When Julie Shevlin was on the Port Angeles High School gymnastics team, she didn’t know that any of the skills she learned — namely a cartwheel — would later win $6,000 for a cause she cared about.
Shevlin — a Seattle resident who was Julie Urfer when she lived in Port Angeles — competed in the Verity Mom Cartwheel for a Cause online challenge that ended this month.
Her 60-second video of her cartwheel for a cause was announced Wednesday as the winner of the contest, sponsored by Verity Credit Union of Seattle.
She selected as recipient of her winnings the Cure JM Foundation, which conducts research on juvenile myositis, the disease afflicting her 6-year-old daughter.
Tessa — who also is the granddaughter of Jan and Dennis Urfer of Port Angeles — was diagnosed at the age of 4 with the potentially fatal disease, in which an overactive immune system attacks the muscles.
Tessa’s mother knew something was wrong long before the diagnosis was made.
“Tessa as a toddler or a baby just wasn’t very active,” Shevlin said.
“She was normal and healthy, but she liked to sit a lot and liked to be carried all the time.
“Then, she had a series of very high fevers, and following exposure to the sun, she would break out in a rash that looked like a sunburn — but it wasn’t.
“It just didn’t go away, so even in the winter, she looked like she had a sunburn.”
Those elements, combined with Tessa’s tiredness, led the doctor to diagnose juvenile dermatomyositis, a form of juvenile myositis.
Currently there is no cure. Tessa undergoes nearly daily shots and frequent treatments.
She is also part of a study of the disease through the Cure JM Foundation, Shevlin said.
“It is a fairly rare disease, so there just isn’t a lot of study about it out there,” Shevlin said.
“So the treatments are very general. We don’t know if there is maybe a better way to treat these kids.”
Tessa has been improving with treatment but is not in remission, Shevlin said.
“We are still waiting for her to go into remission,” she said.
In addition to winning $5,000 through the cartwheel video contest, Shevlin also won $1,000 for herself, which she plans to donate to the foundation.
The contest accepted entries from Jan. 24 to Feb. 21. Online voting was between Feb. 23 and March 2.
“When I heard about the contest, as a former gymnast who had a cause that I care about a lot on a personal level, it just seemed like the perfect fit,” Shevlin said.
In addition to the money already raised for the foundation, Shevlin and her husband, Justyn, are having a series of fundraisers in Seattle.
“We are lucky because we have good insurance, so everything is going to research on this disease,” she said.
Seattle fundraisers are:
■ On June 21, the family will hold a Summer Solstice party at the Space Needle in honor of Tessa.
The cocktail party, silent auction and awareness night will cost $50. It includes a trip to the top of the Space Needle.
To purchase tickets, visit www.summersolsticecurejm.eventbrite.com or e-mail jshevlin76@gmail.com.
The family also is accepting silent-auction items.
■ “Team Tessa” runners are organizing for the Seattle Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon/Half Marathon on June 25.
The runners will help raise awareness of the issue. Contact the above e-mail for more information.
A kids Team Tessa is also set up for children who will run 26 miles between now and June while raising money for the Cure JM Foundation.
Donations can be made to the foundation through an account set up at any Wells Fargo branch under the name “Team Tessa.”
To view the video of Tessa asking everyone to “Cartwheel for the Cure,” which won the highest number of votes of any entry in the contest, visit http://tinyurl.com/4qontr7.
For more information on the Cartwheel for a Cause contest, visit www.veritymom.com.
To learn more about the Cure JM Foundation — which is based in Encinitas, Calif. — visit www.curejm.com, e-mail info@curejm.com or phone 760-487-1079.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
