Robinson Agresto
Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
Youth Honoree
 Robinson Agresto is 16-year-old sophomore at Hampshire Regional High School in Westampton, MA. He was diagnosed with JIA at the age of 12. It took a while to get an accurate diagnosis and the experiences he had with the medical community were sometimes tough. He was told that he was faking and that the pain wasn’t real. He worked to try and keep up the with the sports he was involved in, soccer, hockey, and lacrosse. It was challenging for peers, fellow athletes, and even adults as coaches to understand how things had changed for him while he was having painful flair ups. He and his learned a lot through that process and that helped when about 2 years later he was diagnosed with another autoimmune disease, autoimmune hepatitis. He is learning what this means for him and his body as a student athlete. He’s had amazing support from family, school, and current doctors. He wishes everyone struggling with an invisible disease to have the support that he’s received.
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