Well, we (my husband and I) just found out on Monday that our now 5 yr. old daughter has JRA. She was sent to 2 different Dr.'s here in our hometown for a consult from the base to see what was wrong with her knee and why it was so swollen. None of the Dr.'s here would tell us straight that it was arthritis. So the base wanted a second opinion from another town nearby's Dr. to see if it was arthritis before sending us out of state to see a pediatric Dr. So that Dr. immediately came in and said she has JRA and this is the type she has. So now on this coming Friday we will go in to see an eye dr. to see if she has the eye problem that goes with her having Pauciarticular JRA. I'm doing okay with the diagnosis for now. I'll wait to see what happens on Friday. If they tell me that she does have the start of that eye problem. I will probably lose it then. But am trusting in God to show me what his plans are for her with this disease. Her younger brother has asthama problems but still hasn't actually diagnosed with having asthama but they are treating him like he does have it. So now having 2 kids with different health problems if very interesting. Thanks for your time in listening to me. If any of you would be kind in sending me any info. that would be great.
Hi...sorry to hear about your daughter
I hope she doesnt suffer to badly, and gets some good treatment.
I have added a link for you, hope it is of some help
http://www.webmd.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/tc/Juvenile-Rheuma toid-Arthritis-Topic-Overview
I am sorry to hear about your daughter. It is awful to see children in pain and there is nothing we can do about it. That is the worst part of our kids getting sick. You can handle this. God would not give you something you could not handle. If you have to break down, break down. But soon, you will look back and realize it was not the worst thing that could have happened. Keep us posted. Hope all works out well. Think positive!!!There are a few people on here whose children have JRA, They will be able to give you lots of info.Liz ( Grammaskittles) is unfortunetly in hospital herself at the moment , her daughter has JRA but I am sure when she is out of the hospital she will be able to give you valuable advice.Hi Mitchy and am so sorry for what you are having to deal with. I will be praying for your family and especially your daughter.as someone who is new to all of this, how would I know if my kids have it? my youngest daughter's joints pop a lot, she cracks and pops when she walks ..... should I worry?I'm real sorry to hear about your daughter. Bless her heart. Please try not to panic. As you will find here there are many that have had JRA since childhood and they have grown into amazing adults. Yes; their life has been faced with challenges many adults never in their whole lives face; but they become stronger individuals because of it. Try to stay positive.....and help your daughter (even at this young age) to adapt a positive out look on life. It's easy to get depressed with any chronic illness and although I have no experience with children and illness I know from my own experience that when you let depression take over everything seems to triple in severity. Help her to learn early not to let anything hold her back. SHe'll go through many stages with this thing and you'll be surprised to find long periods of time where she'll seem perfectly normal. Help her to make the most of those times. May God Bless you and your family as you begin this journey of the unknown. Hold tight to your faith....it will see you through.
OH~ my son was dx'ed with asthma when he was 6 (now 17).....he was one of the lucky ones that seems to have out grown it. Only on occations when he's out in the heat of the day and overly active does he have any signs of it. During those times he keeps an inhaler with him and he has little to no other problems. I hope your son will be as luck.
I'm so sorry your daughter has JRA. It's good that she is being evaluated and will be treated so quickly. Both my children had unusual medical problems and it was the most difficult thing I ever went through, but you can do it. Be strong and don't let her be defined by this disease. I don't mean you should be unrealistic or in denial, but that you need to remember that your daughter will develop into a unique person who is so much more than just a child with JRA. That will be just one part of who she is.
Wishing you peace and strength,
Laker
Dear Mitchy, I am new to the board and jsut read your post. What bad news that your daughter has this stuff , but good you have found out early, as you know the damage this untreated stuff can cause. I was talking to my husband about how I got this 'from' my grandmother, but not all of her grandchildren have it (my brother doesn't), so the genes and their process through families is so unperdictable.
my grandmother died a horrible, painful death from RA before all the super drugs....poor woman suffered so much pain I can't tell you without crying.
We all need to do what we can to further research to find the cause and a cure for this stuff.
sarah
Mitchy, Welcome to the board. I am so sorry to hear about
your daughter. Like Sarah says, there are some great drugs today they didn’t
have years ago.
There are people on this board who are so knowledgeable about RA that I don’t
know what I would have done without their support and willingness to share
information.
Thank you ladies for all your helpful information and your prayers are greatly appreciated. I know that it's nice that my oldest son (whose 7) only needs some simple physical, occupational and speech therapy's. Those are easy to deal with compared to a 5 yr. old with JRA and a 3 yr. old with asthma symptoms. But just the asthma symptoms isn't all that the 3 yr. old has been through. He also at 1 mo. of age had RSV. Which put him in the hospital for his first Christmas. But got to go home on Christmas Day. Then the following Christmas he went back into the hospital this time needing to have a small portion of his bowel and his appendix removed. So the poor little guy has been through a lot already at such a young age. I didn't cry at all through knowing that he had to have surgery and the day he had surgery I was having him checked in preperation for a trip to my hometown for a funeral in my family. Well, needless to say we didn't make it to the funeral. It was for my dad's mom. She died the very moment that we (my husband and I) found out that he had to have surgery. Then the day he got to come home from the hospital was the day they put my grandma in the ground. So I never did cry through any of that at all. I stayed strong as I still had 2 kids at home that needed to be taken care of. I thank God for his strength for getting me through that difficult time. I know that he can get me through this too. Thanks again.
Michelle / Mitchy
I cried for a whole day when I was about to go into heart surgery, my poor husband, who never sees me cry, was devestated. After I got home I was in so much pain (from this stupid RA) that I cried every morning for a week. I think you are very brave not to cry, but somehow it was a relief to me....so, if you need to, find a nice private place, like in the shower and cry as much as you want. We all understand how emotions seem really on the surface with this stuff. Just too much at once, with the death of your loved ones, your children sick (in the hospital on Christmas is awful) I was in on Thanksgiving and we don't even 'celebrate' very much on thanksgiving at it was AWFUL. (don't even want to go there on all my hospital imprisonments,} so many great people on this forum you can talk to, Be nice to yourself, Sarah