She freaked out...

[Guest guest]

Ella has been through blood tests and being poked and prodded and never fought

it or even fussed much at all. I was always amazed at how well she did. Well,

that's apparently not the case anymore. She had an appointment today with her

pediatrician because she has a bruise-like rash and her doctors told me if he

showed up again, to bring her in so they could look at it, etc. So I did...

Her pediatrician couldn't get her rheumatologist on the phone while we were

there, but she did talk to another physician at the office and they both agreed

that they needed to do some blood work to check her platelets and make sure that

was okay. Well, as soon as the nurse walked in holding the basket thingy with

the tubes, etc in it, Ella flipped out. She started crying and saying she

didn't want to be poked because it would hurt and she hated it. They ended up

having to get another nurse to come in and help hold her. They had to stick her

twice which didn't help either. It absolutely broke my heart I think she's

just had it. She's been poked and prodded so much the past several months.

So her pediatrician called back this evening and said she talked to the

rheumatologist and he wants me to circle the spots and bring her back in

tomorrow. If the spots go away but leave a discoloration then it could be a

sign of something. And they want to see if any new spots show up between then

and tomorrow. Also, he wants to do a few more tests, so they'll need to get a

urine sample (not a big deal, because apparently she seems to think peeing in a

cup is the most fun thing ever...lol) and draw more blood. I could cry.

The doctor is calling in a prescription for numbing cream and I'm going to pick

that up in the morning and use it before her appointment and hopefully it will

help. Honestly, I'm not counting on it because she started freaking out as soon

as the nurse walked in the room today. I just hate that she's having to be

poked yet again. But I'm hoping we'll figure out what's going on soon. She's

still having stiffness and limping in the mornings and pain in her ankle and

knee sometimes. There is still no or very little visible swelling though. Its

just so weird. Even when the ultrasound showed fluid on her knee, there was

very little swelling that you could see. I'm anxious to talk to her doctor

tomorrow because I'm kinda confused right now. Apparently the physician her

pediatrician spoke to first said that according to her chart Ella had not been

officially diagnosed with anything yet. But after they got the blood test and

ultrasound results back in January, the rheumatologist's nurse called me back

and said that she had fluid on her right knee and her sed rate and c-reactive

protein were both high and that along with her history and the exam, the

rheumatologist felt she did have JRA and they started her on ibuprofen 3 times a

day and told me to follow up with her pediatrician the following month (which we

did...we're following up with her ped as much as possible so we don't have to

travel as much). Then this evening when the doctor called me she said that Ella

does have some type of JA and they are leaning towards JRA since they've ruled

out other things, but that could change if they find something else. Huh?!?

Another thing that has been happening recently that I'm going to mention to the

doctor tomorrow (forgot all about it today) that may or may not be related...

Ella will be walking and then just fall...its like her knee gives out or

something. Its kinda hard to explain. Its like she can't stand on that

leg...every time she does, her knee bends and she falls. After 10-15 minutes or

so she's fine and can walk on it perfectly fine. It happened once yesterday and

twice today. She said it didn't hurt but it " felt weird " and she couldn't stand

on it.

I'm hoping after the appointment tomorrow I'll be a little less confused... Any

tips on handling blood draws will be greatly appreciated! Even promises of

special treats didn't help much today

-Mom to five beautiful little girls!