03 Apr 2025
A St Albans mum is running 10 miles a day to raise awareness of a little-known autoimmune condition which affects her eight-year-old daughter.
Lindsey Brown, 43, is also fundraising for three charities which support her daughter Gertie, who has Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis.
JIA is an autoimmune and inflammatory condition where the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy joint tissues, leading to persistent joint inflammation, pain, and stiffness.
The exact cause is unknown, but genetic and environmental factors are believed to play a role and its chronic nature means there is no cure.
Lindsey said: “It’s not widely known about as we tend to associate arthritis with wear and tear of joints and with people of a certain age, definitely not with children and babies. It can affect just one or two joints or multiple, and pain and swelling can come and go.”
Gertie, who attends Fleetville Junior School, was diagnosed when she was six years old after about nine months of pain moving around various parts of her body.
“She was particularly tricky to diagnose due to scans and blood tests not showing the typical type of markers.
It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions and a steep learning curve. In addition to severe pain and immobility – at times she is has been unable to walk, feed and dress herself – the nature of the condition means that whilst sometimes it is very obvious as children may be wheelchair bound or need walking aids, other times it is quite invisible and without the child saying they are experiencing pain those around them would not be aware.
“Given it is variable it can also be difficult to understand and empathise with.”
Lindsey is competing in the Manchester Marathon on April 27 and for the month up to the race will be running 10 miles every day – #10MilesADayForJIA.
“My aim is to share my story and different children’s experiences – whilst I don’t know what it’s like to struggle with relentless pain, rely on meds and injections, I’m expecting to experience at least fatigue and joint pain with no respite during that time and in the days preceding the marathon, although unlike JIA sufferers I know my pain will have an end date.”
She is raising funds for three small yet invaluable charities – CCAA kids with arthritis, Juvenile Arthritis Research and National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS) – which have been a source of support for Gertie and countless others.
You can follow Lindsey’s daily updates, read other children’s stories and find out how she is managing both mentally and physically on Instagram at @gertie_jiajourney
To donate to her fundraising efforts, visit https://www.justgiving.com/team/lindsey-gertie-jia
