May 2021

Parenting a child with JIA: Fear, uncertainty, hope, and an endless list of questions

By |May 13th, 2021|Advice, JIA, Mental Health, Mental Health (Caregivers), Stories|

I am the proud mother to a vibrant 3.5-year-old, Émilie, who was diagnosed with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) shortly before her second birthday. We were fortunate as a family to receive a diagnosis in a relatively rapid timeframe thanks to knowledge about navigating the health care system (I work as a nurse) and a [...]

March 2021

Toronto Star: Is a Pain-Free Future in Reach for kids with Arthritis?

By |March 15th, 2021|Advocacy, Current Events, Home Page|

Dear Friends + Partners, As part of our advocacy for Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Month, I am pleased to let you know about a special editorial by Cassie + Friends appearing today in the Toronto Star newspaper and digitally on healthinsight.ca. Click here for a link to the full article. Your voice is so important [...]

May 2019

250 kids, families and friends set to attend first Edmonton Family Day

By |May 1st, 2019|Family Day, News|

"I am hoping our daughter will be able to meet other girls her age with arthritis." "Willing to do anything to learn more about JIA." "We are hoping to connect with other families that have been through the hard time of arthritis and are trying to have a normal childhood for their child." "Oh [...]

April 2019

UCAN Ride4Kids (Day 1 to 3) – Updates from the Road from Dr. Jaime Guzman

By |April 29th, 2019|Advocacy, Current Events, Research, UCAN Ride4Kids|

Day 1 Under clear skies and magnificent views of the Lake Louise Glacier an intrepid group of riders representing Canada, Germany, Italy, Mexico and The Netherlands started the 2019 UCAN Ride4Kids. Attendants to the Childhood Arthritis and Beyond Conference enthusiastically bid farewell to the riders and after an inspiring speech by David Porte, Chairman [...]

March 2019

Cassie and Friends launches new Youth Leader Committee for #WORDday2019

By |March 18th, 2019|YLN|

As part of World Rheumatic Disease Day (WoRD Day), Cassie + Friends is announcing the official launch of our Youth Leadership Committee - a group of six young adults living with rheumatic conditions who will champion new C+F initiatives to support teens and young adults through major transitional stages of life, such as: Beginning or [...]

February 2019

Brick by Brick: Youth leaders build the patient experience they never had in hopes of helping others

By |February 14th, 2019|Stories, YLN|

Author: Zoya Jiwa, YLC Program Designer and founder of As We Are Style - a blog about facing health challenges with courage and style. Last weekend, Cassie + Friends’ Youth Leadership Committee got together for our first team retreat on a surprisingly sunny afternoon (thank you, Vancouver!) with a lot of excitement and a BIG [...]

Puppet show helps BC Interior parents fight loss of children’s arthritis care

By |February 11th, 2019|Advocacy, Elementary, News, School Toolkit, Stories|

Last month, Cassie and Friends' Juvenile Arthritis at School Puppet Show hit the road to bring juvenile arthritis education to the Okanagan! The special puppet show, which was offered free-of-charge to schools by Cassie and Friends with support from a $10,000 grant from the Telus Friendly Futures Foundation, tells the story of Cassie - a [...]

January 2019

Erika and Elena’s arthritis journey: Staying strong through the ups and downs

By |January 31st, 2019|Advice, Injection, Stories|

My daughter Elena was diagnosed with Juvenile Arthritis at age 2. Arthritis? That was an elderly person’s disease, I thought. I had no idea the depth of the disease or what would lie ahead for us. First, she started with redness and swelling in her knees. I took her into the doctor and they [...]

School Toolkit: Gym class with JIA

By |January 17th, 2019|Advice, Elementary, High School, School, School Toolkit|

For many children with JIA or other rheumatic diseases, physical challenges at school can be huge barriers, particularly when it comes to gym class. In a recent study, researchers found that 38% of kids with JIA were unable to participate in gym with their peers. Paired with misunderstanding and lack of knowledge on the [...]

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