Road trip Alert! Starting Monday, April 29th, Cassie + Friends at School Puppet program will tour ten Calgary-area elementary schools to educate over 2500 students, parents and educators about Juvenile Arthritis and help affected kids at school. The tour is part of a huge push we are making to expand our Cassie and Friends’ support programs like our school show, parent to parent matching program, youth leader network and an annual Juvenile Arthritis Family Day conference into Alberta.
These efforts would not be possible without the help of the Juvenile Arthritis and rheuamtic disease community – kids, teens, parents, young adults, healthcare professionals and more all coming together to make sure kids and families have the support they need to thrive!
On Sunday, May 26th, Elizabeth and Jason Devens, featured below, along with many of their family and friends, as well as other parents, children and healthcare professionals from Alberta Children’s Hospital will be running together as Team Cassie and Friends in the Calgary Marathon Charity Challenge Run to raise awareness and funds for children and families living with JIA in Alberta.
Click here for information on joining our team!
If you would like to help even more kids and teachers learn about Juvenile Arthritis and support affected kids at school, please consider making a gift to our School Puppet Program.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Puppets Help Break Down Barriers for Airdrie Child, 5, Living with Painful Arthritis
April 27, 2019- CALGARY, ALBERTA: Five-year old Jason Devens is just beginning to understand that he has something different happening in his body than other kids at his Airdrie elementary school. That’s because he lives with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) – a painful autoimmune disease that attacks his joints and eyes, leaves him fatigued and causes him to miss school, both due to the disease itself and the complex side effects of the treatments, including chemotherapy, used to fight the inflammation in his young body.
Luckily, Jason has made some very special friends – a troupe of life-sized puppets who will travel to the Calgary-area on April 29th for a week-long tour of schools, including Jason’s, to spread awareness about JIA and what it means for the three in 1,000 affected kids across Alberta just like him.
The special puppet show, which is offered free-of-charge to schools by Cassie and Friends Society (www.cassieandfriends.ca) – a national charity dedicated to transforming the lives of children and families affected by Juvenile Arthritis and other rheumatic diseases – tells the story of Cassie, a young girl who likes swimming, pizza and lives with JIA.
Like Jason, Cassie sometimes misses school and can’t participate in certain activities because of her arthritis. She also has to deal with friends (and even teachers) who don’t understand and question her condition. Through the interactive play, the puppet show will give Jason’s classmates a chance to ask questions and learn what happens when your joints get stiff or how people get arthritis. Most importantly, they will also learn that Cassie, like Jason, isn’t much different than the rest of them.
“Jason has some pretty big obstacles to overcome for a 5 year old. He often suffers morning stiffness and pain as we send him off to school, he gets weekly injections, joint injections, monthly infusions, and has many hospital visits to see specialists and for procedures,” says mom, Elizabeth Devens, an Emergency Room Nurse at Alberta Children’s Hospital.
“This year in particular was difficult to watch as a parent. He was in a significant amount of pain, his arthritis affected new joints and now his eyes. He had to give up some of the activities he loves. Luckily, Jason’s swim school, K&K Swim, has been really supportive to help keep him moving and active even when his joints hurt.”
First diagnosed at 20 months old, Jason went through a battery of tests, procedures, a lengthy admission to hospital and even surgery before he was diagnosed. His care is now overseen by a multidisciplinary pediatric rheumatology care team at Alberta Children’s Hospital, where he also works closely with child life specialist in medical day treatment.
“We’re so excited about the awareness this puppet show will spread. Arthritis is so common yet it seems nobody thinks of it as a childhood illness. Ironically, I also fought arthritis as a child, so I am especially overwhelmed by the support Cassie and Friends has already given us. Jason will have a much different journey then I did. He will learn how to explain his condition to others and be connected, as he gets older, through programs for teens and efforts to ensure access to new treatment options. We are grateful to this charity for helping fund pediatric research in particular.”
The Cassie and Friends at School Puppet program will tour ten elementary schools from April 29 to May 3, 2019 and will educate over 2500 students, parents and educators in the Calgary-area about Juvenile Arthritis. The tour is part of a huge push by Cassie and Friends to expand their support programs like the school program, parent to parent matching program, youth leader network and an annual Juvenile Arthritis Family Day conference into Alberta.
On Sunday, May 26th, Elizabeth and Jason Devens along with many family and friends, as well as other parents, children and healthcare professionals from Alberta Children’s Hospital will be running together as Team Cassie and Friends in the Calgary Marathon Charity Challenge Run to raise awareness and funds for children and families living with JIA in Alberta.
Background:
Cassie + Friends Society is a national charity working to transform the lives of kids and families affected by Juvenile Arthritis and other rheumatic diseases. Since 2007, we’ve raised over $2 million to fund research, equipment, educational events, advocacy, and child and parent support services. Our vision is for a brighter future for kids with arthritis – one where children don’t have to spend countless hours treating their condition and aren’t confined to the sidelines in sports, school and even life. Even better, we’ll create a future where the need for children to undergo complex and costly medical interventions such as joint replacements, surgeries and aggressive, immune-suppressing medications like chemotherapy and biologics is eliminated forever.
For more information or interview opportunities please contact:
Jennifer Wilson
Executive Director
604.617.1382
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