A family from Waterloo, Ont. is trying to raise awareness for juvenile arthritis by sharing their young daughter’s journey. Brooklyn Schnarr, who is now seven-years-old, was diagnosed with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis in October 2023 when she was four-years-old. “She was on biweekly injections, which we did at home, of a biologic medication,” Tamara Schnarr, Brooklyn’s mother, explained. “The strange thing is that one in five Canadians don’t even know that kids can get arthritis.” “When people think about arthritis, they often think about elderly or aging – thousands and thousands of Canadian children actually live with rheumatic disease, which can be painful and lifelong, which we discovered pretty quickly,” Tamara said. When they noticed something was amiss, the family took Brooklyn to a local hospital. “When she first got sick, we were at Grand River for initial testing,” Tamara recalled. “Then they sent us, immediately, to McMaster [Children’s Hospital]. She was admitted there and that’s where her rheumatology team is.” When Brooklyn was diagnosed, she had just started Junior Kindergarten and missed three months of school. “The school was really great at helping her integrate back into the classroom,” Tamara said. “She’s done amazing. Not everyone is as fortunate to have the early diagnosis because it can mimic so many other things. It can take quite a while to get into even a medicated remission, depending on how well the child responds to the medication.” Brooklyn has now been in unmedicated remission for one year and has returned to doing the things she loves. “Jazz, ballet, hip-hop, lyrical [dance],” Brooklyn said. Challenges in accessing care Brooklyn is not alone in her journey. “[Juvenile idiopathic arthritis] overall impacts approximately three in every 1,000 Canadian children, and systemic [Juvenile idiopathic arthritis] represents a minority of those cases,” The Ontario Rheumatology Association said in an email. The association said most pediatric rheumatologists practice primarily within pediatric hospitals and academic centres. Tamara hopes the Region of Waterloo can eventually have its own pediatric rheumatology team. “The Ontario Rheumatology Association is working to better understand access to pediatric rheumatology care across Ontario, including where services are available and where there may be gaps,” the Ontario Rheumatology Association email said. “Ultimately, the goal is to make sure that where a child lives does not become a barrier to receiving the specialized care they need.” Gathering for change To help raise awareness and funds, Cassie + Friends, Canada’s only national charity focused on juvenile arthritis and pediatric rheumatic diseases, holds a walk every year. This year, an event is being held in Waterloo for the first time. It’s happening at Waterloo Park on Sunday starting at 10 a.m. “We are meeting at Cookhouse B, is where it’s going to start. And there’s a 1km, 2km and 5km [route] through the park. We’re going to have lots of games. There’s going to be face painting, cupcakes,” Tamara Schnarr said. Anyone interested in the event can sign up and donate online.
