Scott Radley: Seven-year-old with juvenile arthritis running Around the Bay Race to raise money for charity

Last year he ran for a while at the beginning of the Around The Bay Race's shorter option but then cut to FirstOntario Centre to cross the finish line. His body just wouldn't let him do the whole thing.

But this Sunday? This time he's going to run the whole way this time. All five kilometres.

Does he really think he can do it?

Yup," Nicholas Galbraith says.

The challenge here isn't just that he's only seven. It's a whole lot more complicated than that.

When he was an infant, his mom and dad - Sonya and Scott - noticed he was fussy and his knees were really swollen. Which was weird. Then as they were looking at some photos of him, they saw his right leg was never fully extended.

Their first trip to the doctor to find out what was going on sounds frankly terrifying. As a parent, you don't hear of possible diagnoses like leukemia or cerebral palsy and absorb the words casually. Thankfully, after a phalanx of tests it turned out it wasn't either of those or some of the other things first considered. But it was still serious.

Juvenile idiopathic polyarticular arthritis.

Juvenile because it's related to kids. Idiopathic means the cause isn't known. Polyarticular says there are at least five joints affected. And arthritis, well, you know that one.

We hate the name," dad says.

Not just because it's a mouthful that requires about three repeats before people catch it properly. More because people hear arthritis" and they think old people, he says. Like his own father who just had two knees replaced. Not kids suffering with it.

Most of the people they told didn't really get it. Nicholas's friends at school in Burlington sure didn't understand what was going on.

So what is it? Nicholas has a great explanation.

Everybody has soldiers in their body, he says (that's his seven-year-old way of describing white blood cells).

My soldiers are attacking my knees and my ankles and sometimes my eyes," he says. They're attacking my good guys, not my bad guys."

Basically, his body's immune system is confused and attacks the joints in his legs instead of the germs it's designed to fight. This leads to swelling and pain. If it sounds unpleasant, it is.

Nicholas explains that when it flares up, his leg joints feel hot and really sore. So bad that mom has to sometimes carry him down the stairs. And at school, recess has to be spent indoors playing cards or something while everyone else is outside running around.

That's the bad news. As is the fact that it's incurable.

The other bad news?

The poke," he says.

Once a week he needs two needles. One in each arm. If that isn't unpleasant enough, the fact that it usually makes him feel like he's going to be sick - and sometimes is - pushes it over the top.

That said, there is good news at last.

This time last year, things weren't as positive as they are now. He tried to run the 5K but it just couldn't happen. So he and the family cut it a little short and crossed the finish line to have a moment of victory anyway. Then decided they'd give it another go this year if they could.

With the medication he's on, the disease is finally in remission. Which is allowing him to play hockey and soccer. And run the race this weekend.

I want to do it," he says.

Especially since he's raising money for Cassie + Friends, a cross-Canada charity for kids with pediatric rheumatic arthritis and those who support them. Scott says they were connected to this group as soon as Nicholas was diagnosed and it became a huge help. There's a deep connection here. Sonya is even vice-chair of the board and established the Hamilton chapter.

Lots of people who run this race do it to raise money. The race itself has long been a fundraiser for the St. Joseph's Healthcare Foundation. This year, Autism Speaks Canada and Cassie + Friends are charity partners.

Right now, Nicholas already has commitments for more than $3,500 and the team running with, and for, him has passed $15,000. And climbing (you can donate at cassieandfriends.ca). The money will go to local programming for those dealing with the disease.

That's a lot of motivation. Will he really be able finish this time?

There is no hesitation before the answer lands.

Yeah."

Scott Radley is a Hamilton-based columnist at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sradley@thespec.com