Ontario

Daniela is an 18-year-old youth living with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. In this piece, she shares her journey to diagnosis, the realities of growing up with a chronic illness, and how her experiences have shaped her passion for advocacy and helping others navigating childhood-onset rheumatic disease.

Morphea, also known as localized Scleroderma, is an auto immune disease that causes hardened and darkened patches of skin on the face, hands, feet, or anywhere else on the body.

We are so fortunate to have a large support system from our families and friends as we navigate this chapter of our lives.

This World Lupus Day, we’re honoured to share a guest blog from one of our incredible youth mentors, Hunter. Diagnosed with lupus at just nine years old, Hunter faced more than most kids his age. Now at 24, Hunter works as a research assistant at SickKids Hospital in Toronto, helping…

Emily was just 16 months old when she started showing symptoms. The first sign we noticed was her discomfort while getting dressed in the morning—she seemed to be in pain. Her amazing daycare workers also noticed changes, mentioning that she was less active than before. She no longer kept up…

Hi, my name is Joscelyn Daskalopoulos, and this is our family’s story of living with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) — a disease that affects two of our three children. Our journey began when our second child, Christina, was diagnosed at just one year old. She had started walking before her…

Our daughter’s journey with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) has been a difficult process but one that has taught us many things, including resilience and patience. Olivia was diagnosed at 15 months of age but started showing symptoms around 10 months. She first presented with symptoms of neck stiffness, fatigue and…

Harley is our tiny warrior. Just after turning 2, in August 2022, Harley started having difficulty walking one day out of nowhere. It pained her to tears and she had to hold onto someone to walk or be carried. She was on Amoxicillin for an ear infection, and had also…

In this special Rare Disease Month edition of “Where Are They Now”, we caught up with Zahra Alidina. In 2023, Zahra shared what life was like living with an autoinflammatory disease that is so rare it doesn’t even have a name. We’re so honoured to share this update from Zahra below.…

Dr. Molly Dushnicky’s story sounds like a lot of her patients’: When she was just 18 months old, she stopped walking, her knees wouldn’t bend easily, and she wasn’t her usual happy self. That’s when she was diagnosed with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA). Now, Dr. Dushnicky is a Pediatric Rheumatologist…

We’re so excited to introduce Tamara Schnarr, one of our new parent ambassadors for the Kitchener-Waterloo region! Tamara, a Realtor with a background in marketing, graphic design, and event management, is passionate about giving back to her community and is looking forward to supporting Cassie + Friends’ mission – a…

Meet one of our new parent ambassadors, Bobby-Jo! Last year, Bobby-Jo shared with us her daughter Harley’s journey with JIA, and why she was running for Team Cassie + Friends Toronto. Today, we are so happy to announce Bobby-Jo as a new parent ambassador! Bobby-Jo truly inspires all of us at…