Tracking down Ali Cahalan for an interview is no easy task! Between her full-time student status at Lakeland High School and being manager of their Baseball Team, “The Dreadnaughts”, most of what little spare time she gets is spent on community service or quality time with her large and athletic family. In fact, it seems a lot of things with the Cahalans (Rhymes with Van Halen) are a family affair.

Like mother like daughter, tracking Ali’s mom Barb down was also almost as difficult as Ali. This is one active family and they are always helping someone out. In fact, the first time I had the chance to meet Barb face to face was in the waiting room of Lakeland Regional Hospital. She was there to take her 93 year-old friend and neighbor Warren to the hospital for a surgery and stayed to keep him company while he waited. Barb made me feel at once comfortable and befriended.

And when they aren’t running around doing something in the community or with family, come to find out that Barb and her husband Joe actually really just love running. “When they aren’t running, they are work out fanatics!” confides Ali Cahalan. Our whole family has always been athletic. I grew up watching my brother Ryan play baseball at Florida Southern College. Before finding out I had arthritis, I loved playing soccer and running”. What makes Ali’s statement even more disturbing is that she was diagnosed with Arthritis at the age of 11. She continues, “I remember it being kind of scary, because we had never really heard of kids getting Arthritis”.

Ali Cahalan is not your average teen-ager. It’s obvious that she’s one of those people that can take a lump of coal and turn it into a diamond through sheer determination, persistence and discipline and yet takes it all in a natural stride. Perhaps it was her athletic upbringing? She credits her mother for teaching her to look at the positive in every situation. And obviously, Ali’s heeding the advice!

When asked what the bright side of having arthritis is, Ali doesn’t hesitate. “I’m glad that it happened when I was younger because I would have been even more passionate about sports, and it would have been harder to give it up at an older age.” When asked if it’s affects her at school, she’s quick to point out that if has actually helped her studies. Since she’s not out playing sports all the time, she’s hitting the books. After a thoughtful pause, Ali comes back with yet more positive perspective on how her disease affects her life, “I’m glad that it has allowed me to be a voice for arthritis and I have been so lucky to feel so much support from my school and family. My teachers are very understanding with absences, and my school even let’s me keep one set of books at home and one at school.”

Ali’s very positive in a matter of fact way, but one thing is bothering her. Ali feels bad that she won’t be able to attend the 5th Annual Arthritis Walk on May 10, at Lake Hollingsworth. The last couple of years she’s raised thousands for the cause and has been surrounded with support as friends from Lakeland High School and her family all come out for the event. But this year, her brother Ryan Cahalan is graduation from Stetson Law School and she won’t be able to attend. Yet even though she won’t be at the walk in person, somehow, Ali’s Virtual Team “All for Ali” has been a constant present on the list of the top 3 fund-raising team, and Ali as one of the 3 top fund-raisers. Barb and Joe Cahalan even made time to come to a committee meeting and offer their support for the walk.

But while Ali may not be able to physically be in two places at one time, her spirit will certainly be. Recently Lakeland High School submitted a team to the Arthritis Walk and their ‘Green Team” is even coming out to the event to offer their volunteer services. When asked how it made her feel that her schoolmates were still coming out to support her efforts, Ali quickly points out “It’s turning into something much bigger than just me. There are at least two other students that I know of, Austin Brown and Kaitlyn Swope that have siblings living with arthritis.” Ali couldn’t be more right. This 17 year-old girl has graciously accepted to take on the role of advocate for a disease that inflicts 1 out of 3 people in Florida (That ratio rises to 1 in 5 in other states). And certainly, most people don’t realize that 300,000 people living with arthritis are kids. Ali and her family certainly didn’t.

It hasn’t been an easy road for Ali Cahalan. There’s been issue with medicines causing esophagitis, an inflammation and irritation of the esophagus. There’s been the adjustment to not playing sports, still learning limits and sometimes not knowing when to stop. But she’s learning from the experience and taking advantage of it. She one day hopes to be a Doctor because she knows what it feels like to be a kid in a hospital or even one being told they can’t play sports anymore. Community service has become natural and important to her. She’s donated her hair to locks of love three times now. “If those kids can deal with cancer, I have it easy with my arthritis” says Ali. Ali also belongs to community improvement group “Teen Trendsetters” where she helps tutor students at Dixieland Elementary.

It’s easy to like Ali, and an honor to get the chance to interview her. When asked if she had special advice for Lakeland citizens just learning they have arthritis, Ali offers “Keep a positive attitude and make a difference.”

If Ali’s story inspires you, you can take her advice and make a difference by donating to her personal web-page by clicking here.