DOWNEY — The city was represented on two floats in the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade Monday.

One was the float built by the Downey Rose Float Association. The second was the Kaiser Permanente float, carrying juvenile arthritis victim and advocate Mikayla Mannig, 13, the daughter of Mike and Janet Mannig, 30-year residents of the city.

“I will be one of nine youngsters [with chronic ailments] on the float,” Mannig told a reporter Dec. 29. “I was nominated by my doctor, Judith Garza, [a pediatric rheumatologist at Kaiser Permanente]. I am really excited. It came as a complete shock to me.”

Earlier that day Mannig and her mother went to Irwindale, where the Kaiser float was being built, and were interviewed by Gayle Anderson of KTLA-Channel 5.

After her interview with The Wave, she and her parents traveled to the warehouse on the grounds of Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center in Downey to join several hundred volunteers in decorating the city float.

“My father is a member of the Rose Float Association,” she said.

Speaking by phone Tuesday, the girl thanked Kaiser Permanente for choosing her to ride on the float.

“It was so much fun to ride on the float and to see all the smiling faces [of the crowd],” she said. “I had the best seat in the parade. The whole experience was amazing.”

Kaiser bused the nine float riders to Pasadena Sunday, where a dress rehearsal and judging took place as the floats lined up for the parade the next day. They were taken to a nearby hotel for the night, but the bus appeared at 6 a.m. Monday to take them to the float.

The theme of the float was “Everybody Walks.” It featured a caterpillar with numerous legs walking. To keep with the theme, Kaiser provided the youngsters with safari-type clothing to keep them comfortable during the two and one-half hour procession. Despite the walking theme, Mikayla was seated.

However, she is not adverse to walking and traveling to promote arthritis awareness despite her chronic ailment.

“I started my own nonprofit group, Change for Arthritis,” Mannig said. “I make a presentation before various civic clubs then pass the jar for donations. The money goes to the Arthritis Foundation. I have raised more than $1,000.”

“The service clubs have been very generous,” her mother, Janet, said. “We also conducted a rummage sale.” Contribution jars also have been placed in some local stores.

Mikayla has suffered from a form of juvenile arthritis since she was 3.

Her arthritis immobilizes her with severe pain throughout her body and stiffens her neck, said a representative of the Arthritis Foundation.

Despite living with chronic pain, she is a tireless advocate on behalf of children with juvenile arthritis. She has traveled to Washington, D.C. six times to speak with legislators, and testified before Congress at the age of 9, the foundation representative said.

“Mikayla has asked Congress to retain federal funding for the Arthritis Association. So far they have not reduced the allocation,” Janet Mannig said.

During her trips to the nation’s capital she was greeted and encouraged by Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Los Angeles, and her staff. That’s probably why the eighth grader at Trinity Christian School in Norwalk wants to run for Congress.

Mikayla is student body president this year and a member of the school’s cheer squad.

“I like to cheer,” she said, acknowledging that sometimes her condition makes it more difficult to do the acrobatics associated with cheerleading.

A Junior Miss Downey Teen Princess in 2010, Mikayla last April took part in the regional Southern California Junior Miss competition in Long Beach and once again won a place on the court along with teens from throughout Orange and Los Angeles counties.

“We appear at various events and do philanthropic work,” Mannig said.
Her philanthropic efforts are not limited to fellow arthritis sufferers. She has also taken part in food bank distributions and other efforts to help the homeless and less fortunate, and the Alzheimer’s Association, Janet Minnig said.

“We first noticed Mikayla’s problem when she was 3,” her mother said. “She was lethargic and she would not let us touch her. It took 10 months to get a diagnosis.”

Over the years there have been bad times, when the girl needed hospitalization for various problems. In recent years it has not been too bad as her pain is kept under control with medications.

“She takes chemo and other drugs and must have two injections a week,” Janet Mannig said.

During her 10-year battle with arthritis, Mikayla decided that other kids had worse problems then she did.

“I thought of all the people my age with arthritis. Some had to have operations to replace a knee or hip,” she said, adding “I thought my condition could be a lot worse. I wanted to help those who were worse off than I.”

There are about 300,000 victims of juvenile arthritis in the United States, according to statistics of the Arthritis Foundation.

The future for juvenile arthritis patients is uncertain, but the family is planning ahead.

Her parents grew up in Downey and were childhood sweethearts at Warren High School, but Mikayla will be going to arch rival Downey High School next year after graduating from Trinity Christian.

Although she has not decided on a future vocation, Mikayla said after high school she would like to attend Azusa Pacific University.

“They have a good cheer program. I want to be on that team and cheer my way through college,” she said.