05/20/2026
✨Meet Samantha!✨
"When I was diagnosed with uveitis at the age of six, I and my parents were told that it was more or less a forgone conclusion that I’d eventually end up developing juvenile idiopathic arthritis as well; it was framed to us as a matter of when, not if. I was immediately put in the care of a rheumatologist in my hometown of New York City and consistently kept an eye on every few months, always being asked if my joints felt sore or stiff and waiting anxiously for the ticking time bomb we were told to expect to finally be set off.
Finally, when I was 12, the chips fell. I was a competitive ballroom dancer at the time and went to practice one afternoon to discover during warmup drills that I could no longer sit all the way back on my heels. It was like my knees just wouldn’t bend that way anymore, a change that had seemingly happened overnight. What followed was a swift trip to the rheumatologist and a change in the approach taken to my treatment by introducing biologics to attempt to control the JIA and uveitis simultaneously.
At the age of 16, I traded my ballroom shoes for a yoga mat and am now a committed yoga and Pilates instructor, helping others with similar mobility issues to retain joint health and improve muscular control.
Thanks to the efforts of my specialists and the research of OIUF, I have managed to make it to the age of 32 having experienced fairly limited effects of JIA. I am in remission now from both uveitis and JIA thanks to being on a combination of Remicade and methotrexate. I am also now a mother with two young children, ages four and six, and am grateful that they have no idea whatsoever that there is or ever has been anything wrong with their mommy."
Help us raise awareness for World AutoInflammatory Arthritis Day by sharing Sam’s story! Ocular inflammation is a common complication of many auto-inflammatory arthritis diseases, yet it often goes unrecognized and under-discussed.
