Make an impact today - Support Ella's Lions!
( Click "View More" to read my story)
Walk Strong Pittsburgh
Saturday, May 16, 2026
9:00 a.m.
Schenley Plaza - Oval Tent
4100 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
RSVP HERE! https://forms.gle/osaZoVFuSjgBUWfh6
The Work of Staying Steady
My life is shaped by limits most people never see, and living within them has taught me the quiet work of holding myself together. It took time for me to understand and accept that my body operates differently from the people around me. For years, I pushed myself to match their pace. But my body has limits that theirs do not, and denying that reality always caught up with me. For me, every plan comes with a calculation. Every decision has consequences. A night out can turn into days of recovery. A simple cold can take me out for weeks. Falling behind is not a possibility I worry about; it is something I have experienced more times than I can count. Every choice my friends make freely is a risk I have to weigh. A night out. A late assignment. A cold going around. One wrong move, and I can lose a week of my life.
Living with Juvenile Dermatomyositis means moving through the world with limits no one can see. I live tied to something I never asked for, the disease, the medications, the side effects, the appointments.
Over time, those ties have only gotten tighter. There are moments when I think, just for a second, that maybe I can return this. That maybe I can hand it back. That maybe I can say, “I don’t want this anymore.” But there is no return policy on chronic illness. All of it shapes my days in ways most people never have to think about. Most mornings begin with the same reminders: nerves firing in my fingertips, hands swollen and stiff, sometimes so tight the skin splits, and legs that ache like I have run a marathon in my sleep. You would think the body would adapt after all these years, but it does not. I wake up already worn down before the day even begins.
Simple tasks become unexpectedly difficult. Making my bed. Brushing my teeth. Opening a toothpaste cap. Putting in my contacts. Everything takes more effort than it should. I move slowly even when it feels like I am moving fast. Some days I cannot make a fist, and some days my hands are too swollen to write, so I type instead. If I cannot type, I do whatever small tasks I can manage. Even the temperature outside can decide what my body will or will not let me do. The fatigue stays constant, not the kind sleep fixes but a deep exhaustion that settles into everything. There are headaches, body aches, joint swelling, and a weakness that makes simple things feel heavier than they should. It is unpredictable. Every day is different. I never know what version of my body I am going to wake up in. The brain fog is the part that scares me the most. It comes from the illness and the medications. Even knowing that, losing cognitive clarity was something I never expected. I did not realize how much I had lost until the start of sophomore year, when it briefly felt as if a layer had been lifted off my mind. For a few weeks, I could think clearly. I could process information, understand my work, and follow my own thoughts. Then, just as quickly, that clarity faded. Doing schoolwork through brain fog means working with a mind that is not fully available. Concentration and processing take more time than they should, adding another layer of unpredictability to a life that already shifts from day to day. That unpredictability shaped me long before I understood it. When I was younger, I adapted because I had no other option. I was told this was not going away, so I made a kind of peace with it. I built routines that helped me live around it. But growing older has strained that balance in ways I did not anticipate. The demands of life increase, and the disease does not ease up. What once felt manageable is harder to hold onto now.
College made that clear. Being a student is demanding for anyone, but managing a chronic illness on top of it adds its own challenges. It is not about whose life is harder. It is about recognizing that my baseline is different. What might be a rough day for someone else can be a stable day for me. What sets others back temporarily can set me back for weeks. It requires planning, resilience, and constant adjustment. Over the years, I have learned a lot about people. Chronic illness has a way of revealing who listens, who tries to understand, and who cannot see past what looks fine on the outside. It taught me early on to pay attention, to notice the quiet things in people, and to understand that everyone carries something, even if it is not visible. It taught me empathy before I even knew the language for it.
This is what living with Juvenile Dermatomyositis looks like for me. It is the steady work of managing a body that changes without warning, and the effort of building a life around those shifts. It is not always dramatic, but it is constant. If there is anything that resonates beyond my story, I hope it is this: empathy is not about fixing anything. It is about noticing what it takes for someone to stay steady, and allowing that to change how you respond.
Supporting Cure JM means more than just awareness to me. It means progress. It means research that is actively working toward better treatments and, one day, a possible cure. The research team at Cure JM is currently working on new drug trials and advancing therapies that aim to reset the immune system, including promising approaches like CAR-T. These developments represent real steps forward for individuals and families living with Juvenile Dermatomyositis.
Please join us at Walk Strong Pittsburgh this May. If you plan to walk with us, don’t forget your PSU gear… you know… We Are… Ella’s Lions. If you are interested in a team shirt, please reach out to my mom, Melissa.
Your donation today helps empower families by building a supportive community for those navigating JM, fuels critical research toward new treatments and a possible cure, helps families access the best medical care closer to home, and reminds every child and family that they are not alone.
Take a Small Step. Make a Big Impact.
Click "Donate Now" to help me reach my goal and fuel this movement for change.
Prefer to donate by check?
Make checks payable to Cure JM and mail to:
Cure JM, P.O. Box 45768, Baltimore, MD 21297
(Please include Ella Eisenreich's name in the memo line.)
Every donation - big or small - makes a real difference.
Thank you for your generosity and support. Together, we can fight back. Together, we are the cure in progress.
Achievements
Made a Personal Donation!
You are a role model fundraiser and this will inspire your friends and family to donate too.
Personal Progress:
of Goal
$48,618
Raised
$25,000.00
Fundraising Honor Roll
The Elsie H. Hillman Foundation
$10,000
Cigna Cigna
$10,000
Bloomberg Philanthropies
$5,000
UPMC & UPMC Health Plan
$5,000
Auntvicki & Uncle Kevin
$1,500
Anonymous
$1,500
Susan Malone
$1,000
Catherine Baker
$1,000
Eat'n Park Hospitality Group
$1,000
Gramma & Pappy: We are so proud of your courage, Ella. We love you.
$1,000
The Acciavatti Family
Ron & Eva Puleio. Ella you are an inspiration to us all
$515
Bob and Laura
$500
Manchester- Bidwell
$500
Anonymous
$500
Heather Rak
$500
Leetz Family Match
$500
Community College of Allegheny
$500
Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC)
$309
The CT Eisenreichs
$309
The Carey Group
$300
Ellen Mazo - Proud to be on your team, Ella!
$257
Cliff Lechwar and Angela Longo
$257
Anonymous
Bridget Baumstark
$250
Jamie Danna
$250
Anonymous
$250
Puleio/Kalinowski family. Sending you continued strength and resilience!
$250
Travis John Winkels
$250
Fred & Bonnie Eisenreich
$206
Tricia Harris
The Gullifer's
Carla Orosz
$200
Louise Dickinson
$200
Donald & Janice Rea
$200
The Lower Eisenreichs
$154
robert scherrer
$103
Ish & Nimit Mehrotra
$103
The Gallys
$103
Rick H & Amy B - Go Ella! We Are....
$103
Amy Hoelke
$103
The Fadgen's
$103
Carla Orosz
$103
Darlene Malsch
$103
Mr. Imran Ahmed Qureshi
Michael and Bree Braunstein
$100
Bobbi and Jerry Kemp
$100
Mistretta Family
$100
George
$100
Dan and Patty Smyers
$100
Anonymous
Beth Ashmore
Amy Houseman
Judy and George Siegel
$100
Laurie Reese
$100
Matt, Heather, Natalie and Nathan Rak
$100
The Plowey Family
$100
Love Mom! You are a rock star!!!
$100
Ellen S Bialek
$75
Marisa Dipaolo
$51
We support you, Ella! With Love, The Schwer Family
$51
Marisa & Phil
$51
Ella Eisenreich
$50
Susan EISENREICH
$50
Lynda Broze
$50
Julie Mussomeli
$50
Mrs. Vivien Braun
$50
Julie States ... go Ella...WE ARE
Kathy Mobile
$50
Sharon Czyzewski
Go Ella
$50
Mary Louise Wallach
$50
Sheila England
$50
Maiers
$50
Tricia Harris
Kathleen A Patrick
$50
Janice & George Sommer
$40
Chloe DiLeva - so inspiring ella ❤️❤️
$30
josephine Smith
$25
Donna & Thomas Fogle
$25
Riyaan Mehrotra
Removed
$1