Miracle #452

As I was getting ready to update everyone on Shelbi's condition, it dawned on me that I've never really posted about it! Why? Not sure really, guess we have just been pretty confident that the Lord would heal her and keep her protected. For those who don't know, she was diagnosed with JRA (Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis) back in early September. It came as quite a shock but I was very relieved to finally have a diagnosis, and a doctor who actually acknowledged that yes, something was wrong!

It started in June, when she began limping after a simple spill at Vacation Bible School. Before we knew it she looked like a little pirate girl, walking with a gimpy right leg that she would just drag behind her. Being that the doctors were so much more educated and enlightened than me, I was told repeatedly that "The x-rays looked normal and nothing was broken", therefore she must be perfectly healthy, right?!! Of course I was just the paranoid mom who didn't know anything, and it would eventually "go away". Hmmph. Any one who knows me knows that this is simply not an acceptable answer. But being that the adoption was not yet final, and her only insurance was the lovely medi-cal provided by the state, my hands were tied. Waaaayy frustrating. Finally, after two months, I got into a doctor that actually took me seriously! Praise God! She said this was out of her realm, something was definitely wrong (She was in so much discomfort that I would have to massage her legs at night to get her to go back to sleep. And she wouldn't even attempt to walk for several hours after waking in the morning. Long summer.), and that we needed to see a specialist... Music to my ears! After three long weeks we had our appointment at Valley Children's to see an orthopedist who sat dumbfounded as each of the tests came back "normal". But upon getting the final results from the blood work he knew exactly where we needed to go. One week later we were seeing the pediatric rheumatologist.

Such a long journey but having answers was a God send. Dr. Arce-Hernandez' first question was, "what is your family history?". Uhhh, good question. I wasn't really able to give her bio mom a phone call for that one, and it surely wasn't in our paper work soooo....??? Second question, "What is her ethnicity?". Before I could even finish my answer, "Well her mom is Mexican..." he nearly laughed out loud. But seeing that he had the last name "Hernandez" with a thick Spanish accent, and himself was a blue-eyed blond, I didn't take offense. It is funny, I admit. Then, within five minutes of evaluating her and feeling her joints, we had our diagnosis. She had JRA, it was in her knees and left ankle, it wasn't mild but not severe either... moderate. And the best news? She would most likely outgrow it!! Hallelujah! He said it would really depend on how she responded to the meds, a mild anti-inflammatory. Child's dose of Aleve basically. So we just went to another follow-up last week and she is making tremendous progress. Her walking is about 95% normal now and she has full mobility in her right leg. (It was so stiff that the knee stayed bent at a 45 degree angle and just barely rotated at the hip.) So all is well! We start physical therapy soon and that should help correct the remaining problems. And he said that his patients usually go into remission within six months to a year of an attack, at which point she can come off the meds completely. So God is good. When I think of the incredibly rough start she had coming into this world, and that God gave her to us to be entrusted with, I can't help but wonder of what great and mighty plans He has for this girl! It's just one miracle after another...

" 'For I know the plans I have for you' declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.' "

Jeremiah 29:11