Radio star reveals secret health battle

Radio prima Chris O’Keefe has revealed a hidden puerility conflict with juvenile arthritis, which helium said consigned him to a wheelchair astatine times arsenic each associated successful his assemblage was “inflamed”.

The fashionable 2GB vigor big opened up astir his conflict with the debilitating illness alongside chap sufferer Lucy Mathewson, 14, Ruth Colagiuru from the Juvenile Arthritis Foundation and NSW Health Minister Ryan Park, who has announced a $6.9m backing boost into juvenile arthritis successful Tuesday’s authorities budget.

“By the clip I was 14 oregon 15, I was yet successful remission and I’ve hardly had a occupation since past that was 25 years ago,” Mr O’Keefe said.

“And conjecture what, successful presumption of being capable to dainty this thing, things haven’t got overmuch amended successful presumption of the resources crossed NSW.

“Do you cognize however galore pediatric rheumatologists determination are close present successful the authorities of NSW? Full clip pediatric rheumatologists successful the nationalist system?

“How galore would you think? One. Yep, a azygous doctor. That’s each determination is to dainty kids with arthritis. This for a illness that 10,000 Australian kids nether the property of 16 are struggling with. It is intelligibly inadequate.”

Lucy told listeners she has suffered from arthritis symptom since she was a baby.

“I couldn’t get up connected my cot,” she said.

“I was struggling to locomotion downstairs and my parents realised and they decided that they needed to fig retired what was incorrect with maine due to the fact that it was evidently not our increasing pains oregon it wasn’t thing that was normal.

“So I was taken to a doc and it took them implicit six months for maine to beryllium diagnosed fully.”

Even now, the symptom of the illness damages Lucy’s life.

“It has been it’s been truly hard for maine to support up with my peers due to the fact that I can’t bash a batch of things that they tin do,” she said.

“It has been hard with the symptom absorption with schoolwork and honestly conscionable focusing and it’s conscionable been truly hard for maine to accommodate to this and unrecorded a mean life.”

Mr Park said the $6.9m would money an further six elder clinicians to present improved entree to highly specialised attraction and ongoing monitoring for children with juvenile arthritis successful NSW.

This volition see 2 pediatric rheumatologists, a highly specialised allied wellness squad for a statewide work and a paediatric rheumatology precocious trainee position.

“Juvenile arthritis tin beryllium debilitating for radical who are surviving with it and this concern means much children volition beryllium capable to entree the specializer attraction they request done the statewide paediatric rheumatology service,” helium said.

“Eighty per cent of children with juvenile arthritis acquisition symptom daily, which tin straight negatively interaction their acquisition and information successful carnal activities.

“This is simply a captious investment, the earlier we tin diagnose and dainty juvenile arthritis the amended the result for the patients, and reduced hazard of imperishable disability.”

Ms Colagiuru told Mr O’Keefe she thought the $6.9m allocation would bring the attraction for juvenile arthritis “out of the acheronian ages and into the light”.

“It’s miraculous,” she said.

“I’m going to burst into tears.”