Climbing, Courage and Community: A morning with Juvenile Arthritis Research at Clip ‘n Climb

Last Sunday, some amazing families got together at our latest in-person event for those with JIA. Sarah and her family came along and have written this super write-up about the morning:   

Receiving a diagnosis of juvenile idiopathic arthritis can be super isolating and worrying for a family, especially as for most of us it’s not something we’ve ever heard of before. Having support from charities like Juvenile Arthritis Research is invaluable. From the first contact with useful links full of reliable information, to days spent with other families who genuinely know what you’re going through – it matters.

That’s why we were super excited to attend the recent meet up at Clip n Climb in Tonbridge. The kids spotted the purple balloons from the car and the shouts of excitement were real. They couldn’t wait to get their purple t-shirts on and join the rest of the group in the party room for some colouring before we got started. For us parents, it was lovely to see some familiar faces and meet new ones. The awkwardness that sometimes comes with chatting to strangers doesn’t really exist when you already have a strong common bond and a willingness to share and support each other, which made it a really nice atmosphere from the outset.

The children got stuck into the climbing, and even those who hadn’t tried it before and felt a bit nervous put that aside and had a good go. It was remarkable to see how brave and strong they all were, much braver than I am for sure! Climbing is a great activity for all ages and abilities, which was what made it so fun. For us, seeing our son Max scamper up walls with his sisters, when a year ago he couldn’t get out of bed without pain, was amazing.

After an hour of lots of physical exertion everyone was ready for a sit down and some food. The kids tucked into yummy pizza and hot dogs, and you could tell they’d been playing hard by how much they ate! Us grownups enjoyed a hot drink and some fresh fruit and lots more chatting.

When it was time to go, it was great to see new friendships made with numbers being exchanged and the kids were all really excited about their goody bags. They had been put together so thoughtfully, which is probably the best way to sum up the whole morning. So much thought and effort goes into these events and everything Juvenile Arthritis Research does. I’m sure it feels like invisible work a lot of the time for Richard, Rebecca, Katherine and others, but it really is appreciated by all of us.

Thank you for a great day and we look forward to the next one!

Thank you Sarah for writing this brilliant piece. Sarah and her family are also taking part in #JAMJAR (Juvenile Arthritis Month by Juvenile Arthritis Research) by taking on a challenge to raise funds for our vital work. You can find out more about Sarah's fundraising at https://www.justgiving.com/page/sarah-holmes-6

You can find out more about Juvenile Arthritis Month and get involved here.  

With many thanks to Kent Community Foundation Trust for funding to support this event.