'My daughter started army crawling – it was the first sign of the condition I've lived with all my life'

A mum has revealed the warning sign her daughter displayed which indicated she had the same condition that had ‘plagued’ her life.

When Lynsey Knight’s little tot, Mia, began ‘army crawling’ across the living room, she was left heartbroken.

That’s because at 18 months old, she was doing the same thing.

And it saw her diagnosed with a condition that affects one every 1,000 children every year in the UK.

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the joints, making them swollen and sore.

For the business analyst, this left her in pain and stiff for weeks, with constant trips to the hospital during periods of flare-up.

A mum was heartbroken when her baby began army crawling across the floor - it was the same warning sign that led to her own painful arthritis diagnosis. — Mia with mum and dad. (Picture: Jam Press)

The prospect of her little girl, now aged eight, going through the same battle was something she struggled to face.

“When Mia would attempt to walk, her knees would often lock straight like she was a little tin soldier,” Lynsey, from Essex, told Need To Know.

“I knew that stiffness was another symptom of the condition.

“She would seem more and more uncomfortable with each day that passed; finding any way to not use her joints.

“My worries only intensified when my husband went to dress her one morning and as he gently bent her arms and legs into the clothes, she let out an ear-piercing cry.

“Then, my fears worsened when Mia stopped crawling and instead lay on the floor in complete agony.

“I examined her joints and they were hot to the touch, as well as swollen.”

Lynsey, aged 41, recalls Mia displaying the ‘strange’ aforementioned crawl at just 10 months old.

While it’s unknown what causes the condition, she was told there would be just a 10 percent risk that it’d be passed on.

After seeking out medical advice, doctors initially diagnosed Mia with irritable hip syndrome.

Not accepting that was the truth, Lynsey took her back to A&E before her diagnosis with JIA was confirmed in December 2019.

She said: “Knowing what it’s like to live with JIA, I felt completely heartbroken.

“I worried for her future and felt incredibly guilty that I could’ve passed this onto her – even though it wasn’t my fault.

“But I also felt validated that my gut instincts were correct when I didn’t accept her first diagnosis.”

Immediately, a mixture of steroids and other injections were given to bring down her swelling and stop the self-attack.

And, thankfully, it was successful.

Despite this, however, she didn’t hit her milestones as expected and wasn’t able to walk fully until shy of her third birthday.

But now, due to weekly injections given at home, Mia is able to live like every other kid in her class – most of the time.

She does suffer occasional flare-ups, which have left the eight-year-old confused.

And in some instances, unable to move, such as her most recent in November 2025 when she was wheelchair bound.

Struggling to explain the condition with words, Lynsey racked her brain for another way.

Until she came up with the idea of creating a children’s book, titled ‘Why Do I Hurt?’

Using drawn pictures of Mia, it explained everything she needed to know.

Now, they’re working with Arthritis UK to use the book as a recommended resource for other kids with the condition.

She added: “When I met other parents at the hospital, they all struggled to find a way to explain it to their little ones, too.

“But when I read Mia the book, it all clicked.

“She’s doing so well and I’m so proud of how she’s taking it all in her stride.

“Monthly, we go to the hospital for a transplant of complex medicines that are made from living systems, such as protein or cells, which alter immune responses.

“This helps to control the inflammations, which seems to be working.