By CASEY NEILL
ASHLENE Strunz won’t let heart disease stop her from supporting her little sister Renee.
Her condition leaves her short of breath but the Noble Park North 12-year-old has signed up for the three kilometre RunMelbourne kids’ event on Saturday 25 July.
She’s raising money to help Arthritis and Osteoporosis Victoria to find a cure for juvenile arthritis and support suffers such as seven-year-old Renee.
“I’ve seen how much pain she’s in some days,” Ashlene said.
“She’s got a good case of arthritis so I can’t imagine how much pain other people could be in.
“I’m not a good runner!”
Renee was suitably impressed with her sister’s sacrifice.
“It made me feel like ‘woah’,” she said.
Juvenile arthritis affects one in every 1000 children. Treatment can alleviate symptoms but there is no cure.
Renee was diagnosed when she was 14 months old and suffers pain in her ankles, knees, elbows and fingers.
“All of a sudden she just started walking and then she literally just stopped walking. She was screaming all day,” mum Melena said.
“It took us a few months to try and work out what her issue was.”
The family attends juvenile arthritis camps each year.
“You get to meet lots of other people who’ve got arthritis and you hear their stories,” Melena said.
“On those weekends you see kids who can walk on the Friday and then by the end of the weekend are in so much pain they can’t function.
“We’re just trying to do our bit and raise awareness for juvenile arthritis.”
Renee benefits from meeting other kids who understand what she is going through.
“It’s hard because my friends don’t know how much pain I get in,” she said.
Ashlene understands better than most how her body can hold her back.
She had open heart surgery just shy of her fifth birthday.
“She had some membrane growing in her aorta which we had to remove otherwise it would stop the flow of blood in the aorta,” Melena said.
“Hers was a really simple surgery. There was so much worse that you could see in the hospital.”
Ashlene will need surgery to replace the valve in about two years.
“During the surgery, as they were sewing up her aorta, they noticed she had a hole in her heart and as they sewed that up it created some leaks,” Melena said.
“It’s something we monitor.
“She’s pretty good, though, if she gets tired she’ll tell us but she is pretty active.
“Out of breath is probably the worst thing.”
Melena, her husband David, and Renee will complete the RunMelbourne kids’ course alongside Ashlene.
“I’m pretty stoked. I think it’s special. I’m proud of them,” Melena said.
“If one of them is sick they both try to help each other.”
Visit tinyurl.com/ouayvnv to sponsor Ashlene.
