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Cheyanne Campo was just three years old when her life changed forever.

"I woke up one Christmas morning and my knee was very swollen," she says. "I couldn't walk down the stairs to go the living room, to get to the Christmas tree or anything and my dad had to carry me down the stairs. Then we knew something was wrong."

Cheyanne, who is now 10, was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis, a chronic condition characterized by pain, swelling and inflammation of the joints. She's been a patient at the Hospital for Special Surgery on the Upper East Side for several years. Soon, Cheyanne will be treated at the new children's center that's set to open inside the hospital.

"I think it's great that the kids can have their own little home away form home," says Jessica Campo, Cheyanne's mother.

Founded in 1863, the Hospital for Special Surgery is the nation's oldest orthopedic center. This year, U.S. News and World Report ranked it number one among orthopedic hospitals in the country. It provides care for both kids and adults, treating everything from simple fractures to complex spine deformities.

Hospital officials say the $24 million expansion, which includes 10 new private patient rooms and a rehab space, will allow for more efficient care of pediatric patients with musculoskeletal disorders like juvenile arthritis, scoliosis and cerebral palsy.

"We've brought together multiple pediatric orthopedic subspecialists with pediatric rheumatologists and we have significant subspecialty musculoskeletal expertise," says Dr. Roger F. Widmann, the chief of the Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery Service at the Hospital for Special Surgery. "We wanted to bring it all together on one floor."

"It's better for the kids too and parents because it's more space for them," Cheyanne says.

The Lerner Children's Pavilion officially opens October 25.