Annika hurt her ankle in December 2021. She complained of pain, but we didn’t see any swelling or bruising. We took her to our family doctor, who then sent her for an X-ray. He didn’t see anything from that, so we went home but Annika still complained of pain.

In the meantime, our family doctor moved, and we saw a new family doctor next. Annika was sent for X-rays again, but this time the doctor saw something odd and sent us to see Dr. Rooks, a Pediatric Orthopedic specialist at the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital in Saskatoon. After more X-rays and blood & urine tests, she referred us to Dr. Jariwala, a Pediatric Rheumatologist.

Dr. Jariwala sent Annika for an MRI and explained what he thought it might be – a condition called Chronic Recurrent Multifocal Osteomyelitis (CRMO) which is a bone inflammation disease. CRMO is hard to detect. Doctors must rule out other similar diseases before diagnosing. So, we then met with Dr. Jariwala and Dr. Sinha, a Pediatric Oncologist. They explained that there was a very small chance this could be a type of cancer and they would like to rule it out to be sure. Annika was booked in for a spinal bone biopsy a month later.

During this same time, Annika was complaining of back pain, and sometimes could barely walk up the stairs. We thought this was just part of her condition but mentioned to the doctor that Annika had fallen out of bed a month prior. While looking at the MRI results, our doctor told us that it showed that Annika had actually fractured her spine! CRMO causes her bones to be more fragile and little things like that could be very dangerous to her. She was told to stop doing things that would put her at risk, like riding a bike and jumping on the trampoline, and started monthly infusion treatments to heal her spine.

After many tests and appointments, Dr. Jariwala finally confirmed that Annika had CRMO in May 2022 and we started on a plan. She currently takes meds twice a day to manage pain but still has flare-ups from time to time. We still get to see Dr. Jariwala & Nurse Leah twice a year and Annika will have a yearly MRI until she is 18. We are hopeful she will grow out of the disease. The MRI is a great tool to show us things that X-rays can’t, such as a crushed vertebrae that Annika currently has (but has no pain/effect from it, thankfully).

Annika just turned 9 on July 8th! She loves swimming, doing hip-hop dance classes, singing, and art lessons.

You can help support kids like Annika and their families by signing up for one of our Team Cassie + Friends runs/walks happening all across Canada and/or by donating to one of our teams, including our upcoming Saskatoon run on September 7th, 2024! Your participation and support will help raise funds and awareness for childhood rheumatic diseases, such as CRMO, and provide a fun day of activity and connecting for affected families and supporters in the Cassie + Friends community. Let’s take strides towards a cure together and make a difference in the lives of children living with rheumatic conditions across Canada.