Hi, I am Maggie, and I’m 16 years old! I was 15 years old when I was diagnosed with a form of JIA called Psoriatic Arthritis on August 2nd, 2022.

Around 8 years ago, I developed psoriasis, which is a skin condition that I was misdiagnosed at the time for another skin disease. About a year ago, my dermatologist diagnosed me with psoriasis. She asked if I had any joint pain, and I thought about it, and I’ve been having knee, ankle, and finger pain and swelling, but I always contributed the pain I was experiencing from dancing (I am a competitive dancer). I soon realized the pain I was having wasn’t normal, and I got referred to a rheumatologist (Dr. Lee at BCH). I then was diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis.

I experience joint stiffness, and swelling in my fingers, knees, and ankles. Some days I’m doing very well, and I can dance, and others it hurts for me to walk to the bus stop. I’ve also have severe fatigue from JIA to the point where I’m in bed all day. Even though this year has been filled with ups and downs, I won’t let this disease stop me!

I started on a disease‐modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) and had some bad side effects, and it personally didn’t work the best for me, so I switched to biologic injections as well as a low dose of a DMARD, and honestly has helped me so much!

Sometimes it is hard to be a young person with a disease that is always associated with older people! One thing I think is important for researchers to know is that, unfortunately, the side effects are worse than the pain of the disease sometimes!

I hope I can continue to get to spread awareness about JIA!