Toronto

This World Lupus Day, we’re honoured to share a guest blog from one of our incredible youth mentors, Hunter. Diagnosed with lupus at just nine years old, Hunter faced more than most kids his age. Now at 24, Hunter works as a research assistant at SickKids Hospital in Toronto, helping…

Emily was just 16 months old when she started showing symptoms. The first sign we noticed was her discomfort while getting dressed in the morning—she seemed to be in pain. Her amazing daycare workers also noticed changes, mentioning that she was less active than before. She no longer kept up…

Hi, my name is Joscelyn Daskalopoulos, and this is our family’s story of living with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) — a disease that affects two of our three children. Our journey began when our second child, Christina, was diagnosed at just one year old. She had started walking before her…

Our daughter’s journey with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) has been a difficult process but one that has taught us many things, including resilience and patience. Olivia was diagnosed at 15 months of age but started showing symptoms around 10 months. She first presented with symptoms of neck stiffness, fatigue and…

Harley is our tiny warrior. Just after turning 2, in August 2022, Harley started having difficulty walking one day out of nowhere. It pained her to tears and she had to hold onto someone to walk or be carried. She was on Amoxicillin for an ear infection, and had also…

In this special Rare Disease Month edition of “Where Are They Now”, we caught up with Zahra Alidina. In 2023, Zahra shared what life was like living with an autoinflammatory disease that is so rare it doesn’t even have a name. We’re so honoured to share this update from Zahra below.…

Meet one of our new parent ambassadors, Bobby-Jo! Last year, Bobby-Jo shared with us her daughter Harley’s journey with JIA, and why she was running for Team Cassie + Friends Toronto. Today, we are so happy to announce Bobby-Jo as a new parent ambassador! Bobby-Jo truly inspires all of us at…

Living with a chronic condition like a rheumatic disease can be especially challenging for young people, not only physically but also mentally. It’s no surprise that 40% of youth diagnosed with a rheumatic disease experience symptoms of anxiety, depression, or panic disorders. However, a strong support system and connection with others…

It was fall of 2021 and Isla was 6 years old. Her life was pretty much centred around her unwavering excitement for Halloween and being able to wear her unicorn costume to go trick-or-treating with her best friend, Alice. Over the month of October, we started to notice that she…

Thirteen year old Reese from Whitby, Ontario was diagnosed with JIA at age two, but she has never let this get in the way of her athletic goals. Read her story of perseverance and strength below, and join Reese and her entire Aurora Panthers Bantam AA hockey team on October 21st as they…

On Thursday, April 19th, the members of the Cassie and Friends Society Board, youth leaders and parent volunteers came together for our Annual General Meeting. We are excited to share the report provided by Cassie and Friends’ Co-Founder and Board Chair, David Porte, outlining the amazing things we’ve been able…