A toddler with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis is the youth honoree at the 2013 Mercer County Arthritis Walk.
Hamilton resident Keyla Rivera, currently three years old, was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis when she was one.
Rivera’s mother, Krystle Dempsey, said she gives her daughter weekly injections, heavy medications and steroids as well as takes her for routine X-rays, MRIs and blood work to cope with the condition. Dempsey said she hopes her daughter is a reminder that people can suffer from arthritis at any age.
“Through it all she remains this positive, happy child and she inspires us to do all we can to help find a cure,” Dempsey said of her daughter’s struggle with arthritis.
The Mercer County Arthritis Walk is scheduled for for April 28 at Veteran’s Park, 2206 Kuser Road, Hamilton. Registration is set for 9:00 a.m. and the walk begins at 10:30 a.m.
The Mercer walk is one of the 130 the Arthritis Foundation is hosting across the country through November 2013.
The Foundation’s goals is to find a cure for arthritis, a chronic disease that affects 50 million adults and 300,000 children,
Arthritis is a complex family of musculoskeletal disorders with many causes. It consists of more than 100 different diseases or conditions that destroy joints, bones, muscles, cartilage and other connective tissues, hampering or halting physical movement.
More information and registration is online at mercerwalk.kintera.org
