Make lemonade! At least that’s what Jacob Shiell did when he was diagnosed with Systemic Idiopathic Juvenile Arthritis (SJIA) on his eighth birthday in October 2021.
Jacob’s journey began with unexplained foot pain and swelling. Over the next few weeks, the pain and swelling worsened and spread to his right knee, elbow and wrist. He had trouble sleeping, lost weight and needed a cane to even use the washroom. He developed mouth sores, fevers, and rashes. His worried family was referred to a pediatric rheumatology specialist in London, and five weeks after his symptoms began, Jacob received his diagnosis- not cellulitis as the doctors initially thought, but systemic idiopathic juvenile arthritis. He started on a treatment plan of oral steroid and anti-inflammatory medications and the effects were swift- within nine days, Jake was not only able to move, but to ice skate!
Currently, Jacob has officially reached six-months of medicated remission meaning no active disease symptoms- great news, Jake! But that hasn’t stopped him from spreading awareness and
support to other kids suffering from these conditions. He opened Jake’s Lemonade and Cookie Stand, selling fresh-squeezed lemonade and homemade chocolate chip cookies in his hometown of Stratford, raising money to support Cassie + Friends- we could not be more proud! After his first stand in May, Jake surpassed his goal, taking the excess funds to purchase fun band-aids for the pediatric medical day unit at the London Children’s Hospital to help kids receiving treatment there feel brave. He has raised and surpassed his fundraising goal twice more since then, and plans to have a final stand on September 17th from 2-4 on the corner of Lloyd Crt and Forman Ave in Stratford, with hopes to hit his new $2000 goal before the Cassie + Friends run/walk in London.
Jacob (with some support from his mom) hand-crafts various flavours including lemon-lime, strawberry lemonade, and a very popular peach sweet tea lemonade. Being able to hand-squeeze the lemons himself and manning the booth is a testament to how far Jake has come over the last 11 months.
Doing this during his flare-ups would have been impossible.
Jacob has had two flare-ups, but thanks to wonderful doctors, early diagnosis and effective medications including one round of steroid injections and bi-weekly biologic injections, he is able to be active kid without pain. He loves gardening, art, soccer, and is looking forward to a new hockey season.
Jacob hopes sharing his story helps other families watch for the signs and symptoms of juvenile arthritis and inspires those struggling with the condition. His experience has also led to discussions of having an assembly at school regarding Juvenile Arthritis, increasing the awareness of these painful conditions.
Jacob is an inspiration to this community, and kids everywhere. We are so happy and proud of him and his family for the work they are doing to spread awareness, education, connection and support about JIA and other rheumatic diseases. He is truly a JIA warrior.
If you would like to support Jake and other kids suffering from these conditions, please consider donating to Jake’s team for the Cassie + Friends walk/run in London on September 25th. Help him exceed his fundraising goal once again! The link to donate is here:
https://raceroster.com/events/2022/56929/team-cassie-friends-london/pledge/team/416873
Jake is also a SJIA celebrity! He’s been supported and interviewed by the local radio stations 107.1 CJCS and 2day FM , and featured in StratfordToday.ca. Find the story here:
[…] was the first time he held a lemonade stand to raise funds for Cassie and Friends, an organization that supports families with kids living with Juvenile Arthritis and other Rheumatic […]