Minnesota Boy Raises Money for Juvenile Arthritis
We recently came across the story of a truly inspirational young man dealing with nearly constant pain. Instead of letting himself be limited, however, he has continued on as a gifted athlete and is working hard to help others with similar conditions. After seeing his story we just had to share with our readers (All credits go to CBS for airing the original story). Jarrett Michie, an 11-year old boy from Minnesota, suffers from chronic pain caused by his juvenile arthritis. He was diagnosed with the condition two years ago, and as a result of the condition he has very severe pain in his back and legs. On a monthly basis, Jarrett visits the hospital for medication to treat his pain, and takes shots on a weekly basis. He also treats his condition with medication and physical therapy. However, this hasn’t stopped him from playing youth basketball; on the court, he tries to ignore the pain as best he can, and manages his pain after games with ice packs.
We at Core products particularly liked his commitment to athletics; it demonstrates perfectly that having arthritis or pain does not mean you can no longer be physically active. Through massages, ice packs, and prescribed medicine, arthritic people can manage their pain after workouts or regular exercise. Other tools can help mitigate pain at the time of physical activity. Lightweight supports, pads, and sleeves for your knees, wrists, and elbows can be worn during physical activity without slowing you down. Hook and loop closure on these supports allow the user to adjust the size, loosening the support during times of physical activity and tightening it back up during periods of rest.
Last year, for the Juvenile Arthritis March, Jarrett organized a team and raised over $20,000 for research into the condition. The organization took notice and will honor Jarrett at this year’s event, at which he has been asked to give a speech to represent fellow children with juvenile arthritis. Traditionally, arthritis is viewed as an adult condition. However, over 300,000 children in the United States suffer from juvenile arthritis. Recently, organizations have been holding events to raise awareness of the juvenile condition and raise money for research. Jarrett and everyone involved in the yearly Juvenile Arthritis March are encouraging others to donate to benefit research into the condition. You can find Jarrett’s team and donate here. We at Core Products support Jarrett’s mission and wish to remind readers that arthritic and athletic injuries are best treated both during times of physical activity and during times of rest. Young people with injuries and pain need support and pain relief as much as adults with similar conditions, and we hope Jarrett’s story is a valuable lesson: pain and arthritis are not necessarily the end for fun, athletic physical activity.
To read the original story and watch the video news report on Jarrett, see the article here: http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2014/01/16/twin-cities-boy-raising-money-while-battling-juvenile-arthritis/