Stories

Meet Blake: One of Our Youngest Runners and a Big Reason We Run! Meet Blake, a resilient little one and one of our youngest runners on Team Cassie + Friends Halifax! Diagnosed with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) at just 16 months old, Blake’s journey has been filled with challenges, strength,…

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…

Valerina was born a healthy baby, bringing joy and happiness to our family. However, around 15 months old, we noticed that her pinky was swollen. Concerned, we took her to many doctor appointments, hoping to find an answer. Despite their efforts, we were left without a diagnosis. Each morning, Valerina…

The First Signs Ziyaad was born on January 2, 2017, and he is now 8 years old. He has 2 older siblings, a sister, Nureen age 18, and a brother Fayaaz, age 16. He also has a cat, named Leo. Ziyaad enjoys being outdoors, swimming, biking and hiking. He is…

Kylie’s Journey to Diagnosis Kylie took a bit of a tumble at a gymnastics birthday party and hurt her ankle when she was five. At the time it didn’t appear to be very serious and we continued on with the party. The next day her ankle became quite swollen so…

The Start of Our Journey Laila’s journey started when she was just six years old. She began complaining of leg pain, something that many parents might chalk up to growing pains. We thought, like most parents, that it was just a phase—something that would pass in time. But it didn’t.…

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…

My name is Grace Todd and I have two sons both with different forms of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA). My youngest Levi just turned 7, and my oldest Tallon is 10. I live in Whitehorse YT and have been fighting for them for almost a year before we got diagnosed.…

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…

The First Signs November 30th, 2016, Rylee Lynn Rideout arrived making us parents for the first time and becoming the first grandchild and niece in our families. The years that followed were nothing short of amazing, Rylee developed a love for life and a sparkle that we quickly knew would…

The Early Signs Simon’s journey began when he was around 10; he has always been an active, strong-willed child. He never complained when falling or having some scratches for his rough, playful adventures, but he wasn’t happy with our long walks. As a family, we love hiking, which seemed to…

As a parent/caregiver, you envision your children growing up happy and healthy, enjoying life to the fullest. However, life tends to chuckle at our best laid plans, and that was the case with our middle daughter, Rosalie, who was diagnosed with Polyarticular Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis at the age of 6…