33 — that’s the number of years Joanna Helon has had arthritis. The kicker? She’s only 40.
For 21 of those years, Joanna has channeled her energy into the Arthritis Foundation’sJingle Bell Run对关节炎。通过药物、治疗、炎症、疼痛和一些挫折，乔安娜把5K作为一个平台来聚集朋友，提高意识，最重要的是，筹集资金来支持关节炎基金会。
Joanna, a non-profit consultant in the Columbus, Ohio area, was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis in elementary school. For more than a year, Joanna and her family struggled to find an accurate diagnosis for her pain and sudden restrictions to her movement. She saw multiple doctors and health professionals, with some even suggesting her symptoms did not have a physical cause.
“I am the fourth of five children, and this was the 1980s,” Joanna recalls. “Doctors suggested that I was seeking attention.”
然而，她的疾病不断恶化，她不得不面对越来越多的局限。很快，她就不能自己系鞋带，也不能在没有人搀扶的情况下坐在地板上。因为疼痛，她每晚都在睡梦中哭泣。
Fortunately, Joanna found an ally in her gym teacher who noticed that something was truly going on with Joanna’s joints. The teacher even had Joanna’s friends help her with exercises and stretches to keep her joints moving. Luckily, Joanna eventually received an accurate diagnosis of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis at Akron Children’s Hospital, but within the year that passed between misdiagnosis and diagnosis, the damage had been done.
“The doctor there knew as soon as he looked at me that I had juvenile rheumatoid arthritis,” Joanna says. “While it was a relief to finally get a diagnosis, a lot of limitations and damage to my joints arose in the year that I didn’t have treatment.”
乔安娜的治疗方案从每天36片婴儿阿司匹林开始。然后她又开始注射金针剂，并最终使用非甾体抗炎药(NSAIDs)和甲氨蝶呤。她现在每周注射一次生物药物。乔安娜小时候并没有接触到现在很多孩子都在服用的生物药物，但她很感激在治疗选择方面取得的进步。
乔安娜说:“我很高兴现在有药物可以治疗这种疾病，防止关节损伤。”“与我年轻的时候相比，现在孩子严重关节损伤的情况要少见得多。”
Now a mother of two, Joanna says her active arthritis is controlled, but confirms she deals with daily pain and range of motion issues due to long-term joint damage.
“我身体的每个关节都有关节炎，所以有很多事情我不能做，”乔安娜解释说。“我不能自己穿袜子，也不能为晚餐打开一罐意大利面酱。我右手的拇指已经不能用了，这使得打字——我工作中必不可少的一部分——变得越来越困难。”
Though her battle with arthritis is a constant one, Joanna prefers to focus on a different constant in her life — the Arthritis Foundation. Since her childhood diagnosis, the Arthritis Foundation has been a steady source of information and support for Joanna and her family.
“My parents looked to theArthritis Foundation in Cleveland当我长大的时候，”乔安娜说。“我参加了关节炎儿童夏令营，也参加了JA会议。这让我认识了其他理解我所经历的孩子。”
Joanna also has volunteered at JA camp and has served as an Arthritis Foundation advocate on Capitol Hill and at the Ohio Statehouse. And then, there’s Jo’s Jinglers, Joanna’s devoted Jingle Bell run team. For the past 21 years, since Joanna was a college student at The Ohio State University, she has gathered friends and family members to participate in the Jingle Bell Run, a holiday-themed 5K that raises funds to benefit arthritis research.
“In the many years we have been involved in the Jingle Bell Run, it has grown so much and become an event that my friends and family know to mark on their calendars,” Joanna says. “It’s fun and a great opportunity to raise awareness.”
This year, Joanna is honored to serve at the National Adult Honoree for the Jingle Bell Run, a role that puts her in the familiar place of ambassador for the Arthritis Foundation and an advocate for others with arthritis.
“I have always felt really grateful for my ability to deal with my arthritis,” Joanna explains. “But I know that some people are really struggling. Supporting the Jingle Bell Run so that we can fund more research and hopefully find a cure is something I can do. It is such a hopeful event.”
53 million people live with arthritis. 300,000 are children. Find aJingle Bell Run和乔安娜一起为抗击关节炎做出贡献。
Support Joannahere.