Katie's Story

Katie is an active 10-year-old who suffers from juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). She was diagnosed in 2010 when she was just five years old. It took four weeks before a diagnosis was definitive. Today, Katie is feeling much better, having just come out of a bad flare.

She is most proud of her ability to continue gymnastics and attend school. In her free time, she enjoys watching TV, cooking, baking, cake decorating and playing with her siblings, two older brothers and a twin sister.

Katie enjoys attending church, tumbling and jumping on the trampoline. She looks forward to a family vacation this summer, and wants to be a pediatric nurse and a mom when she grows up. Katie has attended JA camp and loves to snuggle with her bear from the Arthritis Foundation. When asked what she hopes to do as an honoree she replied, “I want to encourage other kids to do what they love even though they have arthritis.