Story
#ConnectingJA Transforms Lives Everyday
#ConnectingJA transforms Misinformation. “Cassie + Friends has been such a great resource for my husband and I, our son, and even Lily to understand the disease more.” Parent of a child with JA, SK #ConnectingJA transforms Opportunities. “While I have completed the Future Leaders Program, these new skills will continue to serve…
Seeing Possibilities after Diagnosis: a Uveitis Story
Throughout my life I have been granted many titles; mom, wife, daughter, registered nurse, and writer are just a few. These are the titles that are associated with my name. I could be described as outgoing, humorous, modest, and perhaps kind too. These would be some characteristics that people from…
Puppet show helps BC Interior parents fight loss of children’s arthritis care
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…
Erika and Elena’s arthritis journey: Staying strong through the ups and downs
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…
Emily’s story: Navigating pain, planes and biologics
Tanya Cassidy Irwin is a mother and Cassie and Friends community member from Langley, BC. This is her story of navigating pain, travel, medication and the unknown throughout her daughter Emily’s journey with Oligoarticular JIA. In September 2015 there was the most subtle of hitches in our daughter Emily’s…
Why I Run: Marie’s Story
I want to let you know why I am walking this Charity Challenge for Cassie and Friends. “Autoimmunity is the system of immune responses of an organism against its own healthy cells and tissues. Any disease that results from such an aberrant immune response is termed an ‘autoimmune disease.’” My…