My Strong Man

Will was diagnosed with Juvenile Rhuematoid Arthritis (pauciarticular) at age 3. I had always thought that his knees looked a little strange (ie. big) but he was my first baby and honestly I'd never paid attention to any of my friends' children's knee sizes :). Then he started complaining of pain the mornings and his knees were warm to the touch. After several months of doctors' appointments and various over the counter remedies, we were referred to the pediatric rheumatologist at UIHC. Dr. Polly Ferguson has been a Godsend for us. She diagnosed Will, treated him with kindness and gentleness and has always been available for questions or concerns. He was on a "first line of defense" medication for about 2 1/2 years and his symptoms were considered to be in remission. We continued with quarterly appointments at UIHC for both rheumatology and opthalmology as there can also be eye inflamation complications. His knee symptoms subsided and he was weaned off the medication and continued until late fall 2008 without any issues. Late last year I began to notice his right knee was more swollen and stiff and warm to the touch again. Back to Dr. Ferguson in January 2009 and it was time to try cortisone shots to see if that would relieve the symptoms. The cortisone shots did not work like they had in the past and the swelling in his right knee continued to worsen and both ankles are now swollen as well. In late April, Will and I were at a routine eye appointment and our pediatric opthalmologist Dr. Longmuir, discovered inflammation in his left eye. This, coupled with the knee symptoms, means that it is time to try a new medication. He will be starting methotrexate this weekend. He will take it once a week and have bloodwork twice a month to monitor any side effects. He had baseline bloodwork done at our appointments yesterday and he did SO WELL. In the past, Will has HATED bloodwork and been so scared about it (understandable!!). But yesterday he was a superstar and I am so proud of him. He is my STRONG LITTLE MAN!