Meet Our 2025 Champion: Ethan Spalten
Ethan Spalten was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was just 15 months old. Years later, blood work and an endoscopy confirmed he also has celiac disease.
When Ethan was 6 years old, he began having joint pain and was having a hard time moving. Doctors diagnosed him with juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Just one month later, on Ethan’s 7th birthday, he was rushed to the emergency room because blood tests revealed he had dangerously low platelet levels. He was diagnosed with ITP – immune thrombocytopenic purpura.
Ethan underwent multiple types of treatments to address these two diagnoses. It wasn’t until a year later, and another trip to the emergency room for a new symptom, when Dr. Barbara Ostrov, a pediatric rheumatologist, saw Ethan. She connected the dots between his various symptoms and illnesses and determined that he had an underlying condition: lupus.
After Ethan’s lupus diagnosis and new medication, his mom Rebecca says his health changed dramatically, and it’s all thanks to doctors at the Bernard & Millie Duker Children’s Hospital at Albany Medical Center.
“He’s a normal, happy, energetic 8-year-old boy. Whereas before, I used to say he looked like an 80-year-old man, shuffling around and moving slow,” Rebecca said.
Now, Ethan is running, jumping, and is a black belt in taekwondo!
