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| Isn't she gorgeous?! Not to mention soo strong! |
So, it is that time of year again. Flu and cold season has hit our house. I never knew how weak Madison's immune system actually was until now.
Madison started off coughing the day before Halloween. It wasn't too bad of a cough, so I figured it would still be okay to take her out trick or treating. This was the first year she actually knew what was going on, so I was really excited to take her. Bad mistake on my part. Even though I had her bundled up like crazy, Madison's cough got significantly worse the next day. She ended up getting croup, going to the hospital and having to get a breathing treatment. As the days were going by, she seemed to be getting worse and not better. I realized that because of her injection medication, methotrexate, her immune system slows down. It took Madison a good 8 days to get over her cough. I didn't send her to school at all during this time because kids' germs are the worst! It was horrible to see and hear her cough. It was so hoarse and you could tell she was in so much pain. As always though, she pulled through like the tough girl I know and love.
Now, not even two weeks later, she is stuffy and has a runny nose. With the medication she is already on, she is limited as to what she can take to help her get over this cold faster. She absolutely cannot take anything that is penicillin based. The reason being is that Madison's methotrexate is essentially stored in the liver, so when the penicillin enters the liver to be broken down, it has no way of getting out due to a chemical reaction, which in turn, can very easily turn into a overdose. This can have very harsh effects on Madison's health so I even hate to give her anything that is not herbal. It's just a really scary situation, so I try to avoid over the counter medications at all costs. Is there anyone out there than can offer any advice??
Madison's arthritis is so much more than just arthritis. This disease affects our everyday life. Especially now with everyone being sick, we are trying to shield her from possibly coming into contact with any symptoms of any kind of sickness. With that being said, we are in the final weeks of getting together a team for the annual Jingle Bell Walk/Run for Arthritis. This year it is being held in Old Town in Albuquerque, NM on December 13th. We really hope you can make it to walk/run the 5K with us or make a monetary donation to our team, Love for Madison. You can do so by clicking here. We would love to have you and your support. We have had so many wonderful individuals sign up or donate already and I am truly feeling blessed. Remember, this not only helps Madison, but everyone affected with arthritis. Let's walk to find a cure!!!!!
Kinsley was diagnosed 2 months before she turned 3. She couldn't turn her head and it got so bad she went back to crawling. As soon as she had her first methotrexate shot she was back moving around. She has arthritis everywhere! It took 6months to have semi normal labs, but her wrist was still swollen. Excatly one year later they decided to give her a steriod shot in her wrist (not fun) and then finally Normal Labs and Normal exam we can start to ween off the methotrexate! That same visit the doctor gave her a flu shot, we went along because she had been out of school for a year and we wanted her to be able to go back with as few problems as possible. The flu shot put her in shock, she couldn't get out of bed for 3 days, I had to carry her everywhere. Her pediatrician said that the flu shot can give kids symptoms of jra and since she had it it made hers worse. The jra specialist said she had a virus that caused it. Now I don't know the different labs but the ones that measure inflamation are the ones I'm going to talk about, at first when we were diagnosed a lab was at 80 and needed to be 20 or less. After this flu shot in sept her lab went from 20 to almost 200! Its still at 90! I'm very nervous because in january they want to start her on embrol (which has been linked to cancer) I don't want to give my child something that's been linked to cancer! I don't even want to give her methotrexate. And I guess she will be getting both shots which I have to give her everyweek. They said we could give her a methotrexate pill (wich upsets your stomach) plus the embrol shot. I don't know what to do. Putting your trust in a doctor doesn't set right anymore, she has beed through alot and I just want what's best to battle this crippling disease!
ReplyDeleteI'd like to add that right now kinsleys whole left side is inflamed her ankle, top of the foot, knee, hip, wrist, fingers elbow, and right elbow and hand and fingers, Everything, she had a horrible limp wich is getting better! These poor little troupers, it seems like the doctors should be able to have this under control!
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