Journey to a Pain Free Life for Ayden

When Ayden was 6 years he was diagnosed
with Juvenile Arthritis affecting one joint. At
the time of diagnosis, his left knee was swollen 3x the size of his right. With JA being an auto
immune disease, it ends up attacking the body itself rather than healing it.

For 3.5 years they were able to keep his pain
to a minimum using natural supplements and NSAIDS prescriptions the specialists had recommended.  But the doctors just prescribed new Biologic Meds that will cost his family over 10k per month... 

Over the last 6 months, Ayden’s
symptoms have drastically worsened. The
arthritis has progressed into both his hips,
Lower back and spine, both knees, ankles and
feet. As well as his diagnosis has changed
to be a rarer form of JA called ERA which
attacks the tendons as well as the joints, as
well as can cause
inflammation of the intestines. His stomach
can no longer handle the NSAIDS and has
constant nausea.

So the doctors are moving towards a stronger course of action for pain relief and treatment. There is no cure for JA and ERA so all we can
do at this time is try and take away his daily
pain and inflammation.

Ayden got prescribed Humira which is a biologic.. meaning made from living organisms to
create proteins rather than using chemicals..

The medicine has to get speciality shipped to
the family personally, and they will send someone to train them on how to give their son
these needles since they are so far up north
where the health care does not support this
treatment.

....however the living organisms don't always
work in the lab and are not as dependable as
chemical reactions = making these
medications insanely expensive once they get to market..

The average cash price of Humira (generic
name: adalimumab) is around $8,000 for 1
carton (2 pens) of 40 mg/0.4 mL in Canada,
and  Ayden needs one pen every two weeks
for at least a year maybe multiple years. That
about $290 a day... over 105K+ per year.

On top of the medicine costs, Ayden and
family must travel from northern BC to
Vancouver Childrens hospital every 2-3
months for regular testing, incurring many
medical expenses.

So many kids with JA simply can't afford the
biologics needed to be pain free.. and so many of these funding programs make them jump
hoops to get approved and Don’t always cover the entire costs of the Biological Meds. The
hope is to get the biological meds covered as much as possible ad the family is self
employed and doesn’t have extended medical coverage... but Ayden must start the meds
ASAP, and sometimes the funding can take a
month or two.

We know 2020 has been a tough year for 
most, but imagine receiving this news right 
before Christmas ~ Please if you can help dear our friends help their son along his medical 
journey, until his funding can get in place, your help with be appreciated tremendously ~ 
Thank you in advance!