Lucky

This is where we spent half of our St. Patrick's Day--the pediatric rheumatologist's office at University Hospital. Ryn has been diagnosed with juvenile arthritis. We still have two more appointments with an opthamologist (since eye damage/infection is one of the immediate dangers related to this disorder) and our pediatrician next week for a few more tests, and then a follow up with the rheumatologists in a month where they hopefully will be able to tell us which type of JRA she has. I had taken Ryn in last week when her knee was hurting so badly that she couldn't sit down or bend it in any way. Worried about a bone or joint infection like Nolan had a little over a year ago, they ran some blood tests and her ANA test came back positive. That, in addition to her pain extending to her elbows, ankle and knuckle, led our doctor to push through an appointment with the rheumatology department sooner than later.

But even with news like this, I can't help but feel like we're pretty lucky (which is Irish for blessed). For now, Ryn's symptoms have almost all subsided, we live in a time when so much medical knowledge is available, and the daily tender mercies we receive are simply overwhelming.