Kylie Larson
Juvenile Idiopathic Enthesitis related arthritis
Young Adult Honoree
 Kylie was diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic enthesitis related arthritis on December 15, 2014, at nine years old. She had pain, swelling, and stiffness in her hands and feet to the point where physical therapy wasn’t helping anymore. She was referred to a Rheumatologist. It took a few months to get diagnosed because her lab work came back seronegative for the rheumatoid factor, she’s hypermobile, and her arthritis is enthesitis related.
Once she was diagnosed she felt confused and angry. She was young and didn’t know much about it. Once she learned more about arthritis, she felt she was alone and different from other people. Friends and classmates made it tougher after the diagnosis because nobody was aware of what it was. When Kylie said she had arthritis they would say “Isn’t that an old person disease”. Physically, now she has a lot of challenging days and a lot of pain. Emotionally, she understands the disease better and how to control it. Her perspective has changed because initially she was very insecure about her arthritis and didn’t want people to know. Now her mindset is just because someone has arthritis doesn’t mean they can’t do things, it means they have to find a way to work through the struggles and still enjoy life. Kylie received a grant from the Arthritis Foundation for her first JA Conference and that experience helped shift her initial perspective as well. There she learned that taking medicine isn’t bad, many people have to deal with arthritis, and she made a really good friend, who she talks to every day. Kylie wants to share her story because she wants other kids and teens to know that arthritis can be manageable, they’re not alone, and you don’t need to stop doing things you love because of it. |
Darren Danielson and Baihly Warfield co-anchor WDIO News at Ten. Every night, they bring to the desk a love of storytelling and a desire to inform, educate and entertain the Northland. Darren joined WDIO in 2011 following the retirement of longtime anchor Dennis Anderson, and Baihly joined the staff in 2015. The two share a love of hiking and getting out to enjoy the outdoors, no matter the season. They are looking forward to learning more about arthritis and sharing stories about how the disease has impacted lives.
Amelia has been named clinic supervisor of St. Luke’s Rheumatology Associates. She earned her Bachelor of Healthcare Administration degree and minor in holistic health from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, MI.
Dr. David Fogarty joined St. Luke’s Hospital in 2010. Dr. Fogarty thinks it is vital to listen carefully to every patient to understand the goals they want to achieve, whether that is returning to competitive sports or simply walking again without pain. Using his knowledge and experience, he can then help the patient to understand what their injury is and what options there are to help them recover. He believes the patient should have an understanding of all the options and then be able to spend the time with him to ask questions and select the approach that will best help them reach their goals.
Cassidy was diagnosed right after her 10th birthday, in August 2017. She was experiencing pain in her joints, fevers, fatigue, mouth and nose sores, and a big rash across her face. She had her first appointment in August with her primary doctor to run initial tests, then on August 27th she was officially diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), with a secondary diagnosis of Juvenile Arthritis, (Polyarticular).
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