JEN CARVER PHOTOGRAPHY & JRA – JUVENILE RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS – FREE PHOTO SESSION
Impact
Juvenile Arthritis is one of the most common chronic childhood diseases that often goes undetected or is misdiagnosed. Approximately 294,000 children under the age of 18 are affected by pediatric arthritis and rheumatologic conditions. The word arthritis literally means joint inflammation. Arthritis can be a chronic illness, meaning that it may last for months or years. Juvenile Arthritis is what people call arthritis or an arthritis-related condition that people get before age 16.
Symptoms
Pain, swelling, tenderness and stiffness of joints, causing limited range of motion, joint contracture, damage to joint cartilage, bone deformity, impaired use of joint, altered growth of bone and joints leading to short stature.
Types
Polyarticular Juvenile Rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) -or Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) Typically affects five or more joints
Pauciarticular Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA) – or Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) Typically affects four or fewer joints
Systemic onset Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA) – or Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA)
* there are other types of Juvenile Arthritis as well please go to www.arthritis.org for more information
Treatment
There is currently no cure for JRA. Early diagnosis and treatment gives children with Juvenile Arthritis the best opportunity for a good outcome.
Research
The Arthritis Foundation supports research with the greatest potential for advances and has invested more then $370 million in these efforts since its inception in 1948. Recent research funded by the Arthritis Foundation focuses on looking at DNA of children with arthritis to find ways to predict what makes certain children susceptible to arthritis. Understanding genetic and environmental factors can also help with diagnosis, predicting disease severity and the discovery of new treatments. Learning more about specific diseases may also help doctors to better understand when aggressive treatments tailored to the immune system affect juvenile arthritis inflammation; and how exercise, diet and parent-doctor teamwork can improve quality of life for children with arthritis.
The Childhood Arthritis & Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA) is a national organization of pediatric rheumatologists who have joined together to answer critical clinical research questions. Each year, the Arthritis Foundation provides monetary support to CARRA so it can continue to bring scientists together in their common goal of finding the cause of, the cure for and the best possible treatment options for childhood arthritis.
Why I chose JRA
Well..lets just say JRA kind of chose me. This is something near and dear to my heart and highly sensitive. My daughter, the day after her 4th birthday, came down with strep throat, and the next day she could barely move her head. We think the infection triggered the onset of JRA, which settled in her c-spine and later into other joints. It took approximately 6 months for a diagnosis. But I am happy to report that after 6 months of treatment, she is back in the normal range, fully active and pain free. I can only hope for this outcome for the thousands of other children suffering from this disease. So this is personal to me and to my family. I wanted to do this for my daughter, who is the strongest person I know. I am so proud of her.
How can we help?
Free Photo Session!
JEN CARVER PHOTOGRAPHY is offering to any family in the Pittsburgh area or surrounding areas a Free Photoshoot for any family dealing with JRA. Once you purchase your prints ALL PROCEEDS will go directly to the Arthritis Foundation to support research for JRA. All that is required is documentation with child’s diagnosis and a session can be scheduled. Please feel free to contact me for details.