Duncan: I'm Duncan. I'm 17 years old and I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis when I was two years old.
Danielle: I'm Danielle. I'm 15 years old and I was diagnosed with enthesitis arthritis when I was 14 years old.
Duncan: Even though I have arthritis, I love playing lots of sports. I play hockey at a very high level and my arthritis doesn't really get in the way of that if I take my
medicine. So, I'm still very active even though I have arthritis. Danielle: I just got arthritis about a
year ago and so it's very easy to see the changes in my life. Whenever I tell someone I have arthritis,
they're kind of in shock like they would have never known and I like to keep it that way.
I like to act like it doesn't even matter and I can do anything another person or teenager would do.
Lindsey: My name is Lindsay. I'm 20 years old and I was diagnosed with Juvenile Rhuematoid Arthritis (JIA) when I was two and a half years old.
It's been a constant struggle in my life, but I think it's something that, you know, you face everyday with a smile and you just bare through it.
And, it's made me who I am and I like who I am so I don't mind it.
Duncan: I feel the biggest impact that arthritis has had on my life is my physical well-being. I have all these issues already to do with my knees, and the arthritis that I have in my knees, and it worries me.
I love playing sports and it worries me that I might not be able to do that when I get older or even when I have kids, not be able to play with my son or daughter like my
dad had a chance to do with me. Danielle: The biggest impact since I was diagnosed, just is knowing what I can
and can't do. Like shopping is one of my favorite things to do and walking through those long malls
just hurts so much. And going to an amusement park, going on a walk with your friends, just little things
that would have never hurt me before now do and since I've only had it for a year, I'm still
just getting too accustomed to them and it's all new for me, but I'm sure that I can deal and
get used to it.
Lindsey: Not everyone's arthritis is the same. Physically, my arthritis was pretty bad. I had a lot of problems. Had to go to the doctor's a lot and take all those medications.
Just trying to control it. So, I mean there was a lot of bad days where it really hurt and I couldn't do
anything and there was a period where, you know, I was stuck on a couch for three months.
Dr. Cameron: Many people think that arthritis is something only old people get. Children and teens get a kind of
arthritis called juvenile idiopathic arthritis or JIA. Duncan: What causes arthritis?
Dr. Cameron: Well, we actually don't fully know Duncan. I mean this is an intense area of research. We're going to find out in the future that there are some genetic influences in that.
Not that it's like like mom like dad and so son will get, but somewhere in the family tree carried in the genes that you carry, not these
kind of jeans, but the genes within your, you know, actual tissues, probably predispose you or make you
more likely to get arthritis. And it may be in relationship to some infection that is not yet
identified, that your body is trying to fight. Where in fact, instead of responding appropriately to a
viral illness or an infection, the immune system against itself and inflames the joints. Your doctor
will look for signs of arthritis or inflammation in your joints by looking for swelling, fluid in
your joints, joints that are warm to touch, pain or tenderness in your joints and difficulty moving
your joints. If these symptoms are ongoing and not treated, it can lead to damage of your joints.
Duncan: And I find with my friends, they joke around with me and they call me old man because they
think arthritis is only for old people when they don't really understand or know So, I
that sort of impacts me. I sort of brush it off and prove to them that I'm not an old man
and I am just the same as them. Danielle: I wanted to go to sleep over camp and since I had just been
diagnosed with arthritis, I just kept thinking 'Well what if I can't do it? What if I can't walk
to the mess hall?' And I just said 'You know what? I have to do it.' If I didn't have arthritis
I would do it so I'm gonna do it and I went to camp and every time I go to the infirmary, all my
friends would be like 'Why are you here?' And I'd have to tell them and make them understand and
they don't get it at first but after be like 'Okay, not a big deal.' In the end camp wasn't a
big deal for me and I was able to do everything else that my friends could. Duncan: I sort of felt at a
disadvantage in a way,but I made sure that, you know, if I tried hard and did all my exercises
and took my medicine that I'd be able to be the same as my friend that didn't have arthritis.
And it's just a good goal to have and just sort of comparing yourself to another person. Even
though you're different, you know that if you try your best you can be the same as the other person.