Harper Barrett
Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
Youth Honoree
 Harper is 8 years old and in second grade. She loves cats, animals, and drawing, and loves spending time with her friends.
Her journey with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) started last summer, when she was diagnosed with ERA, Uveitis, and AMPS. Harper felt like she missed out on so many things because her pain was so intense. Since then, she found the support she needed to manage her JIA with an amazing group of doctors from Children’s Hospital, and the love and support of her friends and family. Harper hopes that we find a cure for JIA, so kids never have to suffer or miss out on doing all the things that kids should be able to do! A message from Harper Join or support Harper's team, Arthritis Hero's, on her personal fundraising page. |
Dr. Stuart Kassan attributes his interest in rheumatology to his father, who practiced rheumatology in White Plains, New York, for 40 years. Dr. Kassan received his medical degree from George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Science. He did his internship and residency training at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He was a Clinical Associate in the Clinical Immunology Section at the National Institutes of Health where he began research in the field of Sjögren's syndrome. He received fellowship training in rheumatology at the Hospital for Special Surgery, Cornell Medical Center, in New York City. 
Tinka Piper received her rheumatoid arthritis (RA) diagnosis when living in Honolulu, Hawaii, nearly 40 years ago, when she was just in her early 30’s. She first received treatment with Prednisone then, after moving to Colorado Springs more than 20 years ago, there were Gold Shots and Methotrexate. She has tried nearly every treatment that became available in her battle against the aggression of RA. While some treatments showed promise and helped, none have succeeded in stopping the disease’s brutal progression of joint destruction.