Hundreds will walk to fight arthritis on Sunday - themorningcall ...

May 13, 2011

Posted by Irene Kraft at 07:00:00 AM on May 13, 2011

Two Lehigh Valley students will be among the hundreds gathered at Sand Island Park in downtown Bethlehem at 1 p.m. Sunday for the annual 5K Lehigh Valley Arthritis Walk.

Shea Ashelman, 7, and Megan Heverly, 19, will be honored at the walk that is part of the national Let?s Move Together movement created by the Arthritis Foundation to encourage healthy lifestyles and daily movement to help prevent and treat arthritis.

Arthritis is the leading cause of disability in this country, affecting more than 50 million Americans and costing our nation more than $128 billion annually. One of the most common misconceptions about arthritis is that it?s a simple disease that affects everyone when they are older.

Shea and Megan know nothing can be further from the truth. They are among the 300,000 children in this country who have arthritis. Both have made tremendous strides with treatment.

Shea, ?of? Macungie, was diagnosed with a very rare form of juvenile arthritis when she was 3 years old. Only with monthly infusion therapy can the Macungie Elementary School first grader run, jump, swim and play like most children her age. She loves to sing and dance and pretend she?s Taylor Swift.

Megan, of Emmaus, was diagnosed 7 years ago with a type of arthritis that attacks nearly every joint in her body. Her symptoms began two years prior to her diagnosis.

?The first couple of years after being diagnosed were very difficult, especially with trying to find the right medication to control my flare-ups,? says the?Wilkes University freshman. ?By high school, my body was finally back to its old self.?

Her diagnosis, she says, taught her how to advocate for her cause. She attends Camp JRA, the Arthritis Foundation?s residential camp for kids with arthritis. At camp, she finally felt ?normal? when she met other children who had arthritis. She?s now a counselor at the camp.

Megan admits it has been a tough battle. ?My only regret in this journey is that I wish I would have been more open with my arthritis, like I am now, instead of embarrassed? Having juvenile arthritis has mentally prepared me for just about anything that life throws at me,? she says.

You can show your support for Shea, Megan and the millions who have arthritis by joining them in Sunday?s walk. The 5K or 3.1 mile walk is stroller- and wheel chair-friendly. The event includes a Kid Zone, music, a vendor fair and more. Registration, which is free, is at 11 a.m. or register now online at www.lvwalk.kintera.org? or call 610-776-6632. ?Or make a donation to the arthritis foundation on Megan?s or Shea?s Lehigh Valley Arthritis Walk pages at www.lvwalk.kintera.org.

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Source: http://blogs.mcall.com/health/2011/05/hundreds-will-walk-to-fight-arthritis-on-sunday.html

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