Juliette Rizzo, 40

The Arthritis Foundation has been moving with me since the doctor told my parents exercise was the key to reducing the joint pain and stiffness associated with my juvenile rheumatoid arthritis onset at age three. From working out with Arthritis Foundation Aquatic Program instructors to chairing an Arthritis Walk in Maryland, and dressing up as Ms. Claus to participate in the Jungle Bell Run, I've learned that exercise can be fun and that it's much more enjoyable with others!

With JRA, scleroderma and fibromyalgia, I must remain vigilant to manage the pain and fatigue, while maintaining my independence and my immune health. Fifty pounds overweight with excruciating hip pain and unable to turn over unassisted in the bed at night, I made a public choice to pursue a healthy lifestyle. Appearing as the first person with arthritis on the Discovery Health Channel's "National Body Challenge" series, I demonstrated that "exercise is for every body," swimming, strength training, and sailing solo in the Atlantic Ocean. Losing that weight, gaining flexibility and even crossing my legs for the first time in years, a little exercise has certainly taken me a long way!
 
As a little girl, I struggled to walk and fell a lot. The physical therapists told my mother not to pick me up, so I would learn to stand myself. One day, I fell in the living room. My grandmother was sitting there and stood to help me up. My mother stopped her, and I could see the pain and tears in Nana's eyes as my mother pushed her back and they watched me hold onto the table, struggle and get up. And I can still hear my grandmother's words as I balanced on those wobbly, weak legs…with tears in her voice, she began singing, "There she is, Miss America" -- the exact words that came to me in 2005 on stage when, sponsored by the Foundation in hopes that I would win, I was crowned Ms. Wheelchair America, a spokesperson for 54 million people with disabilities.

Speaking across the nation, working full-time in the Federal government in Washington D.C., serving as public relations chair for the National Arthritis Walk Committee, sharing pain-fighting tips in Vegetarian Times magazine, working with the U.S. Surgeon General to roll out of the first Call to Action to Improve the Health and Wellness of  People with Disabilities in America, I am moving like I've never moved before…past the pain into my purpose, giving up my sedentary "wheelchair potato" lifestyle and bringing a message of hope, health and healing to individuals with this disease and other debilitating health conditions. 

Don't let the wheelchair fool you. With the Arthritis Foundation's help, I have stood up to this disease, and I need you to do the same. I can feel the energy of the movement forming already -- towards prevention, control and a cure.

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