[WATER SPLASHING]

[MUSIC PLAYING]

JAIME MOY: My story

with psoriatic arthritis

actually begins with my son

Andy, who was diagnosed at age

five.

It was when he was

in kindergarten that his gym

teacher called to tell us

that Andy wasn't meeting any

of his physical benchmarks.

He was falling down.

He was not able to jump rope.

It was quite a shock.

We didn't know that kids could

get arthritis.

But we knew that he needed

something, because it was very

difficult for him to get out

of bed in the morning.

He had to cycle through a lot

of medications

because they would start

to work, and then they would

lose their effectiveness.

There would even be times

he would be hurting so much

that he would have to ride

in a wheelchair.

ANDY MOY: I do remember

in early elementary school

just me having a lot of pain

and not being able to move.

It did make things difficult.

I'm not able to write as much

as other kids.

I'm not able to move as fast

as they could.

So it would be hard to keep up.

My hands would swell up

to the point

where I couldn't hold a pencil.

Some days it'd become so

difficult I couldn't even tie

my shoes.

JAIME MOY: It was about three

years after Andy was diagnosed

that I started having signs

and symptoms

of psoriatic arthritis,

and that's when I got

my diagnosis.

I was so independent

before that, and now, all

of a sudden, I couldn't drive.

Vacuuming.

All these simple things that I

had taken for granted,

now my husband really

had to step in.

He did it with such grace

and love.

MR. MOY: Well, one

of the things that this disease

requires

is a level of understanding.

Oftentimes, we'll have to keep

in mind that we have to pace

ourselves, so it definitely

requires more patience.

As a husband and father,

I was willing to do whatever

needed to be done to help them.

ANDY MOY: When I was younger

when I was having difficulty

walking, my dad would carry me

around on his back and shoulders

so I could still be around

and with the family.

[WHEELS RATTLING]

[MUSIC PLAYING]

[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]

What helps now that manages

the pain is I'm

on a fairly regular medication.

Other than that,

I do long showers to help

and relax my muscles.

I took on robotics near the end

of middle school to high school.

Working with the robotics

does help a little bit

with my arthritis,

because it gives me something

to keep my mind occupied.

So it makes me see how things

move differently,

and I always find how anything

moves interesting.

Because any type of movement

throughout my life

is challenging.

JAIME MOY: Besides taking

medication, which has really

helped manage my disease,

I like to exercise.

I also do yoga.

I also go swimming

with my friend.

The warm water is nice.

It helps on the joints,

and it also relieves my stress.

The more I can keep my stress

level down, the better

my disease is overall.

One key program that has been

very near and dear to our hearts

is a week-long camp

in the summer for kids

with juvenile arthritis.

ANDY MOY: Attending camp

definitely helped

with my childhood.

I got to be a kid.

I got to talk to other kids who

went through what I did.

I am going back this year

to volunteer.

I do want to give back

to the youth that went

through a lot of what I had

to go through.

JAIME MOY: Well, when he was

first diagnosed,

I didn't know what his life

would be.

And now that he's 20 years old,

I see a great kid.

He's grown up, and he's done all

of the same things

that his friends have done.

Maybe they've been a little bit

different.

Instead of doing sports,

he did robotics.

He still went to school.

He still got good grades.

That alone is pretty awesome.

But when you think

about the fact of how much he's

had to overcome,

it makes it that much more

special.

Having Andy have the disease,

and I also had the disease,

we're able to help each other

out.

ANDY MOY: While I was growing

up, it made it easier for us

to understand each other.

And we could also help one

another easier

when we were in pain.

JAIME MOY: Our lives still

go on.

When I'm having a bad day,

he's there to just give me

a hug.

And just having that

makes it easier to live

with the disease as a whole.

[MUSIC PLAYING]