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Cool Cars 4 Kids takes place this Sunday at McMaster University

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Cool Cars 4 Kids is happening this weekend to raise funds for seriously ill or injured children and their families at McMaster Children’s Hospital and Ronald McDonald House.

Nicholas Galbraith’s journey at McMaster Children’s Hospital began after his parents Sonya and Scott Galbraith noticed he had a swollen knee at six months old.

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Sonya said, “We thought he had a little orthopedic injury. We went to our family doctor who referred us to a pediatrician and then we came to McMaster to meet with an orthopedic surgeon who right away said we needed to be seen by a rheumatologist.”

After multiple tests were done to rule out other serious conditions, Nicholas was diagnosed with a chronic autoimmune disorder called Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA), something that the family had never heard of before.

Scott says the journey at the start was difficult, “he didn’t understand pain and the like. And I think as he’s grown up, he’s grown up part of this family, it’s turned into just a normal part of his life.”

Nicholas’ treatment right now includes two weekly injections that the family does at home.

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Dr. Tania Cellucci has been Nicholas’ primary rheumatologist overseeing his treatment since he was diagnosed at nine months old. She says this arthritis is actually quite common and differs from what adults experience.

“This is when your immune system causes inflammation in the joints and that leads to pain and swelling and the joints don’t function well and it can have a huge impact on the life of a child,” Dr. Cellucci said.

Cellucci says that there isn’t a known cause for this, but now at the age of seven years old, Nicholas is involved in sports like soccer, hockey, and baseball, something that Cellucci says is highly encouraged.

“Research studies have shown that exercise actually reduces inflammation and increases the health of bones and joints in kids who have an underlying inflammatory condition like JIA. Our goal is to get them back to playing their sports and doing everything they want to,” Dr. Cellucci said.

The family says that they’re thankful for the empathy and compassion they’ve received from the McMaster team along the way.

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Scott said, “he’s doing as well as he’s ever done but every day is an adventure whether it’s every day, every week, every month, there’s new twists in the road. And as Sonya said, I don’t know what we’d do without the team here helping us along the way.”

CHCH is sponsoring the Cool Cars 4 Kids event taking place this Sunday, June 4 at McMaster in support of the Ronald McDonald House, McMaster Children’s Hospital and McMaster Pediatric Research.

You can expect traffic delays around McMaster Children’s Hospital during the event. Several children will get the chance to ride in a cool car around McMaster, down Main Street West into Dundas and back. Emergency vehicles will also take part in this drive. You can find more information on coolcars4kids.com

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