Kiley Reitano

I started advocating for Fibromyalgia awareness back in 2014, a little over a year after I had started really developing symptoms. I began with a simple newspaper article from my local newspaper and from there I received a serious amount of positive responses. As only a sophomore in high school, I was receiving letters and emails from people who were not only my age dealing with similar things but people who were much older than I was. Hearing how much I had helped these people had moved something in me that made me realize that this was my passion. I needed to help people and that was my purpose. That was the reason I was given this awful situation because I was meant to help people rise above that negativity and that was my biggest coping tool. 

The tattoo on my left arm

Boston Children's Hospital is the reason I am where I am today. If it wasn't for the wonderful, caring, and helpful doctors there I wouldn't be helping people today. I spent my weeks in and out of the hospital and their pain clinic. It was a turning point for me when I finally "graduated" from the pain clinic and was offered to present at their support group as a guest speaker. Because of my time spent at that support group, I was awarded with the "Pain Treatment Service Youth Mentorship Award" and nothing is more rewarding than that. Being recognized by the people who helped me the most. 

My name is Kiley Reitano and I live with 3 chronic illnesses. I am a full-time graduate student. I had to learn very quickly that I was not the average high schooler when I was being diagnosed at age 14. Living with Fibro, Endometriosis, and an auto-immune disease has been very challenging and I have had many ups and downs. What I realized most through living with them was I wanted to let it impact me in the most positive way that it could. I wanted to take those negative situations and turn them into something positive. It was almost like mentally not letting the illnesses win. My goals in life are to become an art therapist and further help people who are struggling with chronic illnesses through coping with art. 

First article written about raising awarness

Article written my a classmate during my Senior year

"Kiley Reitano has a story to tell. She wants to break the silence behind illnesses that are difficult to diagnose and challenging to treat. She wants to shed light on the struggle behind illnesses that some consider “imaginary” because they can’t be seen." -The Town Crier

My award from the pain clinic at BCH from 2015 and then received it again in 2018

The proclamation from Governor Charles Baker 

Fibromyalgia Day 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 was officially proclaimed because of my efforts in raising awareness and was recognized by the Governor of Massachusetts. It was and still is probably one of my proudest moments when I received this. Living with an invisible illness is very hard, so to finally have that seen and my voice heard, that is something I will never forget.