Join us for cure jm walk ohio! 

-where: voa 7850 Voa Park Dr, West Chester, OH

-when: may 19 

-time: 9 am

Hi, My name is Katie Knudsen and this is my story: 

on march 18, 2022 i first heard the words juvenile dermatomyositis. derma - meaning skin and myositis - meaning muscle. so basically my body is attacking my muscles and giving me a rash. prior to hearing the words jdm come out of my rheumatologist mouth, everyone thought it was just a side affect of accutane, muscle stiffness, dry skin, and much more. beginning in December and just continuing to get worse, i started getting big sores on the insides of my legs, rashes on my arms / fingers. my arms and hips hurt so much to move i couldn’t comb my hair, get dressed, shower, walk into school. i was so swollen, and much much more. everyone thought this was just the accutane. it wasn’t. after countless doctors and each doctor connecting me to a knew one i was finally diagnosed. i was put into the hospital for many days, during my stay i got a lot of steroids, x ray, mri, muscle biopsy, ivig, pt, ot, and lots of different people coming to test / look at me. i was told i have to do a weekly methotrexate shots,  steroids, don’t go in the sun ( always wear long sleeves and lots of sunscreen ), go to pt, and ivig once a month. i was on steroids for 8 months which let me to not look like myself, and my body wasn’t moving like it use too. this is just some of the surface level stuff i experience. i started to let my disease define me. then someone told me it doesn’t define me, that i am much more then my disease. with every thing that is happening to me i needed to hear that. i can still be the person before my diagnosis just with a little something extra. i will continue to fight each and every single day to just be me even if some things have changed. i am continuing to get better. thankfully i am off my shot now and moved to cellcept. right now i am stable and hoping to shine some light on this rare disease.

Help us give children hope for a brighter future.

Every dollar makes a difference to improve treatments, care, and support for juvenile myositis.  

Juvenile myositis is a life-threatening disease which causes children to miss out on the best part of being a kid.

There are currently no approved treatments.  Current treatments save lives, but have devastating side-effects.  Together we can change that.  

Please make a donation to help me reach my goal.  Your generous donations can allow us to advance the fight against this disease.  

Want to help me fundraise?  Click "Join My Team!"

It is only with your support, we can get to the finish line.  

**If you wish to send a check, please mail to:

Cure JM, P.O. Box 45768, Baltimore, MD 21297

Thank you!