WINNIPEG – Phil “Philly” Aubrey has a voice that Winnipeggers love to wake up to. As co-host of Power 97’s Power Mornings, he’s now lending his voice to the Arthritis Society to help raise awareness around juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.
“I’ll be honest, before my son was diagnosed with this, I had never heard of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.”
Aubrey said his 7-year-old son, Jack, was diagnosed in December 2016 with systemic juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, a rare form of the joint disorder that affects a child’s entire body.
After Jack began experiencing stiffness in his neck, the Aubreys took their son to see a doctor, but even the physician said it was a case of the flu.
Jack’s symptoms only worsened from there. He developed a fever and began limping around the house. Subsequent visits to the Children’s Hospital only yielded the same results — Jack had the flu.
Eventually, Jack stopped walking and wouldn’t even move from the couch. Aubrey said he and his wife had to carry their son everywhere.
“[It was an] extremely painful experience for him. He would cry whenever we tried to move him.”
Aubrey said the final straw for the family came on Christmas Day, what Aubrey would describe as the most important day of the year for Jack.
“He wouldn’t even get out of bed to go open his presents.”
That’s when the Aubreys made their fifth visit to the Children’s Hospital and finally got some clarity. Jack was diagnosed with systemic juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and stayed at the hospital for 13 days, bound to a wheelchair.
Aubrey said it was thanks to the staff at the Children’s Hospital who were able to get Jack back on his feet.
Jack has since recovered from that experience, but his family knows that his condition is one that may present challenges again in the future.
Aubrey is scheduled to emcee the Arthritis Society’s annual Faces of Childhood Arthritis Luncheon in Winnipeg on March 9 at The Met.
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Every year, the fundraiser supports families living with childhood arthritis. This year, the money raised will go to the first annual Camp Childhood Arthritis at BB Camp in Lake of the Woods, Ont.
For more information about the fundraiser or about juvenile arthritis, visit the Arthritis Society website here.