JP Update

So we found a new doctor for JP. We thought it was weird that the doctor didn't want to follow up with us or anything and his ankle and knee have stayed swollen, so we wanted to make sure everything was okay. I looked up doctors online and found a practice that specializes in arthritis, sports injuries, etc. Oh, let me back up. This past Mon. night during football practice he popped his knee several times, so this made me want to act now to find a doctor. We were trying to find the doctor that Jo Jo had gone to when he broke his arm because we really liked the doctor and the office. So that's the practice I happened to find right away. I called to schedule and we got in right away on Wed. and it was even with the same doctor we'd had and I didn't even request him. He was great! He was so knowledgeable and nice. They took x-rays and there isn't anything wrong with the bones. The doctor was really concerned by how big the swelling was. He has the ankle, knee, his right ring finger, and some of his toes on his right foot that are all swollen. They also have a doctor that is the only pediatric rheumatologist in the area. So the doctor decided to call him for a consultation. Well, it was worse than we thought I guess because he got us an appt. right away for today (Fri.) Apparently there's a 6-7 mth. waiting list for this doctor so we were happy but a little worried because clearly it's bad enough that we needed to see him.

So I picked up a prescription for a mild sedative for him to take this morning before seeing the doctor because they wanted to give him two cortizone shots-one in the ankle and one in the knee. For lack of a better term, it makes them drunk. He was falling over and at one point I went to help him and he went forward to the point that he fell on the tile right on his face and ended up with a goose egg in the center of his forehead. I learned my lesson and decided to have him lean on me to get to the car and into the doctor's office. He also said the most random things. He even started humming the Star Wars theme. The doctor was great! We LOVED him! He was so friendly and very concerned about JP. We told him that the first doctor told us he would most likely grow out of it and that we shouldn't worry and just to give him ibuprofen. Dr. Knibbe couldn't believe it. He was really annoyed. It's not something that will go away unfortunately. He wants to be very aggressive with treatment. So he decided that he needs to be on a certain medication with a long name that I can't remember. Unfortunately for poor JP it's a weekly injection. So he got the two cortizone shots and then a shot today of the new medication. It's something that I'll do at home each week and it has nausea as a side effect so we'll do it on the weekends. Then...he also had to get blood drawn. That was the last straw for him. So to back up juvenile arthritis can cause major eye problems so after his original diagnosis they sent us to a pediatric opthamologist for an eye exam. Everything looked great so we wouldn't need to go back for a year. Dr. Shea (the one we saw Wed.) told us that it could even cause blindness if it's not treated and checked often. That almost made me cry. Well...I guess when they did the original blood work in the ER back in Feb. they didn't do what they needed to determine how often he'll need to see the eye doctor, so that's why he had to have blood drawn today. Was that long enough?

So he got to go to Walmart and pick out some "prizes" for being so brave today. He HATES needles (but who doesn't?). He picked out two packs of silly bands-which if you don't know what those are you either don't have kids old enough or you've been living under a rock. They're the new rage-pretty much jelly bracelets like we used to wear in the 80s, but in shapes. He also chose a really small Lego car (the $5 ones) that you can build. He missed almost the whole day of school so he liked that part, but had to come home and ice it and rest. We'll see the doctor again in 4 weeks. We all liked him very much, including JP. There's going to be a juvenile arthritis celebration at the science center here in a couple of weeks with food and exhibits and our doctor will be there, so we'll try to go after football. He's still going to go to his game tomorrow in his uniform and sit on the sidelines to support his team.

Bubba has a big game tomorrow against the other undefeated team so it's a HUGE deal. The whole league has been watching us and we're supposed to have as many people wearing green tomorrow that we can get there. I think our boys are ready and will come out with the win!