Injection
Bella, Buzzy & a Beautifully Written Letter
Bella is turning 7 this year and while most kids her age are focused on playing outside and colouring, Bella is dealing with the ups and downs of Muckle-Wells Syndrome which includes painful injections. As you can imagine, she has been struggling with the large doses of anakinra and the…
Lily’s Journey to Diagnosis, Methotrexate, and Finding A Community of Support
Meet Lily. One morning, at the young age of 2, our daughter Lily woke up limping and her left knee looked slightly swollen. She didn’t seem to show that she was in pain, but was refraining from putting weight on her left leg. We had no idea what happened and didn’t…
Honor Student. Elite Athlete. JIA Warrior.
“If you told me a few years ago that I would be pursuing my dream of playing post-secondary volleyball at Dalhousie University, I would have laughed out loud because at the time it seemed near to impossible.” Meet Ella. In April of 2020, I was diagnosed with a rheumatic condition…
Caden’s Story – JIA, Uveitis & Needlephobia
Caden was diagnosed with JIA when she was just 3 years old. When we first noticed her limping, we thought she may have hurt her knee skiing as we had just taken her for her first lessons. Then one morning I saw her sneaking down the stairs from her bedroom,…
My Medication Journey by Julie Beausoleil
Written by young adult JIA patient, Julie Beausoleil, this blog post was originally published by www.takeapaincheck.ca on June 29th, 2021. Take A Pain Check is a juvenile arthritis focussed podcast hosted by 18 year old Natasha Trehan, that provides a recognizable platform for youth and young adults to share their experience with…
The impact of JIA pain and its treatments on parents
“Every furrow of her brow makes me want to stop” If you have ever struggled to give your child an injection or to manage your child’s – or your own – emotions about their treatments, you are not alone! In the lead up to our Methotrexate session, we talked with Yvonne…
Erika and Elena’s arthritis journey: Staying strong through the ups and downs
My daughter Elena was diagnosed with Juvenile Arthritis at age 2. Arthritis? That was an elderly person’s disease, I thought. I had no idea the depth of the disease or what would lie ahead for us. First, she started with redness and swelling in her knees. I took her into the doctor…
Andrea’s Tips on Managing Medications, School and Opening Up…
Teens Taking Charge: Andrea’s JIA After being diagnosed with Juvenile Arthritis at the age of two, Andrea’s childhood and teen years were much different than those of her peers. Her experiences with doctors’ visits and medications from such a young age forced her to mature faster and understand things her…