YOUNG Hollie Kyle hasn’t let her struggles with arthritis slow her down or stop her enjoying her childhood as she lives life to the full and has even made it onto national TV.
The 11-year-old from Monk Bretton suffers with juvenile arthritis, a joint condition that causes her pain and reduces her mobility.
While mostly associated with older people, arthritis can affect people of any age and in rare cases even children.
“From a young age she couldn’t walk far so I knew something was up,” mum Laura told the Chronicle.
“I took her to the hospital and they did X-rays and things but said they couldn’t find anything.
“Then when she was eight she came up to me and said: ‘look at my fingers’.
They were all bent like a claw, the kind of thing you’d see with older people.
“I took her back to hospital and they ran tests and said it was juvenile arthritis, but that she’d have to go to Sheffield for treatment.
“I was worried thinking how long it would take and would we have to go private, but they saw her really quickly and began treatment.”
After the diagnosis, Hollie received 26 joint injections, followed by a series of different treatments to find what best worked for her.
Since June she’s been receiving monthly infusions that have so far been making her feel better and improving her mobility.
Through it all the joyous child has been unwilling to let her condition or regular hospital trips slow her down, as she does everything she can to enjoy her childhood and not let her disability get in her way.
Laura added: “She always tries with everything.
“She’ll try with PE at school - sometimes she has to sit out, but she still gives it a go and that’s all we can ask for.
“She loves going shopping and all girly girl things, but we take it at her pace.
“Obviously she can’t walk around Meadowhall like other 11 year olds can, so we go slow and there’s lots of sitting down.
“Touch wood, but this new treatment has been making things better.
“She still can’t do what other kids do, but she’s getting healthier.”
In December she collected hundreds of toys for children at Sheffield Children’s Hospital, giving back to others who were going through similar experiences to her.
To celebrate this charitable achievement, she was invited to appear on the ITV show Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway in February, where she and her family were gifted a seven-night all-inclusive holiday or cruise of their choice.
“The Ant and Dec thing came as a major surprise to us.
“It was from a post I made on Twitter about the Christmas appeal and they got in touch.
“We’re already planning this year’s Christmas toy appeal and we want it to be even bigger and better - I’m not sure how we’ll do that yet but we’re working on it.”
