Arlington Heights 6-year-old the honoree for arthritis fundraising walk
A 6-year-old Arlington Heights boy with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is the honoree for the Arthritis Foundation Jingle Bell 5k Walk/Run this Saturday, Dec. 4.
Nate Schwitzenberg and his parents, Mark Schwitzenberg and Wendy Reitz, are featured in a YouTube video on the run's website, jinglebellrunchicago.kintera.org, and in information promoting the event at the Peggy Notebart Nature Museum on Chicago's lakefront.
They were chosen in part because Nate exhibited so much enthusiasm and good cheer at last year's event, spokeswoman Laura Szymber said.
The Dryden Elementary School student has played organized soccer, tennis, basketball, football, swimming, hockey and gymnastics over the last year.
“He loves sports,” Reitz said. “He's a sports nut.”
While the initial diagnosis two years ago was scary for the family, its members have focused on not letting the disease define him. Because of that, they were somewhat reluctant about the publicity associated with being the honoree, and they talked with him before agreeing.
“He's been strong in how he's dealt with the disease and he thought his experience could inspire other kids,” Reitz said. The disease affects about 50,000 children in the United States.
“In many ways, the challenges presented by Nate's diagnosis were greater for his parents than for Nate,” Reitz said on the website for the run. “Watching your child in pain is excruciating, but Nate simply made it impossible to lose faith for more than a few moments. The number of times he complained or let his symptoms slow him down were few and far between. That being said, the treatments can be difficult because no six-year old really loves shots.”
Nate has responded well to treatment, been diligent in doing physical therapy, and now is very aware of his body and how to care for it. He sometimes is able to go medication free and at the moment is taking Motrin.
“We draw inspiration from him every day and consider ourselves incredibly fortunate to witness his approach to life,” Reitz said.
Nate will be on hand to start Saturday's race and will participate in the kids dash, costume contest and other race events. “He's very excited to be starting the race,” Reitz said.
More information about the event is at jinglebellrunchicago.kintera.org. Registration is at 8 a.m. at 2430 N. Cannon Drive in Lincoln Park and the walk/run is at 9 a.m. The Arthritis Foundation hopes to raise $90,000 with the walk and had more than $60,000 committed as of Wednesday.