Josh’s Personal Story
Josh, 11 attended Coffs Harbour Camp Footloose. He was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis five years ago. His mother Sam said that being in the company of kids with arthritis helped him understand that he wasn’t different. ‘At the camp he was able to slow down if he needed to and wasn’t looked at differently for doing that,’ she said.
‘Josh had a great time and made everlasting friendships. He believes that he and his friends from Camp Footloose have superpowers, because they face so many challenges that others take for granted.’
Josh developed symptoms at the same age as his older sister Belinda, who also attended the camp. ‘He was stiff and sore and had swollen joints in the morning.
Even as a baby he didn’t really crawl and favoured his knee joints a lot and dropped things.’
‘My goals for Josh at the camp were to meet children who live with similar hurdles, to feel comfortable with them and to keep up with others in a group because it’s challenging for him to do that some days with kids who don’t have his condition.
‘I’m so happy that he made new friends and learned from other kids and wasn’t alone with his illness.’
Disclaimer
The views and experiences shared in this post are those of the individual and may not reflect the views or experiences of The Arthritis Movement. This is not intended as medical advice. Always consult your healthcare team before changing or starting new healthcare management strategies. While all reasonable care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of information in this story, no warranties or guarantees are given, nor is any responsibility accepted by the publishers, its agents or anyone else involved in its production for any errors which may occur. Names and photos have been changed to protect privacy.
