senior battles juvenile rheumatoid arthritis

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senior battles juvenile rheumatoid arthritis

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ANDERSON TWP. - High School senior Isabella Rose is like any

teenager her age, so full of vibrant energy and quite the athlete.

Isabella enjoys horseback riding and competitive tennis. Looking at Isabella

no one would expect that she's going through excruciating pain. But Isabella

is one of 50,000 children in the country who have been diagnosed with

juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, or JRA.

" We were just devastated because no one in our family has any history of

rheumatoid arthritis, " said Isabella's mother, .

While playing tennis six years ago Isabella noticed a sharp pain in her

wrist with each stroke of the ball.

" I took her to a doctor and was totally stunned when we were told it could

be arthritis, " Stacey said. " My first thought was that arthritis affected

older people, not kids. "

But a visit to a rheumatologist proved their fears were correct. Isabella

was one of many diagnosed with JRA.

Arthritis is an inflammation of the joints that is characterized by

swelling, heat, and pain. Nearly 300,000 children in the United States have

some sort of arthritis. Arthritis can be short-term -- lasting for just a

few weeks or months, then going away forever -- or it can be chronic and

last for months or years. In rare cases, it can last a lifetime.

Symptoms can be a swollen knuckle, a spiking fever or an unexplained rash.

The most prevalent form of juvenile arthritis is juvenile rheumatoid

arthritis, or JRA.

" Obtaining Isabella's diagnosis was quite a journey and took about six

months, " Stacey said. " Since she didn't present with the typical symptoms of

a child with JRA (swelling and redness) we visited several different doctors

before ending up at the rheumatology clinic at Children's Hospital. "

Upon receiving the diagnosis, Isabella began a series of steps required to

manage the disease. After trying several medications to control the

inflammation present in her wrists, ankles, elbows and jaw, she began taking

methotrexate on a weekly basis. Because of the possible side effects of the

medicine, she had to have blood drawn every six week weeks to monitor her

kidney and liver functions.

She visited the rhematologist every three months to check for active

inflammation and to assess her joint stability and range of motion. Since

inflammation can even occur in the eye she visited an ophthalmologist every

six months.

" Her progress was not only determined by a doctor's assessments, but also

from information we obtained from seemingly endless X-rays, ultrasounds and

MRIs, " Stacey said.

While tennis has been put on hold, horseback riding is still part of

Isabella's agenda and, according to her doctors, is good therapy for one

with JRA.

" We feel blessed because Isabella's disease is considered mild, " Stacey

said. " In the past year her disease has not progressed and active

inflammation is only present in her jaw. We're considering steroid

injections in her jaw to control the inflammation and prevent joint damage. "

Isabella and many of her friends (they call themselves Snap, Crackle, Pop)

will participate in the Arthritis Foundation's Arthritis Walk to be Sunday,

May 18, beginning at Sawyer Point.

Registration for this walk begins at 9 a.m. The walk starts at 10 a.m.