious PostCurrent […]

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  2. Less Than Two Weeks Until the Arthritis Walk! says:
    April 23, 2012 at 3:01 am

    […] Katie On April 23, 2012 · Leave a Comment · In Juvenile Arthritis I mentioned recently about our participation in the Arthritis Walk 2012 coming up on May 5th! My daughter E is the […]

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