Our story…
We are The Flying Penguins and we're back at it again for 2023 racing our second Art in Motion race together! We're here to support our friend Laura and her journey with rheumatoid arthritis! Here is her story:
21 years ago, at the age of 7, I began experiencing pain, stiffness, and swelling in my joints. It became increasingly difficult for me to keep up with my friends at school and soon I wasn’t well enough to attend at all. I didn’t understand what was happening. I lost the strength to even roll over in bed on my own. Eventually, I was admitted to SickKids and it was during that hospital stay that I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Factor Positive Polyarticular Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis.
The Rheumatology Team at SickKids made me feel as comfortable as possible in a scary situation. They made sure that they explained everything that was going on with my body and why we were doing certain tests or trying new medications. They were always friendly and familiar faces during my hospital stay and at all of my follow ups for the years to come.
Dr. Cameron was my Pediatric Rheumatologist and now she is a close family friend. As a teacher, I value education and The Dr. Bonnie Cameron Post-Secondary Scholarship program (est. in 2014, this is a scholarship presented to post-secondary students in Canada living with inflammatory arthritis) is named in honour of her as she always made sure that I believed that I could achieve anything, even with Arthritis.
In 2017, my family launched The Art In Motion 10K/5K/2K, a fall running/walking event in support of Rheumatology at SickKids and The Dr. Bonnie Cameron Post-Secondary Scholarship. This is one of many events and initiatives that my family has established over the years to support me in my Arthritis Journey.
How can you help? Donate to The Flying Penguins, register to participate, and/or share this link! Let’s help The Flying Penguins raise money for the second year!
Team members
Click on one of our team members below to make a donation.
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Yianna Zhang
Raised: CA$54.63
Team captain
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Amanda Ferreira
Raised: CA$0.00
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Fullchee Zhang
Raised: CA$0.00
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Madeleine Pryce
Raised: CA$0.00
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Melissa Lee
Raised: CA$0.00
Recent donors
Donation date | Donor name | Donation amount |
---|---|---|
Oct 10 | Anonymous | CA$54.63 |
Oct 10 | Bonnie Diep | Undisclosed amount |
Oct 09 | Puru and Srikanth | Undisclosed amount |
Oct 09 | Yianna Zhang | CA$54.63 |
Sep 12 | Karen Ritson | CA$108.31 |
Oct 21 | Melissa Lee | CA$27.80 |
Oct 21 | Anonymous | CA$54.63 |