Over the weekend, nearly 1,000 kids, teens, young adults and their families made their way to Houston, Texas, to take part in the first of twoNational Juvenile Arthritis Conferencesin 2017. For the second year in a row, the Arthritis Foundation is hosting two JA Conference locations to serve more kids, families and young adults across the country, while also welcoming “home” our returning veteran families.
2017年JA会议主席凯蒂·卡特说:“每个每天与这种疾病打交道的孩子和家庭都表现出了如此大的力量和信念。”“我们是患难与共的勇士，庆祝我们的胜利，勇敢地与阻碍我们的一切斗争。”
“The JA Conference is where my family is able to reunite with our JA Family and can take a break from some of the stress we often experience.” Katy continues, “I hope that every single attendee here this weekend gets the same opportunity to relax and find comfort with peers that understand – that get it.”
对于大约一半参加休斯顿会议的人来说，今年是他们第一次体验为期四天的会议所提供的一切。孩子们和青少年们在他们自己的“战士”课程上有自己专门的节目，包括活动、教育课程和游戏时间。与此同时，家长们参加了全天的分组会议——从由顶级卫生保健专家主持的疾病专题会议到讨论学校教育权利以及从青少年医学向成人医学的过渡的分组会议。
Young adults ages 18-25 also participated in their own program throughout the weekend, covering topics such as mental health and wellness, relationships and patient engagement strategies. Young adults were also able to partake in yoga sessions and had their own “night in” to hang out and network amongst their group.
On Sunday morning, attendees showed off theirWalk to Cure ArthritisandJingle Bell Runteam shirts while enjoying breakfast and visiting fundraising exhibits. After dropping their kids and teens off one last time, Moms, Dads and Young Adults each had their own opportunity to share their reflections on the weekend.
The closing session featured keynote speaker, Adam Vigil, of Anaheim, California, who bravely told his family’s story of becoming a JA Warrior Family. Adam is currently a member of the Orange County/Inland Empire Local Leadership Board in southern California and has led the Dad’s networking and breakout sessions at the JA Conference for the past few years.
In a few weeks, the Arthritis Foundation will open thesecond JA Conference in Indianapolis, Indianafrom August 10-13, 2017. We are excited and looking forward to connecting and reconnecting with new and returning families and friends.
A limited number of spaces are still available for JA Conference Indianapolis! If you are interested in joining us in Indy, please contact Katie Bitner atkbitner@arthritis.org.
We had a wonderful time and our son loved meeting other children like him! Thank you Arthritis Foundation
This was our families first conference and we had a blast. We learned a lot of information and meet so meaning wonderful families. We are excited for next year. Thank you so much!