Lemonade from Lemons

Have you ever made plans for a big event only to have them crash around you due to inclement weather? It's likely that you have. It could have been a wedding. A picnic. Or just about anything that involves sunshine.

We got a taste of that at the Indiana Chapter, Arthritis Foundation, recently when thunder, lightening, and pouring rain put an end to the Indianapolis Arthritis Walk. We had planned for 500 walkers and nearly 100 dogs to walk along the downtown canal in the dog walk's inaugural year.

We also were depending on reaching our goal of $60,000 to help find a cure for arthritis and to provide services to those with the disease.

We planned to have most of our activities outside with NCAA Headquarters hosting only the packet pick up area. We had a few tents, but nothing that would have protected us in a storm of the magnitude that hit Indy that morning. Needless to say, walkers would have been at the mercy of the elements during the three-mile stroll.

Things looked bleak, then good things began to happen.

First, our friends at the NCAA invited us to move inside. With the building's accommodating staff lending a helping hand, we quickly had tables, chairs, and everything inside the spacious headquarters. Thanks Kim, Candace, Nathan, and Anthony.

Then, people started to show up: volunteers and walkers.

Surely, they had seen the weather forecast and experienced first-hand the pouring rain and lightening. Still, they came down just in case the walk would get going. Much to our surprise, about 200 folks--and a handful of dog owners with their dogs-- showed up.

Then, the fun broke out. People began talking to each other. They picked up their t-shirts and goodie bags. They had team pictures taken. They visited the health fair and talked to chiropractors, shoe companies, orthopedic practices, and the others. They heard Winnie Ballard, wife of Indy Mayor Greg Ballard, talk about her successful fight with arthritis. And special thanks to Walk Chair Pat Milner, who could be seen mixing, mingling, and sharing a smile with everyone.

And about that all important $60,000 goal. Well, looks like we'll hit it. The rains just slowed us down, it didn't stop us. At last count, we had collected $57,861 and that total will increase Wednesday (June 25) when we have our walk celebration at Milano Inn, 2315 S. College at 6 p.m. Join us, if you're up for some fun.

We'll enjoy a festive meal, share stories, and those who could not come that rainy morning will turn in the money the collected for that day when we made lemons into lemonade.

LPGA Player Drives to Help Kids With Arthritis

I would have never thought that professional sports and arthritis go together. Frankly, the words are an unlikely pairing reminiscent of oil and vinegar, fire and ice, or hot and cold.

Yet, the two seeming opposites co-exist in the body of a special athlete: Ladies Professional Golf Association Player Kristy McPherson. In her second year on the tour, Kristy lives with the remnants of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.

“When the doctors said “no sports,” I knew I’d work as hard as I needed to get back. My life would have been completely different if I wouldn’t have gotten sick. I probably would never have played golf,” says the twenty-eight-year-old University of South Carolina graduate.

Diagnosed at 11, Kristy spent months in and out of the hospital and had to be home-schooled for several years. Doctors told her she’d never play sports again. Boy were they wrong!

As one who knows how arthritis ravages the body, McPherson is willing to lend a hand to raise money to find a cure for those suffering with the disease. That’s why she was in Indianapolis recently to participate in the Arthritis Foundation Golf Outing at The Fort Golf Course. In spite of a super busy schedule as a tour player, this was the second year that she found her way to Indianapolis to lend a hand with the event.

This outing, whose net proceeds will help fund a pediatric rheumatology fellowship at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, raised approximately $28,000 with 25 foursomes participating. Thanks to Brown and Brown Insurance for being the presenting sponsor. Other sponsors included: OrthoIndy, Monarch Beverage, WISH-TV Channel 8, National City Bank, A2Z Café, Wright Orthopedics, OrthoPediatrics and the Indiana Media Group.

These sponsors and players helped the chapter fulfill a $150,000 commitment to fund a three-year fellowship at Riley, one of the nation’s top facilities for pediatric care and research. The fellowship will train a physician in the specialized needs of children. Currently, only three such specialists exist in Indiana, where there are 6,400 kids with juvenile arthritis. Nationally, there are 300,000 kids with arthritis and a critically low 200 pediatric rheumatologists. A recent federal study recommended a 75 percent increase in the number of such physicians. Without more specialists, children will suffer unnecessary joint damage, pain, and misdiagnosis

At five-foot-six inches, McPherson packs a wallop into her compact body. Her average driving distance is 249 yards, something that most men would love to boast. This year, she’s performing much better on the tour. She attributes it partly to being more familiar with courses and the routines of being a pro golfer. She’s earned $128,441 this year on the LPGA tour and the season is only at mid-year.

Win or lose on the golf course, Kristy is a winner in the hearts and minds of those in Indiana, especially the thousands of children who will benefit from the pediatritirc rheumatologists partly funded by a golf outing she helped to make a success.


This blog was written by Edward Wills, Jr., president and CEO of the Indiana Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation. He can be reached at ewills@arthritis.org or 317-879-0321, extension 201. The chapter’s web site is at: Indiana.arthritis.org