Neely (Social Worker): Transitioning to an adult rheumatologist can be a little bit scary, but if you know what to expect
it might make the process a little bit easier.
Duncan: I've been at SickKids since I was two, so I've been here for 15 years in the SickKids clinic
and I have to move onto an adult clinic coming up this next year. And I'm not really nervous because I know that I'm strong and I can do within myself.
Lindsey: So going to an adult facility, obviously I didn't know anyone and it was a little scary, but I mean, people there are just as friendly.
I think sometimes, it just seems like they're busier.
Danielle: I think that the transition will be really it will be really easy.
Neely: It will be up to you to take responsibility for your arthritis. What kind of exercise routine you should do. What medication to take.
Lindsey: When growing up, being a child with, you know, a disease in the family, you kind of instantly become the baby of the family.
So in that everyone wants to take care of and I think that's completely true for my mom and so I think she's having a hard time accepting I'm an adult and that I need to take care of myself and be independent.
Well, you know, she wants to take over and do her mother thing.
Neely: This is your healthcare appointment and you're going to be the one taking responsibility for your arthritis.
Lindsey: If you see your mom being there, or your father being there, at like every doctor's appointment, and like being on your back about taking your medication,
your pills, and now that I don't have my mom with me at all my appointments, it's kinda weird. Really [inaudible]
So I still call my mom and just try to get her to force me to do stuff. Get her to encourage me.
Neely: So it's important that you learn all you can about
your arthritis, about the medications that you're on, what medications you've been on in the past,
of your past health history. Ask your parents questions if you don't know the answers and
learn all you can so that you can provide your new doctor with the information they need.
Danielle: Talk to other people. Find out who has it. There are more people than you would think.
By talking to other teens with arthritis, I know that I'll be okay by myself and everything will be fine.
Lindsey: And there are those feelings of not being able to take care of yourself and being dependent on other
people, and it's really difficult because I still feel those some days. Not be able
to look after myself and not feeling. It makes you feel like you're not an adult.
Just because you can't do something as simple as wash your hair. I have learned to deal with that because
ability does not determine me being an adult. Just because I can't do something one day doesn't mean
I don't have the capacity to do it another day. I kind of, you know, just try to put myself into like
this day and be like today I can do something. Like today I can do what I want.
Danielle: In the future, I plan on going to university. Hopefully getting a job and just living my life as I would if I didn't have arthritis.
Dr. Cameron: It is impossible for your doctor to really predict what will happen with your arthritis or if it will last into adulthood. As it stands, about
60% of children and teens with arthritis will have active arthritis as adults. Also, the longer your
disease remains active, the greater your risk of having joint damage.
Lindsey: I'm constantly afraid for the future. About like how my body could deteriorate and I kind of feel like I have to live up now as
much as possible.
Dr. Cameron: Your healthcare team will follow your symptoms to see if they follow any patterns of ups and downs.
They can use this information to give you a general idea of what to expect in the future.
Duncan: Although my arthritis won't disappear, I know that I'm gonna be okay and I'm gonna be able to go to university and live a normal life as long as I believe
in myself and I keep going to doctors and keep taking my medicine. So, I'm not worried about the future because I know that I'll be okay.
Lindsey: What I've gone through has given me strength. It's made me closer to my family. It's made me more solid as a person. You know what, like I have a disability but it makes me just,
if not like more of a person and less of one. I feel more in touch with the bigger ideas of life.
Family and identity and I feel more connected to that then I think a lot of people would.