2019 Jingle Bell Run Honorees

 

Campbell's Pool & Spa
Corporate Honoree

Campbell’s Pool & Spa is your premier in-ground swimming pool builder and Hot Spring Spa dealer. The Campbell family has been proudly servicing, building and furnishing backyard vacations in East Tennessee since 1970. Their top priority remains creating a virtually maintenance-free backyard oasis that you and your family will enjoy for years to come.

Campbell’s take pride in their long-standing and trusted reputation they’ve earned by meeting and exceeding customer expectations. When you choose to work with Campbell’s, you’re working with a company that offers a number of services that include Hotspring spa sales and installation, above ground and in-ground swimming pool installation and construction. As well as service and repair on existing pools & Hotspring spas. They also offer outdoor living design services that will perfectly complement your new custom pool or spa and be a beautiful addition to your home.

This year the Arthritis Foundation is proudly honoring Campbell’s Pool & Spa for their support in the arthritis community. Campbell’s is an advocate of water therapy as water exercise is recommended for arthritis patients. As water supports the body, there is less stress on the hips, knees, feet and spine which helps lesson the pain of joints. It is recommended arthritis patients have their warm temperature between 83-88 degrees F.

President and CEO, Tony Campbell invites you to join their Jingle Bell Run team, “Campbell’s Pool & Spa” and raise funds to help cure arthritis. Together we can make a difference in the lives of 54 million Americans, including 300,000 children, who face the daily challenges of the nation’s #1 cause of disability.


Jeffry D. Bieber, MD
UT Rheumatology
Rheumatology Honoree

Dr. Jeffry Bieber is an East Tennessee native. He grew up fishing in our local rivers and streams, and hiking in our mountains. He graduated from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and then went to Medical School at East Tennessee State University Quillen College of Medicine.

After graduating from medical school, he did his intern year at the University of California San Francisco, Fresno and then finished residency in Internal Medicine at East Tennessee State University Quillen College of Medicine. He worked as a faculty member in Internal Medicine for a year before doing fellowship in rheumatology at the University of California, San Diego. After completing fellowship, he was in private practice rheumatology in Northeast Tennessee for more than a decade.

In 2017 he moved to Knoxville and joined UT Rheumatology. Dr. Bieber now serves as Assistant Professor and Chief of the Division of Rheumatology at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. He enjoys teaching residents and medical students about the field of rheumatology. He is a passionate advocate for people with arthritis and rheumatologic diseases.

Dr. Bieber invites you to join his Jingle Bell Run team, “Team UT Rheumatology” and raise funds to help cure arthritis. Together we can make a difference in the lives of 54 million Americans.


Claire Hamilton
Ankylosing Spondylitis
Teen Honoree

Claire Hamilton is a junior at Webb School of Knoxville. She stays busy with studying, her friends, church choir and cheerleading, but has had to find balance in her life. Her life was turned upside down in 8th grade with a diagnosis of Ankylosing Spondylitis. Claire’s joint pain started when she was 8 years old. She complained off and on to her pediatrician and was told she had growing pains. The joint pain in her wrists and ankles worsened in 6th grade and her pediatrician sent her to an orthopedic doctor, Dr. Amber Luhn, in Knoxville. Dr. Luhn helped her manage her pain and start physical therapy. After some improvement, Claire’s knees, wrists and ankles flared again. Claire’s pediatrician and Dr. Luhn agreed it was time to see a pediatric rheumatologist.

After getting advice from several doctors, Claire’s parents decided to travel to Alabama’s Children’s Hospital to see Dr. Melissa Mannion. The doctor could see Claire was in pain but after a physical exam of all her joints and an MRI of her ankle there was no inflammation in her joints. She left the doctor still without a diagnosis. Unfortunately, over several months Claire began to battle fatigue, severe lower back pain along with her joint pain. It became harder to keep up with studying and cheerleading. Claire’s mother made another appointment with Dr. Mannion. The doctor ordered MRIs of her wrists and SI joints. The MRIs showed joint damage and fluid in these joints. The 6-year long journey had finally led to a diagnosis – Ankylosing Spondylitis(AS) and Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis.

Ankylosing Spondylitis is a form of Arthritis which causes inflammation in the SI joints in the lower back and peripheral joints. Fluid collects in the joints and causes pain. Claire immediately started a biologic injection to treat the disease. Right now, there are 6 medications called biologics approved to treat AS. So far, Claire has tried 5 of the 6 medications, all injections, and none have helped significantly. It takes several months on a medicine to see if it is going to help. She is on her second to last option. This is one reason it is so important for us to fundraise. Claire is running out of choices to help manage her disease and help her pain and fatigue.

Claire is still learning how to balance her life. She knows she has to rest when she can and not plan too many activities in one week. She knows she has to get enough sleep. She uses heat on her joints when needed. She sees her pediatric rheumatologist in Birmingham every few months and Dr. Luhn helps her manage her Ankylosing Spondylitis in between those appointments. Claire has a positive attitude and looks forward to when there is a cure for Arthritis.


Mickey Bernier
Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
Toddler Honoree

Three months short of Mickey’s second birthday, he developed a slight limp. He began favoring one leg, and if he were immobile for an extended period—like nighttime or his afternoon nap—he became noticeably stiff. At times he even needed help getting to his feet. But he still didn’t show signs of acute pain. It was odd. It also was time to see a doctor.

Mickey’s pediatrician tentatively diagnosed him with a condition called toxic synovitis, a condition that can follow a viral infection and is normally self-limiting and resolves after a week or so. Mickey’s limp continued to worsen, then his knee began to swell. His parents felt helpless as their little boy couldn’t even tell them what it felt like.

Another trip to the doctor turned into an admission at Children’s Hospital. Now at 22 months old Mickey was a hospital patient. That week was a scary whirlwind. Mickey wore a hospital gown and learned the hard way about IVs and medicines and tests. His parents tried their best to maintain a steely resolve and keep Mickey comfortable, but scary prospects like bone infection and tumor and Lyme’s disease made that hard. Having a young child in the hospital was such a foreign situation and they took each day hour-by-hour, wondering what was going to happen to their sweet boy and their family. At one point, Mickey’s parents sat scared in a waiting room while Mickey was put under anesthesia for his pediatric orthopedic surgeon to perform an MRI with biopsy, possibly to tell his parents that surgery was needed to remove a tumor or address a bone infection. That fear, fortunately, did not come to fruition.

Mickey’s orthopedic surgeon referred Mickey’s case to a Rheumatologist, Dr. Brett Smith. Dr. Smith saw Mickey in the hospital that week and he was able to diagnose Mickey with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) almost immediately and he recommended a course of treatment to begin at once. Finally, an answer! Mickey responded beautifully to a steroid shot directly to his knee. Within two weeks, he was walking normally and back to doing all the things toddlers love to do.

Mickey’s parents are grateful he responded to his treatment and has been fortunate to avoid his JIA flaring up again. In that regard, he’s very lucky. Many cases are chronic and affect the everyday lives of children. Mickey’s parents also are thankful that JIA awareness was present enough in their area to help his doctors connect the dots and diagnose his condition.