Rathdrum baseball player overcomes rare disease

RATHDRUM, Idaho -- Jace Cooksey always wanted to be a baseball player.

"I like to keep going," Jace said.

Until one day, the game he loves was almost taken away.

"It all really started when I was in fourth grade," Jace said. "I was at one of my games and I think I was pitching, or something. I just felt a really sharp pain in my arm."

"He kept getting sick," Jace's father Jared Cooksey said. "He kept getting fevers. His shoulders and legs would be all locked up to where he wouldn't be able to move. His general practice pediatrician said we're going to move you to Sacred Heart Children's Hospital immediately. We already have a room for you."

Jace was diagnosed with Systemic Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA), a chronic condition that causes pain and swelling in the joints throughout the entire body.

It makes it difficult to move, let alone play baseball.

"Seeing him in pain is the hardest," Jared said. "Just not being able to do anything that could help him, that's devastating."

Growing up with a rare condition hindered Jace's ability to perform daily activities.

"Just everyday things like walking," Jace said. "I couldn't even lift up my arms."

Systemic Juvenile Arthritis affects 10 to 20 percent of children with JIA.

Jace was worried his playing days were over.

"It was definitely a scary time not knowing what was going to happen or if I was going to be like that forever," Jace said.

In the midst of unbearable pain, it was being without baseball that hurt him most.

Monthly shots and countless hours of physical therapy helped Jace get back on his feet and back on the field.

"I never thought I was going to get to go back out there," Jace said. "The second I got to go back out it was just like 'wow this is great.' I took that for granted for sure."

Jace played in almost every game for Lakeland High School last season.

It was enough to earn a scholarship to continue his career at Arizona Christian University.

"I never thought I'd make it that far," Jace said. "Not in a long shot."

"It's cool to see his perseverance and optimism and see him work through that," Jace's mother Gina Cooksey said.

Now, Jace is ready for any curveball thrown his way.

"I just hope it inspires other people to believe that they can do things that are just out of reach," Jace said.

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