Welcome

Photo Credit: Spears' Photography

My name is Miranda and I am starting a blog to tell you about my journey with my 2-year old being diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. I will start off my introducing myself. I am currently a full-time student studying Elementary Education with a concentration in Mathematics. I will graduate with my Bachelor's in May 2014. I had Madison when I was 20 years old and she has been the greatest blessing in my life. She was born on May 13, 2011. Like any mother seeing their daughter for the first time, I was in awe that I created such a perfect little miracle.

Today, she is 2-years old and still perfect. She is unbelievably smart (sometimes too much for her own good, but aren't they all?), strong, determined and gorgeous. When she was 18 months old, she got up one morning and could not walk. I tried to remember if she had fallen or something due to that nature that would do that to her. I looked back on everything and I could not figure out what it was. I would set her down and she would scream because of the pressure. After a couple hours of laying around, she would slowly start walking, but with a huge limp. I was taken back and did not know what to do. This went on for a couple of days and then I decided to take her to our family doctor. I do not know why, but I assumed it was in her hip because every time I picked up her legs to change her, she would scream in pain. We went to the doctor and since Madison had had the flu the week before, he stated that it was probably fluid that settled in her hip and to give it a couple of days. He sent us for X-Rays and blood work, but everything came back normal.

About a week and a half past and Madison still could not walk. I took her back to our family doctor and he referred us to an orthopedic doctor in Albuquerque. We went and he looked at her hip and sent us for more X-Rays and blood work. Again, nothing was determined to be wrong.

It was not until March that my sister, Rachelle, was babysitting her and noticed her knee was swollen to the size of a small apple. Keep in mind, she was not even 2 yet, so it was huge. I bypassed our family doctor and took her straight to our orthopedist in Albuquerque. We went for more blood work and X-rays and he said that it could be a number of things, one of them being Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. I thought that there was no way a 1-year old could have that so I brushed it off. It was not until he referred us to a pediatric rheumatologist that it sunk in that my baby could have this lifelong disease.

Dr. Johnson is the only pediatric rheumatologist in the state of New Mexico so it took about a month and a half for Madison to get in. He took one look at Madison's knee and said he had a very good idea it was JRA. He gave her some pain/anti inflammatory medication, referred us to physical therapy and said Madison would have to have a synovial biopsy of her knee tissue because of the fact that JRA usually affects more than one joint, so they had to do a biopsy to make an accurate diagnosis. Surgery for my 1-year old was not an easy pill to swallow. I thank God everyday for the love and support of my boyfriend, my mom and families. Without them, we would not be able to get through this.

Madison's surgery was scheduled a week before her second birthday. They give you so many instructions to do before surgery, but how in the world do you keep a one-year old from eating and drinking all day until 2:00 pm? It was very hard, but she was the best, as always. The doctor came out about an hour after she went in and told us he found "rice bodies" which was an indication of JRA. I did not know what to think. My baby is going to suffer from this for the rest of her life and she was only going to be 2. My emotions were running crazy.

In my next post, I will go over our treatment plan, medications and updates on Madison, but for now, I just want to get acquainted.

The reason why I started this blog was to gain insight on other parents dealing with JRA. We live in a small town where it basically has been unheard of. I want to learn from other families and share experiences so I can care for my baby in the best way. Tips, advice, remedies, etc..are WELCOMED! Please, let's help each other keep our babies comfortable.