Rowan Tree and Red Thread

Avid readers of sammywol will know already from this post, but I felt I should keep my friends-list up to date.

My daughter Rowan has had pains on and off in her arms and knees for several months and the GP and specialist have decided it the most likely diagnosis is polyarticulate juvenile arthritis. This is a bit worrying partly because it's one of those conditions that doesn't seem to have any single underlying cause that you can treat, partly because, well, just because we're parents and we worry.

Most of the time Rowan doesn't seem to have any problems; she's active and pain-free. Sometimes she has pains and aches which unfortunately don't respond particularly well to the NSAIDs (ibuprofen for the most part). A couple of times she's had difficulty getting started in the mornings from stiffness, though of course I have that to and blame the prospect of having to face work.

Anyway, investigations are ongoing, and it's early days. Most of the stuff I've read about it suggests that she'll be find as long as we get regular check-ups and a variety of treatments (drug and non-drug like physio, school support and so on).

So now you know.

More upbeat - new pics up at our Picasa gallery.



(ETA: Thanks to doc_mystery for the JRA link (and others) provided above.)