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 is organizing a run supporting Cassie + Friends at the end of May. We are very thankful that Soleil has courageously shared her Juvenile Arthritis story, which you can read below.

After having some weird bruising on two knuckles on my right hand in January of 2021, my right ankle swelled up and was so painful I couldn’t walk. We went to the doctor, and they thought it was just a sprain, but after getting the blood work, they realized I might have rheumatoid arthritis. We went to a Pediatric Rheumatologist and learned it was in 32 of my joints, and I must have had it for quite a while but didn’t even know it.

Every day since I was diagnosed in April 2021, I have tried to act like I don’t have JIA…I run and participate in all the activities in gym class because I don’t want to look different and sit on the sidelines, but then I’m in so much pain during and afterwards that I have to stop, and it makes me feel so sad because I’m different. I can’t walk my dog with my mom, so I ride my bike instead, which makes me sad; I feel like people are watching me and wondering why I’m so lazy.

When I was first diagnosed, I had to be on prednisone, which made me feel so much better, but the side effects were terrible. So now I’m just on injections, methotrexate and etanercept, and folic acid pills. My mom has to give me three needles every Friday; I don’t like Fridays anymore🙁. I have bruises on my legs from them, and it hurts afterwards, especially the methotrexate. Everything, including my skin, feels extra sensitive and weird.

I am a true animal lover and hope to be a vet one day and have my own veterinarian clinic. I love playing and snuggling with my golden retriever puppy Edward, reading, sewing, crafting, chatting with my friends, and listening to Greek mythology podcasts. I really enjoy going to my family’s farm every weekend and spending time outdoors helping with their Saskatoon U-pick in the summer and being around the animals.

Soleil with her golden retriever puppy, Edward!

I have organized a 1km run/walk at my school on May 30th and have been busy fundraising and raising awareness in my community in Winnipeg, MB. I believe this is important because we did not even know what JIA was and how it affected people when I was diagnosed. We felt very alone and uncertain of what to expect. My mom contacted Cassie + Friends, and they were so good to us, putting us in contact with another family in Winnipeg who shared their story with us and made us feel like we were not alone. We are so grateful to have met them. This made me realize I wanted to be a Team C+F Youth Ambassador and increase awareness of this disease, so no one feels like I did when I was diagnosed.

Through Soleil’s participation in the Team Cassie + Friends Youth Ambassador program, she has raised over $1300 towards her walk for juvenile arthritis in Winnipeg, MB. We are so proud of Soleil and if you would like to make a donation towards her walk for JA, please click here.

Learn more about the Cassie + Friends Youth Ambassador program here.