Schoolgirl helps others with juvenile arthritis

Abbie said she hoped her little boxes of hope made others feel they were not alone

A 12-year-old girl is helping other young people struck by arthritis.

Abbie, who has had Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis since she was one, has created what she calls "the little box of hope".

Each box contains information and support for parents of newly-diagnosed children as well as a book and personal letter from Abbie, a student at Pool Academy in Cornwall.

Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis is an auto-immune condition where the body attacks the joints causing inflammation, pain and reduced mobility.

'Quite alone'

"I thought that it would just help people that didn't know what was going on and it would help them to learn something about it and know that they weren't on their own," she said.

"I felt quite alone when I was first diagnosed."

Her mum Sam said Abbie had dealt with the condition "amazingly".

She said: "As she got older, she wanted to help other kids and she thought of the little box of hope to help other children not feel so alone when they were diagnosed."

The boxes, which Abbie has worked on with Juvenile Arthritis Research which distributes them, are now in line for a Benefact Group Charity Heroes Award.