| Anna's JRA Journey |
| Our journey began when Anna was an infant, and she would fuss and cry and resist our attempts to bend her knee to get it into a blanket sleeper. There were also times when we would lift her out of her high chair, and her leg seemed to catch on the tray. I was thinking that I was in too much of a hurry (we have two older children, and life is busy), and then I would figure that the blanket sleeper problem was because of the high chair problem--thinking maybe I had bruised her knee in the process, and maybe it was still sore. Anna never really crawled--she would bend one knee, and she had her own little way to "scoot" across the floor to get somewhere. We never really thought too much about that. However, when Anna began walking, we noticed that she seemed at times to walk with a limp. It wasn't a consistant problem, and there were many times we thought maybe we had imagined that she was limping. By the time Anna was eighteen months old, our family doctor noticed that he couldn't fully straighten Anna's left leg (at her 18-month check-up), so he referred us to an orthopaedic doctor, who took x-rays, couldn't find anything on the x-rays, and said he would like his friend and colleague at the Hershey Medical Center to take a look. This second orthopaedic surgeon took a few more x-rays, scheduled an MRI, suggested that if it wasn't one possibility (the term was extremely long--I can't remember what it was, but he was thinking a correctable, congenital cartilege problem), it could very well be Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. The MRI results indicated that it wasn't the first possibility, so we were referred to the Rheumatology Department at The Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, PA. |
 |
| 1997 - 1999 |
|
|
| When Anna had her first appointment with the pediatric rheumatologist, she had a definite contracture of the left knee. The pediatric rheumatologist was the first doctor we had seen who didn't seemed at all puzzled by the symptoms we had observed. He prescribed physical therapy, a nap-time/night-time splint, and ibuprofen three times a day. Anna responded well to this prescribed treatment. However, we spent a few weeks and months adjusting to a new schedule of seeing therapists, doctors, etc. Since Anna was just about two years old at the time, this was a traumatic time and experience for her, and she got to the point where she was reacted badly any time we went into a small examination room. Because Anna was at high risk for developing uveitis (arthritis of the eyes), she also began seeing a pediatric opthamologist every three months for a slit-eye exam. By the end of November (right before Thanksgiving 1999), Anna was doing GREAT. There were no longer any signs of active arthritis, we didn't need to continue physical therapy, and everything was looking up. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| Having a child with JRA (or any chronic illness, really) can be like a roller coaster ride. There are many ups and downs--bumps along the way. For me, it was important to know a little of what the future might hold. It was important to know that other parents had struggled with the things that I have and will struggle with. I share Anna's story--our journey--so that others might find empathy and help. Our journey, our ride continues, with its many ups and downs. I'll try to update this as much as possible, and I'll try to keep it brief. (For anyone who knows me, they know that keeping things brief will be a real struggle for me!!!) |
| Please e-mail me, especially if you're searching for information or empathy. I know what that's like. |
| Anna's JRA Page--lots of JRA links, both informational and some personal pages of other families who live with JRA. |
 |
|
| More Recent Updates 2000- May 2001 June-July 2001 July - September 2001 October 2001 January 2004 (new as of 1/2/04) |