Hello there! My name is Emily Bessey. I am 19 years old and live in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. My journey with JIA and TMJ started way back in 2009 when I was just 6 years old. I would go to school limping, hardly able to walk, but return home at the end of [...]
If you follow Cassie + Friends to some degree of closeness, you are probably familiar with our much-used phrase “Juvenile Arthrtis and other rheumatic diseases.” Why say this long-fangled phrase when the majority of people that Cassie + Friends supports have Juvenile Arthrtis? When 10,000 of the 24,000 children in youth with rheumatic disease are [...]
In honour of Autoinflammatory month this August, we are introducing the members of Cassie + Friends’ new Canadian Systemic Autoinflammatory Patient Advisory Group (Can-SAID). We are beginning with autoinflammatory patient and parent and Can-SAID board chair, Ian Stedman. Ian Stedman is an autoinflammatory patient and parent. Always sick as a child, Ian had a [...]
We have been asking youth with rheumatic disease to share their story! Sharing stories helps build community and connections. We hope that Jenna’s amazing story inspires you to share your own story. My name is Jenna Kedy. I am 18 years old and live in Halifax, Nova Scotia. As a child, I was often [...]
My name is Matthew Sholdice. I am 19 years old, and I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis when I was 3 years old. I’ll start with a little bit about myself. I was born and raised in London, Ontario. I enjoy reading, working out, and watching TV and anime. Stranger Things season 4 was [...]
Hi Everyone! My name is Ciara, and I am working as an Administrative Assistant at Cassie + Friends this summer I am 19 years old and have just finished my first year at the University of Toronto studying English Literature. One of my favourite forms of Literature is Epic poetry (ex: The Odyssey). I am [...]
In early 2022 we launched the Team Cassie + Friends Youth Ambassador program to support youth in raising awareness of JA and other rheumatic diseases within their school community. Soleil is one of our first Team C+F Youth Ambassadors! This month she will give a presentation to her entire school on Juvenile Arthritis and [...]
For Lupus Awareness Month, we asked new C+F Board Member, Dr. Deborah Levy, to share five facts about childhood-onset Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (cSLE). Dr. Levy is the Clinical Director, Division of Rheumatology at the Hospital for Sick Children (“SickKids”) in Toronto and an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Toronto. She is the [...]
My name is Maryse Hendi and I live in Calgary, AB. In 2012, at age 10, I was diagnosed with lupus. Lupus is a disease in which the immune system becomes hyperactive and attacks healthy tissue, joints, and organs in the body. On May 1st, I celebrated a milestone in my lupus journey: my [...]
Meet Sheila and Jim! They've shared their family’s journey with the rare rheumatic disease, CRMO, below. Sheila and Jim live in Qualicum Beach on beautiful Vancouver Island. They have three sons, two of which live with Chronic Recurrent Multifocal Osteomyelitis (CRMO). Nolan was diagnosed with CRMO at the age of five in [...]
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