Frankfort Family Honored by Arthritis Foundation

Longtime Frankfort residents Greta, Brianna, and Isabella McKenna are being honored as recipients of the Face of Arthritis award at this year's Freedom of Movement Gala on Oct. 5th, an event held to fundraise for the Arthritis Foundation. They would love your support in reaching their fundraising goal. To donate in the McKenna's name towards research to find a cure for arthritis, please visit https://arthritisgcc.ejoinme.o... . Nearly 300,000 children have arthritis, some as young as 1 year old.

Greta and her daughters, Brianna and Isabella, live with spondyloarthritis. Brianna began having symptoms of arthritis in middle school—tendonitis and pain in her back, hips, and knees. Doctors weren’t sure what to make of it, so it wasn’t until several years later, when Isabella started having symptoms, that they were referred to a pediatric rheumatologist. At that point, Brianna’s arthritis had progressed to her neck, hands, chest, and shoulder as well. Isabella’s knees were so swollen that she was unable to walk, her hands made it difficult to hold a pencil, and she had hypomobility in her hips and ankles. While doctors were sure that they both had some form of arthritis, they couldn’t identify what kind. Years later, both have finally been diagnosed with juvenile spondyloarthritis. After many different medications, including steroids, cortisone injections, numerous NSAID trials, methotrexate, and sulfasalazine, both have found success with Humira and methotrexate injections.

Isabella, 19, has had health problems all her life, often keeping her out of school. She has also faced a number of complications from her arthritis, including fibromyalgia, hypogammaglobulinemia, and arthritis of the ear leading to hearing loss, along with her Von Willebrand disease and asthma. She is currently working to finish high school, and she doesn’t let her disability stop her from working as a gardener, enjoying weekly art classes, and, of course, spending time with her dogs.

Brianna, 22, recently graduated from Illinois Institute of Technology and plans to attend graduate school to continue research on arthritis and disability. Through her blog, Everyday Arthritis, Brianna shares tips and experiences from living with arthritis and some of the science behind it, and she also writes fiction dealing with arthritis and disability. Brianna first learned about the Arthritis Foundation while at a rheumatology research conference last year and has since loved being involved with the Foundation. Through the Arthritis Foundation’s Live Yes! Online Community, she was able to meet other young people with arthritis for the first time, and she now volunteers as a moderator and fundraises for the Arthritis Foundation.

Greta, 57, faced many years of knee, back, and hand pain, but for a long time doctors were unable to explain the pain. After her daughters were diagnosed with spondyloarthritis, doctors discovered that Greta's pain was due to ankylosing spondylitis. Greta worked as a technical writer for many years, and has now been an active Realtor for 18 years with RE/MAX. As a mother of two daughters with arthritis, her journey has been a long and sometimes frustrating road to find answers, and she wants to support the Arthritis Foundation as they make that road easier for others.

The McKenna family is excited to become more involved with the Arthritis Foundation. They especially want to raise awareness of spondyloarthritis. Spondyloarthritis has a notoriously long diagnostic delay—7-11 years!—which tends to be even longer for women. The McKennas hope you are willing to donate to the Arthritis Foundation to help fund research and resources for all children and adults facing arthritis.