Meet Amelia and Liberty Shultz. They are four and two and half years old and are this year's National Arthritis Walk youth honorees, selected to represent the 300,000 kids in the US who live with juvenile arthritis

Amelia was diagnosed at 23 months and Liberty at 13 months. Both are on weekly doses of Enbrel and methotrexate and although the medication is working, they are not in remission. They are too young to quite understand what arthritis is, but not the reality of having bad days. Because they are so young, their mother, Lisa Shultz explains that "they have never had a day without pain." On really bad days, there are lots of cuddles, warm bath and the girls' six-year-old brother Zander helps distract them from the pain.

Juvenile arthritis has changed the life of this young family. They moved to a different city to be closer to Amelia and Liberty's rheumatologist and their everyday life is deeply affected by taking care of two children with arthritis. Because of the girls' suppressed immune systems, they "have to constantly think about germs." Lisa keeps the house as clean as possible, wipes down the cart in the grocery store before using it and tries to keep the girls, Liberty, especially, away from other children.

"We are grateful for The Arthritis Foundation," Lisa says, "it has allowed us to network with other families and go to a kids' camp in the summer." The whole family is very involved in raising awareness about juvenile arthritis. Zander likes wearing his arthritis T-shirt and the parents do speaking engagements. Amelia and Liberty are also involved. Dressed in their pink tutus, the girls love to go out with their parents to hand out information about arthritis and participate in Arthritis Walks. Lisa says that they are "thankful to everyone who walks and raises money to find a cure for arthritis."

Awareness and Action

This year, The Arthritis Foundation has renamed May to be Arthritis Action Month. Dr. Patience White, VP of Public Health for the Foundation, explains that they want "to attack the fundamental myths about arthritis. That arthritis is not just part of aging, something you have to accept." To fight the myths, the Foundation calls for us to take action for ourselves and others.

"Take action where you see fit," Dr. White says, "found an Arthritis Walk Team, take a physical activity class, make an arthritis resolution." Action can include a range of activities from the personal, such as taking action to get a diagnosis or finding ways to be more physically active. Dr. White also suggested other ways of taking action, including helping someone who has one of the more than 100 different types of arthritis or advocating with different levels of government. You can get involved with The Arthritis Foundation as an advocate or ambassador for arthritis.

The Arthritis Foundation has two especially exciting initiatives this month. To help you take action in your everyday, the A-Z Action Zone will post a daily suggestion with the "ABCs and 123s of arthritis."