Follow-up: Teen conquers arthritis and Lake Ontario

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Teen conquers arthritis and Lake Ontario

TORONTO (Aug 10, 2006)

http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/

Pamela and Whiteside collapsed in tears years ago when their

2-year-old daughter was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis.

But yesterday, as , now 16, sprinted for shore near the end of a

cross-Lake Ontario swim, tears of pride streamed down their faces.

The teen -- who had taken water therapy as a child to cope with her

arthritis -- finished in a time of 15 hours 11 minutes and 11 seconds. That

fell just 71 seconds short of the record of 15 hours and 10 minutes, set by

in 1974.

" She's amazing. She's just unbelievable. I'm so proud of her. That she could

do this -- she's just amazing, " her dad said of her 52-kilometre swim from

Niagara-on-the-Lake.

hopes to raise $44,000 for the Arthritis Society. So far she's

collected $11,235. About 1 in 1,000 Canadians under the age of 15 suffer

from juvenile arthritis, which has no cure.

Many of the 6,300 kids with the disease end up with crippled limbs and must

use wheelchairs.

Thanks to years of water therapy and swimming, has been in

remission 10 years.