Kickoff for Jingle Bell Run includes a closer look at arthritis

Bradenton's Katie Taaffe talked to the crowd at Polo Grill & Bar Wednesday about the 19 bones she has broken during her constant fight against arthritis, the 21 medications she currently is taking and the myriad physical maladies she is battling that most people would never attribute to arthritis.

Taaffe, who is 26, is the 2016 Adult Honoree for the Arthritis Foundation's Jingle Bell Run and it was obvious she has led a tortured existence since the disease paralyzed her for six months when she was 11 years old.

Even so, she broke into constant laughter while talking about her plight.

"I can use this to help somebody else," said Taaffe, who said she has to keep a positive attitude. "And I won't let this stop me."

The Jingle Bell Run was hosting its Kickoff Luncheon and besides using the Dec. 3 race on Lakewood Ranch Main Street to raise funds for research, a big part of the event is raising awareness of the disease.

When Taaffe contracted rheumatic fever because of her arthritis when she was 11, she didn't know that children could suffer from arthritis. Over the years she learned more than 300,000 children in the United States suffer from various forms of the disease.

Most of all, she learned she wasn't alone. The Arthritis Foundation has helped her during her struggles.

"It's amazing to not feel alone," she told about 75 people in attendance. "First hand, I got to know these people. I learned I didn't have to be embarrassed to have arthritis."

Although much of Taaffe's message involved the painful side of arthritis, she did talk about how advances have allowed her to do things she enjoys, such as painting.

"I put the art in arthritis," she said.

She will spend her time through Jingle Bell Run educating the public about arthritis. "I never thought I would be up here talking about this," she said. "Now I can use it to help somebody else."

To find out, either as a business or an individual, how to support the Jingle Bell Run and the Arthritis Foundation, contact Melissa Hughey at 813-968-1119 or email her at [email protected]. Sponsorship levels run from $1,000 to $10,000.