Youngster makes most of living with arthritis

[Guest guest]

Spotlight on people: Youngster makes most of living with arthritis

http://dpa.xtn.net/dynamic/News/Story/151577

Monday, October 6, 2008

Christian Brown seems like a normal kid. He scours for the perfect colored

crayon in a box covered with Superman stickers; he plops down on the couch

and grabs a PlayStation controller; and he practices his Lightsaber moves in

preparation to be Darth Vader for Halloween.

Despite his ordinary 5-year-old routine, Christian has had an extraordinary

life.

Last year he was diagnosed with arthritis, causing his immune system to

attack his joints to the point he was confined to a wheelchair. It's a

disease most commonly associated with the twilight of life and certainly not

before kindergarten. That's a common misconception that Christian's family

is battling. They are spreading the word about juvenile arthritis by working

with the Arthritis Foundation.

Next month, Christian will become the sandy-haired, blue-eyed spokesman for

the organization. He is the designated hero who will lead the Jingle Bell

Run/Walk for Arthritis on the Chattanooga riverfront on Nov. 9.

" He is our spokesman to show that kids can get arthritis, too, " said

Carty, the East Tennessee branch president for the Arthritis Foundation.

" People think it is a grandma's disease. "

That's what Jodie Brown thought when her son began having stiffness in his

legs last year. She said she initially thought Christian was overdoing it on

the playground.

" Then one night I got him out of the bath tub and noticed his knee was the

size of a softball, " Mrs. Brown said. " When they told us it was arthritis, I

said that arthritis only happens to old people. I was taken aback. "

That left the Browns scratching their heads on how to treat juvenile

arthritis.

" That wasn't exactly in my, 'What to Expect When You're Expecting' book, "

Mrs. Brown said.

At first, Mrs. Brown said she went through a period of mourning for her son.

" I asked him one day what he wanted more than anything in the world, and he

told me he wanted to be able to run, " she said. " That broke my heart. "

But the Browns helped their son tackle the disease, and they began devouring

information and research about arthritis. They traveled to California this

summer to the Juvenile Arthritis Conference to learn more about the

incurable disease. They learned that about 300,000 people under the age of

18 have juvenile arthritis. About 6,000 live in Tennessee.

The Browns go each month to Knoxville to see a pediatric rheumatologist, a

speciality physician rarely found anywhere in the country. There are, in

fact, only four in Tennessee and about 200 nationwide. Christian's arthritis

has triggered other problems, such as flaring up his allergies and causing

concern about the disease having an adverse effect on his eyesight.

The first few months after being diagnosed, Christian cried most of the

night as he struggled to get comfortable in bed, his mother said. Now, most

of the medicine has returned him to a normal way of life.

The Browns hope to raise money for the Arthritis Foundation to continue

research on how to treat the disease. They hope their work on programs like

the Jingle Bell Run will help promote awareness, as well.

The Browns are certainly aware that while Christian is in good health now,

his joints could begin hurting at anytime.

" He's had a total turnaround lately, but it's still obviously there, " said

his father, Chris. " He still overdoes it from time to time. "

As for Christian, he's a young man of few words. Ask him how he feels, and

he barely peers down from his video game and says, " Fine. "

For more information on the Arthritis Foundation or the Jingle Bell run,

call 1-865-470-7909 or log onto www.chattanoogajbr.kintera.org.