As she sits down to play the piano in her Bothell home, Hannah Gordon’s legs look stiff and she very briefly seems uncomfortable.
Still, her smile comes back almost instantly and there are no other outward signs of the juvenile arthritis that she was diagnosed with two years ago.
“We had been trying to figure it out for a long time,” said Hannah, 14, and a ninth-grader at Skyview Junior High.
Hannah is also one of only two people picked as an honoree for this year’s 25th Annual Seattle Jingle Bell Run, slated for Dec. 12 starting at Westlake Center in Seattle and benefiting the Arthritis Foundation.
“I had no idea this was going to happen,” Hannah said of being chosen to represent the run. Mom Mary-Leah Moore submitted her daughter for consideration without saying anything in advance.
“I really didn’t get it,” Hannah said of her reaction after being told she had been picked. “Then I started to realize what it was all about and I got really excited.”
The interview Hannah did for this story was her second. She had two radio interviews lined up for the following day. Moore said she isn’t sure why run organizers tabbed Hannah.
“I think they were looking for some young people, just to show that it (arthritis) affects lots of younger people, too,” Moore added.
Before being diagnosed, Hannah long had complained of aches and pains and stiffness in her legs. Moore said doctor after doctor told them there was no serious problem, that Hannah was going through a phase or suffering “growing pains.” Then she was referred to a doctor at Seattle Children’s Hospital.
“After about 10 minutes, she said I think I know what you have,” Hannah said, adding the diagnosis didn’t upset her all that much.
“She just takes things in stride,” Moore said. Mom was a little more worried.
“At first, there’s relief because you finally have a diagnosis, but then comes lots of questions,” she said.
Hannah quickly was put on anti-inflammatory drugs. “They made a big difference,” Hannah said.
Still, she was forced to drop out of the various sports she’d been playing. She gave up on the piano for a while, as well, but now Moore says her daughter can’t stay away from it.
“I’m addicted to the piano,” Hannah admitted, adding she has started feeling a bit of stiffness in her hands and playing actually makes her feel better.
“It makes my fingers feel loose,” she said.
Moore adds that her daughter just enjoys music in general and also sings in the Skyview choir.
Hannah said she never kept her problems a secret from her friends, who often are willing to change their plans if Hannah can’t, for instance, take off on her bike for a ride.
“They’re jealous,” she said. “They say, ‘You don’t have to run for P.E.’ Trust me, I’d rather run.”
While medication helped at first, for a while Hannah was taken off the drugs and Moore said her daughter suffered a rough 2008. Her condition worsened and she became depressed. Moore says her daughter is doing a lot better now and Hannah seems to agree.
“I just try to do as much as possible,” Hannah said.
Moore believes the worse aspect of juvenile arthritis is not knowing what the future might hold. Hannah’s condition could worsen or she could be just fine.
“It could change into anything,” Moore said. “We just don’t know what direction it might take.”
Hannah admits she has concerns about what comes next. But she also again insists she doesn’t let it bother her too much.
“I just try to take it one day at a time and let the bad things slide,” she said.
Hannah hopes eventually to be a nurse or possibly a therapist.
“Really, I just want to help people.”
Perhaps incidentally, Hannah’s partner as an honoree just became a registered nurse. Now 25, Kellie Carpenter was diagnosed with arthritis 11 years ago.
While following Carpenter might have to wait a while, Hannah is helping with fund-raising for the Jingle Bell Run, already bringing in some $2,000, according to Moore. That number is double the goal the family had set for itself.
Just like last year, Hannah will take part in the run/walk along with her mom, dad, stepdad and three siblings. They’ve also recruited another family.
The time for joining Team Hannah in the Jingle Bell Run has come and gone. But those interested, can still sign up to run or walk themselves or give donations. For more information, go to www.seattlejinglebellrun.org.
