Young South Australians living with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and their families are in store for an adventure-filled night out thanks to The Hospital Research Foundation Group – Arthritis.
A free night at Wizbang Family Fun Centre at St Agnes is being held on Friday 11 October to give kids the chance to socialise in a fun and judgement-free space.
They’ll have exclusive access to the entertainment centre’s fantastic attractions, including laser tag, indoor mini golf, virtual reality and classic arcade games.
It’s also an opportunity for families to make connections with other families on a similar journey.
Among those will be Linton Garner, who is one of the estimated 5000 young Australians living with JIA, and his parents Claire and David.
Linton’s story
Linton was just 18 months old when he was diagnosed with JIA.
An otherwise healthy child, Linton one day stopped walking and doctors couldn’t figure out why.
He spent a week in hospital undergoing blood tests, brain and spinal scans, and physical assessments before he was eventually diagnosed.
For Claire and David, this was a whole new world.
“It was really hard in the beginning because there were just no answers, it is hard as a family to try and research as much as you can,” Claire said.
For the next nine months Linton stayed off his legs due to the pain in his ankles and knees and trialled a couple of different treatment options, before finally having a breakthrough with Humira, a drug used to treat certain types of arthritis.
Two days after starting the treatment, Linton pulled himself back up on his feet again.
For the most part Linton has been in medical remission, bar two flare ups.
The first happened when he was about six years old which left him in a wheelchair.
Linton doesn’t remember much about it, except fielding questions from classmates about why he was sitting on a chair and not on the ground with everyone else.
Now about to turn 15, the pain in his knees have flared up again and the arthritis has appeared in his jaw for the first time.
This has now led into an investigation to see if he can continue with Humira or whether there is need to try a new drug.
Linton has been living with JIA since he was 18 months old.
“It felt unfair, we went to Japan recently for karate training and there were 60-year-olds able to crouch down and I couldn’t even get halfway there,” he said.
“Adults were saying to me ‘you’re so young and you can’t do this’, it would’ve taken me awhile to try and explain to them why I couldn’t.”
Linton and his family are active members of The Hospital Research Foundation Group – Arthritis community and last year attended our ‘choose your own adventure’ camp.
It was the first time Linton was able to hang out with other kids who also live with JIA.
He said attending the camp with kids that understood his journey had helped him feel ‘relaxed’.
“I don’t know how, but it relaxed me a bit because they could ask questions and I could ask questions. We could tell different stories about growing up with arthritis and not having to get questioned about things that just seem irrelevant to us,” he said.
“They already understand why these things are happening, they would just listen to the story and say, ‘I had something like that happen too’. Instead of having to answer more and more questions I could just share my story.”
Linton still keeps in touch with his friends from camp, having built a support network they can lean on when things take a turn.
His interest in arthritis has grown as well, and he’s eager to learn more about it.
Claire said events like the camp and night out at Wizbang are so important, not just for kids living with JIA, but for their family as well.
“Kids when they are younger, they don’t like to talk about it and they always try and cover it up so I think it’s really good that they can just be themselves and if they can’t do an activity, they aren’t going to be judged because they all understand,” she said.
“It is good for siblings to see that dynamic as well and I think it’s really good for parents to be able to have a chat about their circumstances and even keep in touch.
“It’s good as well to have a mix of families that are new to it and ones that have been through it for a while that can help them along. It’s very overwhelming in the beginning, so it’s having that reassurance that you can get through it.”
Taking place from 6pm to 9pm at Wizbang Family Fun Centre, this is a free event but spaces are limited so bookings are essential.
Click here to reserve your place and get ready for an awesome night!
