Eleven-year-old Graci Diggs from Tipton, Mo., strives to find a cure for juvenile arthritis. When the disease locks her joints, not letting her get up from the bed, her family, friends and a hometown community are the biggest encouragement to not lose hope.

“I just want other kids who are younger than me not to suffer with arthritis,” said Graci, who was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA) at the age of 4. It hasn’t been an easy journey for her but she has kept her smile.

Now Graci does everything to inform people about JRA and educate people about how arthritis affects not only the elderly, but also kids.

About the Filmmaker

Submitted by Zivile Raskauskaite

Zivile Raskauskaite is a journalist from Lithuania, documenting stories with camera, audio recorder, and a pen. She is passionate about international and video journalism that explores and reveals human sides of underreported topics. Currently based in the United States, Zivile covers international news and works on short documentary film projects.