'She's my love ... she's my life'

[Guest guest]

'She's my love ... she's my life'

http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2009/11/15/latest_news/latestnews03.txt

Saturday, November 14, 2009 11:44 PM EST

AUBURN - It was the end of the summer before seventh grade, a school year

Kayla expected to be packed with basketball, volleyball and running. She

climbed out of the pool after a late summer swim and found one of her

footprints was completely filled in, lacking the arch of its partner.

Two weeks later, she had a screw in her ankle to support her foot and leg.

Two weeks - maximum - for a full recovery, doctors told the 11-year-old.

Kayla Dudden never got better.

More than five years later, family and friends gathered at a ziti dinner to

raise money to buy a service dog for Kayla, now 16, who is diagnosed with

juvenile idiopathic arthritis, a painful disease that has affected at least

five of Kayla's joints, leaving her to rely on a cane, and can be crippling

if untreated for as long as Kayla had been.

" Her body is destroying itself, " said Kayla's mother, Dudden, of

Auburn. " People think arthritis can't kill you - it can, if you have the

forms that attack your organs. "

There is no known cure for juvenile idiopathic arthritis. If caught early,

medication can allow patients to participate in most of their usual

activities when symptoms are in remission.

No one test can detect the disease, which means it is often misdiagnosed, as

was Kayla, who had three surgeries on her legs and arms before being

diagnosed.

Now, she uses a cane to walk. She receives weekly injections and has blood

tests done as often. She takes Codeine for the pain, which is constant. Her

peripheral vision has deteriorated, she sometimes needs help brushing her

hair and wears flip-flops until her toes start to freeze so that she does

not have to worry about tying shoelaces.

Kayla was not keen on throwing a dinner event for herself, her mother said,

but she eventually conceded. She needs that dog. He will be able to retrieve

things for her, help her cross the street, steady her balance and carry her

backpack.

" Her dog at home helps her, " Dudden said of their Labrador, Max. " But he's

not certified. "

As is the case with mothers, Dudden is willing to do whatever it takes to

ease the pain of her only child. She has fought with countless doctors. She

sends Kayla to private school. She takes her to a specialist in New York

City. And she is willing to pay $13,000 for a service dog, if it will

improve her daughter's day-to-day life.

" I wish someone could crawl into my heart and feel what I feel, " Dudden

said. " Because she brings everything - she's my love, she's my best friend,

she's my life. "

Though the disease has taken a physical and emotional toll on both their

lives, the experience has driven Kayla and her mother to take on activism.

" I don't want another kid who's 4 or 5 to go years without diagnosis, " said

Kayla. " And end up like me. "

Kayla is attuned to her limitations and frank when she speaks about them.

But rather than dwell on what she can no longer do, she is devoting her time

to raising awareness about her disease. She and her mother hope to hold a

local walk for JIA in the spring to develop a support network in the area

for patients and families, a luxury Kayla did not have.

But Saturday, Kayla was surrounded by friends and family who cared, even if

they did not know the intricate details of her condition.

" I love her to death, " said Doney, 20, who has known Kayla for about

eight years. Doney said he left for the Marine Corps and when he came back,

everything had changed for Kayla. But his friend had remained the same.

" She's still keeping her head up, " he said. " She's still thriving. "