Most people tend to think of Arthritis as being a disease associated with senior citizens, but 13-year-old Lakeland resident Hunter Brown, and 300,000 children around the US know that couldn’t be further from the truth. Hunter was diagnosed at the tender age of 6 years-old, and as in Hunter’s case, Arthritis often hits its younger victims hard than the adults.

Hunter copes with three different kinds of Arthritis including; Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, a systemic type that affects her entire body rather than one or two joints, including her organs such as her lungs; Dermatomyositis, a type that affects her skin with rashes and her muscles with inflammation and soreness; and lastly Vasculitis a type that causes inflammation of the blood vessels.

Hunter’s treatment routine consists of her taking about 30 pills daily and visiting the hospital, in St. Petersburg, at least four times a month for special IV treatments. And that’s when everything is going well. Hunter’s mother and father Amy & Scott Brown will be quick to tell you that one of the most frustrating things to a family living with this illness is that you never know when the situation will flare-up. Hunter recently experienced a really difficult eight-month period with many problems, complications and flare-ups. She has spent so much time in the hospital this school year that she was unable to attend school and is in the hospital / homebound program.

When Amy Brown, her mother, first took Hunter to her pediatrician to try to determine what was wrong, after a few tests, she was told Hunter was perfectly fine and that she needs to see a psychiatrist because the pain was all in her head. “As a parent, you want to be able to trust your doctors, and listen to their direction” says Amy Brown. She continues “But when your child stops eating and inflammation of her stomach starts causing her to lose weight and muscle to the point where we had to carry her at times, it’s hard to believe or tell her that it’s all in her head."

Eventually, Hunter was diagnosed correctly, and has been undergoing treatments ever since with the goal being to keep her on as little medicine as possible. While the medicines have gotten much better over the last 8 years, the steroids that Hunter is still required to take has caused weight gain, stunted growth and the onset of brittle bones. While this year Hunter has had to miss more school then ever, she finds her classmates and teachers at Lawton Chiles Middle Academy to be very supportive and protective.

Rather than allowing her Arthritis to make her feel powerless, Hunter has actually become an awareness and fund-raising Tour-De-Force for the Arthritis Foundation. Hunter says “If anything I can do can help make sure that other kids in the future don’t have to go through what I’m going through, then I’ll do whatever I can personally do to help accomplish it.” And that she does! Hunter is currently a very active member of the volunteer committee for the 5th Annual Arthritis Walk in Lakeland on May 10th, 2008 around Lake Hollingsworth. She has raised thousands of dollars personally for the foundation over the last several years.

This year, Hunter is walking in honor of her dog Quinn who also has Arthritis. “The Arthritis Walk is a Dog –friendly walk and exercise is good for pets and owners with Arthritis” says Hunter. “I’d like to personally invite everyone with a dog to come and meet Quinn and me at the walk and enter our American Fido Contest”. The contest has a $500 grand prize pet-sitting package. Hunter will be a special guest judge for the Arthritis Foundation’s, “American Fido Contest” (think American Idol for Dogs). If you’d like to support Hunter by making a donation to her and her dog Quinn online, or registering your own dog for the walk and the American Fido Contest, click here.

As for her future, Hunter loves Art, especially drawing and painting. In fact, she’s already had a taste of success with one of her drawings being chosen from thousands submitted for the 2008 Arthritis Foundation Calendar

While the Brown Family has faced many financial ups and downs that come with having a child that visits the hospital regularly, they are very much supporting the upcoming 5th Annual Arthritis Walk. In fact, Amy Brown is the volunteer Chairperson for this year’s walk and Hunter is currently the number one fund-raiser in Lakeland for the walk effort, a position she’d gladly give up if someone else would get involved and put their heart behind it as much as her and her family. It’s also not unusual to find Hunter’s teenage brother Austin and father Scott at the committee meetings. Not to mention several other family members. If you’d personally like to get involved with the walk and join them for this year’s last two committee meetings, you can reach Amy & Hunter Brown at Brownz@tampabay.rr.com.

This year’s 5th Year Arthritis Walk has a special significance since it takes place on the Arthritis Foundation’s 60th Anniversary. In memory of each of the 60 years, Lake Hollingsworth will be surrounded with 60 special “Mission Moment” signs that will feature Arthritis Facts and can be sponsored for just a $100 donation to any of the teams or the walk in general. People sponsoring the signs may have their logo or personal message on one of the signs which all walkers will pass buy during the walk. If you’d like to sponsor a sign and send Hunter or all the walkers a special message and show your support for Lakeland citizens with Arthritis, feel free to call Tony Ward at the Arthritis Foundation at 407-579-4190, or e-mail him at Tward@Arthritis.org.