Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis That's the official diagnosis from the specialists at St. Louis Children's Hospital. The first question we had was if our daughter would struggle with this forever. All of these thoughts start to run through your head. Will Everly always struggle to walk? Will she ever be able to play soccer or take dance? Will she always have flare ups? Will this affect her for life? Will she have to be medicated? What are the side effects if so? A million questions begin streaming through your mind as a parent. Well I am thrilled to report that her arthritis diagnosis isn't chronic! Knowing that was the case, the doctor gave us two options. The first option involved a steroid injection in the foot. 50% of patients who receive the injection see relief in 2 days. I liked those odds! Should we choose to forgo injections then our next option was to medicate for up to a year, until the arthritis cleared. The medication of course comes with side effect risks.
A constant balancing act between mom and career life!