Kennedy Price
Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis
Young Adult Honoree
 After many years of struggling, Kennedy was finally diagnosed with juvenile arthritis at age 9. As a competitive dancer, she would cry every day because of the excruciating pain and her friends became judgmental. After six years of treatment, she started high school. The lack of understanding intensified from her peers, teachers and coaches. When her illness took a life-threatening turn, she says she truly found herself and realized this was shaping who she would become. Kennedy is compassionate, understanding, and her greatest passion is helping others. Kennedy says, “You WILL find your place in this world with arthritis. This disease is strong, but everyone who has it is stronger!” Join or support Kennedy and team, Kens Krew.
|
Dr. John Bridges is a combined adult and pediatric rheumatologist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He attended Baylor University for his undergraduate degree. He received his Master’s and MD degrees and completed medical residency in Mississippi, before he moved to Birmingham for a combined fellowship in adult and pediatric rheumatology. He is now faculty here at UAB/Children’s of Alabama where he spends time caring for patients and teaching students in the Heersink School of Medicine. He is married to Kimberly, who is also a physician. They have two sons Oliver and Charlie, and two dogs (Baylor and Bruiser). 
Donna started having pain in her arms and shoulder suddenly in her mid-thirties. Thankfully within eight months she was able to see a rheumatologist who began to treat her as if she had rheumatoid arthritis based on symptoms and not lab work alone so she did not develop joint damage. It took a while to find the medications that helped, and Donna is so thankful for all of the research on arthritis medications and treatments. After years of being on one biologic medication she needed to change to another, and it has been working well. Donna encourages others to be diligent and follow their rheumatologist’s advice and take the medications they prescribe. 
AJ was diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) days after her third birthday. AJ says, “It’s difficult, but I have to deal with it.” Since physical activity can be a struggle, she has grown into a craft, music, and science-loving fifth-grader whose insatiable curiosity has been instrumental in her growth in coping with JIA. Being a JIA warrior does not define her, but how she played the cards dealt to her shows everyone around her how resilient and adaptable she can be to any circumstance.