The team at Stoke Chiro Spinal Health Centre will be climbing Snowdon to raise funds for JIA-at-NRAS.

JIA stands for juvenile idiopathic arthritis which is a form of arthritis in children, which causes joint swelling (inflammation) and joint stiffness.

Most  people have heard RA (Rheumatoid arthritis) or osteoarthritis but JIA is not commonly known. A simple explanation of JIA is that it is an auto immune disease where the immune system is confused and attacks healthy joints thinking that there is a foreign body that is harmful to the joints. When in fact, the immune system is what's causing the actual harm to the joints.

This is a cause close to our hearts here at Stoke Chiro as Andy and Hannah's daughter Juno was diagnosed with JIA at only 10 months old! We want to show our support and help raise awareness of juvenile arthritis.

Juno's story

By sharing Juno’s story we hope that we can raise awareness of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis.

We first noticed that Juno had a swollen finger when she was around 6 months old. It didn't seem to bother her and we assumed she had just caught it playing with her bigger brother. However, the swelling didn't go down and we started noticing that she was struggling to put weight through her wrist and was waking in the morning with a stiff neck. When we spoke to our GP about our concerns, she told us that Juno was too young for any form of arthritis. It took a few months of various xrays, scans and blood tests plus a few nights stay in hospital seeing multiple consultants before we were referred to the rheumatology team at Alder Hey and Juno was diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

 
Whilst the rheumatology team are fantastic, appointments are limited and so we have found the charity JIA at NRAS to be a fantastic source of information and help. Their range of booklets have been extremely helpful to pass out to family and to Juno's nursery to help them understand the diagnosis and ways to support her.
As a result of the stiffness and swelling in Juno's wrist and fingers, she was unable to crawl, however with medication and dietary changes, her symptoms have been well managed and at now 17 months old she is a very active, cheerful and cheeky little girl.

All donations will go to JIA -at-NRAS.

JIA-at-NRAS is a part of the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS). They provide information and support services for those affected by juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), their families, friends, carers, and health professionals.