Kael LeBeau
Juvenile Arthritis
Youth Champion

The Walk to Cure Arthritis – Black Hills Youth Champion for 2019 is Kael LeBeau, who was was diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis – enthesitis related when he was 9 years old. Due to the lack of pediatric rheumatologist in South Dakota, Kael and his family travel to Minneapolis/St. Paul  from Rapid City, that is a 9-hour drive round trip every 3 – 4 months. What Kael would like other people to know is that arthritis in kids is real and not only in adults. Kael wants others to understand that arthritis presents itself a little differently for each individual and not all kids have the same symptoms, their pain can’t be compared with the physical findings or test results. When Kael realized he had arthritis, he was concerned that he would have juvenile arthritis (ja) for his entire life and at times, with Kael’s ja he is unable to walk. Kael is also concerned about how ja is affecting other parts of his body.

Having arthritis means sometimes Kael has to say “no” to spending time with is friends.

Kael’s parent’s want people to know that “Kael is a very active, smart, musically talented and creative young man. He loves spending time with friends and family and has always been empathetic towards others. He loves video games, playing sports, and just being a fun normal kid.”

Kael wants your support, not only for himself, but for the 800+ children in SD and the 300,000 children across the US diagnosed with juvenile arthritis.

To support Kael, visit his fundraising page today.