Katie Kersten never expected that sharing her family’s story online would resonate with thousands of people across the country.
Now, the Sylvania Township mom finds herself in the Quarterfinals of Colossal’s nationwide Super Mom competition after surviving several rounds of voting, all while balancing full-time work, motherhood and the emotional weight of raising a toddler with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA).
But for Katie and her husband Andrew, the competition has become about much more than votes.
It has become a platform to openly talk about infertility, chronic illness, parenting, the harsh financial realities many families quietly face behind closed doors and the everyday emotional toll that comes with trying to stay strong for your child.
“We’ve realized there are so many families carrying heavy things that nobody sees,” Katie said. “Whether it’s infertility, chronic illness or medical debt, people are struggling more than we realize.”
A difficult road to parenthood
Before Gracie was born, the Kerstens spent more than three years trying to start a family.
Three years filled with uncertainty, anxiety and patience.
“It felt like somebody was shaking up a champagne bottle over and over again, but instead of popping the cork in celebration, the bottle was placed back on the counter,” Katie said.
After years of setbacks, appointments and emotional exhaustion, the couple ultimately turned to IVF.
Eventually, they welcomed Gracie, a milestone they once feared might never happen.
And for a while, life finally felt normal.
Then, at just 18 months old, Gracie was diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, commonly referred to as JIA.
The rare autoimmune condition, which affects roughly one in every 1,000 children in the U.S., causes the immune system to mistakenly attack healthy joints, leading to inflammation, stiffness and pain.
The diagnosis completely blindsided the family.
“I remember that December morning we found out,” Katie recalled. “I was dropping Gracie off at my parents’ house before work and she couldn’t stand.
“When she tried to, she cried out in pain and collapsed on the floor. It was definitely one of the most gut-wrenching moments of my life.”
Katie and Andrew were stuck playing detective, trying to rule out worst-case scenarios while also attempting to shrug it off as something common, like growing pains or a stubbed toe.
But as the symptoms lingered, they found themselves doom scrolling online, making endless phone calls to Gracie’s PCP and scheduling appointment after appointment while trying to preserve as much normalcy as possible for their daughter.
“There were mornings where she couldn’t even extend her leg past 90 degrees,” Katie said.
Never ending doctor appointments
Over the last several months, the family says they have learned an entirely new language of parenting. Words like inflammation, joint contractures, methotrexate and remission suddenly became part of everyday conversation.
Every appointment seemed to bring a mix of cautious optimism and difficult conversations.
Even getting Gracie started on treatment was a process. Before beginning methotrexate injections, Gracie underwent extensive testing and screenings, including tuberculosis testing, frequent blood draws and additional evaluations required before starting immunosuppressive medication.
“She would get poked and prodded and she would cry, but we needed to be the best parents we could be in those moments,” Katie said.
Methotrexate, a medication commonly used to treat autoimmune arthritis, is also used in higher doses as a form of chemotherapy in oncology patients, something the family says initially added another layer of fear and anxiety surrounding treatment.
“We were going to and from doctors’ offices so often and each one felt like it led to another appointment or another test before we could finally begin treatment,” Andrew said.
And while methotrexate has helped improve Gracie’s mobility and stiffness, the medication itself has brought difficult side effects.
“It was like hearing those prescription drug commercials with the endless list of side effects,” Andrew said.
Gracie frequently experiences nausea following her weekly injections and has vomited multiple times per week while adjusting to treatment.
“There have been nights where she gets sick and you just feel helpless as a parent,” Katie said. “You know the medication is supposed to help her long term, but watching your child go through side effects at such a young age is heartbreaking.”
Still, the Kerstens say recent rheumatology appointments have finally started bringing encouraging news, including improvements in Gracie’s stiffness and mobility.
“She’s moving better. She’s loosening up more,” Andrew recalled hearing during one appointment.
And slowly, Katie and Andrew say they began loosening up more, too, finally allowing themselves to breathe a little easier as they started hearing positive updates from Gracie’s care team.
The family says even the smallest improvements suddenly became massive victories.
“She’s beginning to run more freely, jump around in her crib and walk downstairs easier in the mornings,” Katie said. “And just recently we saw her cross her legs for the very first time.”
For most parents, those moments might go unnoticed. For the Kerstens, they became milestones.
And to keep them grounded during otherwise stressful times, they keep going back to what they heard during one of Gracie’s appointments:
“Take things one step at a time.”
“You start wanting answers five years into the future,” Katie said. “But we’ve learned this is really about focusing on today, focusing on progress and trying not to let fear take over.”
More than a competition
As Katie continued advancing through the Super Mom competition, the family started sharing more of their story publicly across social media.
Ironically, Katie almost never entered the competition in the first place.
“It was honestly kind of a ‘why not, this looks fun’ type of thing at first,” Katie laughed. “I never imagined it would turn into this.”
What followed was an outpouring of support from friends, family and complete strangers.
“Through appointments, specialists and lots of uncertainty, I’ve learned to celebrate small victories, fiercely advocate, and know I can’t fix everything,” Katie wrote on her Super Mom profile.
Katie and Andrew say one of the biggest goals in sharing their story is helping other parents feel less alone.
“There are so many families quietly dealing with infertility or chronic illness,” Andrew said. “If sharing our experience helps even one parent feel seen, then it’s worth it.”
And financially, the challenges continue.
Between IVF treatments, specialist appointments, medications and ongoing care, the family says medical debt has piled up quickly.
“It’s constant,” Katie and Andrew echoed together. “There’s always another appointment, another prescription or another bill.”
If Katie ultimately wins the competition, she would receive $20,000, a feature in NewBeauty Magazine and a family getaway.
The family says the money would help offset mountains of IVF and medical debt while also allowing them to finally take Gracie on a beach vacation.
For now, though, the focus remains simple:
Take things one appointment at a time.
Celebrate the good days.
And keep moving forward while watching Gracie grow.
Voting for the Super Mom Quarterfinals remains open through Wednesday, June 4, at 10pm EST.
Community members can learn more or vote daily for Katie at thesupermom.org/2026/katie-kersten.
