Mikayla Minnig, shown here with Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard from CA. testifes Wednesday, March 18 about JA at before the House Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. Mikayla’s spoken testimony focuses on her story on behalf of the nearly 300,000 other children with JA and she discusses the need for more JA research at NIH. Her expanded written remarks will include support for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funding.

Mikayla is 10 years old and is in the fifth grade at Trinity Christian School. For six years, she has been a Girl Scout and also participates on the cheerleading squad.

After ten months of pain and barely able to move, Mikayla was diagnosed with pauciarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis when she was 3 years old.

Mikayla is an advocate with the Arthritis Foundation. She has participated in and raised funds annually for the Orange County Arthritis Foundation Walk, attended the 2008 and 2009 Advocacy and Kids’ Summit in Washington, D.C., and attended the Southern California’s juvenile arthritis summer camp at the Painted Turtle.

Mikayla resides in Downey, California with her parents, Michael and Janet Minnig.

For more information, visit http://www.arthritis.org/meet-mikayla.php.