Arthritis Walk Honorees

Introducing the 2009 Columbia Arthritis Walk Honorees

My name is Rebecca Staggemeier.  I am 21 years old and have been living with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis for over 10 years now.  When I was eleven, I started experiencing pain in my right knee. One morning I woke and my right knee was incredibly swollen and hot to the touch. I showed my mom and she checked my temperature which was 102 degrees. I was incredibly tired and didn’t want to move. She immediately took me to the pediatrician and he was unsure of what I had. After a long process of going to different doctors including orthopedic surgeon visits and a knee draining,  I finally was referred to a rheumatologist. My rheumatologist is one of the best rheumatologists in the United States and it can be difficult to get an appointment on short notice, but luckily my orthopedic surgeon helped me get an appointment quickly. My mom and I went to the first appointment with my new doctor hoping he would have the answers to an illness that wouldn’t go away.  He needed time to review my files to get more answers. Another appointment went by and this time I had to get my knee drained again. I also received steroid injections in my right knee to relieve some discomfort. By this point I had been diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. My rheumatologist put me on anti-inflammatory medication but it was tearing a hole through my stomach and I needed to be put on other medication to fix that as well. Some time passed and my doctor decided to have me try a new experimental drug that was being tested on four other people in a trial group. It could have caused liver failure and several other terrible things. I also had been seeing my ophthalmologist because arthritis had settled in my eyes twice potentially causing blindness. Luckily, we caught it in time. After a year of a continuous fever, a swollen knee, rash, being lethargic, pain, tons of doctor visits, lots of blood work, and lots of worrying I was finally in remission.  My disease is under control and I live a fairly successful life. I was a cheerleader in high school and college and was very active in extracurricular activities. I have been fortunate enough to have several internship opportunities one of which with the Arthritis Foundation. The people I meet through the Arthritis Foundation have inspired me to do all I can to help fight this disease.

My name is Jaclyn Piel.  I am 21 years old and have struggled with arthritis for 13 years.  At the age of eight, my right wrist became very swollen and stiff.  My mother took me to see my pediatrician, who referred me to a pediatric.  The rheumatologist diagnosed me with polyarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.  After unsuccessful treatment with large doses of ibuprofen, I was referred to two rheumatologists at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.  By this time I began experiencing pain and swelling in my knees, ankles and fingers.  After multiple tests, my new diagnosis became polyarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.  It included medicine I took by mouth, subcutaneous injections at home, and IV infusions at the hospital over many years.  Several of these medications had bad side effects, such as weight gain, headaches, hair loss, and excessive exhaustion.  After several years of treatment, I began developing pain in my lower back and hips.  At this point, my diagnosis changed again to include spondylopathy.  The treatments I endured were not always successful and I was always one of the “first” at St. Louis Children’s Hospital to try the newest released medication.  I continued treatment until my second year of college at which point I chose to stop all treatments except Ibuprofen since I wasn’t receiving any true relief. My experiences have led me to pursue a career in medicine. Currently, I am a pre-med student at Mizzou.  I truly understand what it is like to be on the other side as a young child diagnosed with a disease that you think of as an “old person” disease.  My goal as a doctor is to help children understand their diagnosis and to know they can still be a child with dreams.

Jackie and I met at Mizzou through our sorority, Kappa Delta. We were friends and decided to live together. After we moved into the same room in Kappa Delta we began chatting and discovered we both suffer from Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. She and I share a lot of similar experiences and it brought us closer as friends. We are able to relate to each other more because of what we went through when we were younger. I can proudly call her my best friend and roommate even into our senior year at Mizzou together. Jackie and I are truly honored to be a part of the Columbia Arthritis Walk and hope others are too.