Kristina P.
Hi my name is Kristina and I have juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. I was diagnosed only 6 months ago. When I first started having pain in October of 2011, my mom kept on telling me it was growing pains. Then when I would sit on my knees I would complain that they would hurt. A couple weeks later my knees started swelling so much that I had to use crutches. My mom took me to a doctor to get the fluid drained out, but it didn’t help. A hour afterward the swelling came back. By this time I was missing a lot of school because of my pain. We went to my pediatrician who told me to go get bloodwork done to see if I had arthritis or Lyme disease. When we got the lab results back it was clear I had JA. Last year a kid in my class was diagnosed with JA and I had seen how much pain he was having. Why me? I would ask every night again and again. My mom took me to a rheumatologist and an integrated health doctor. Now I rarely have big flare ups and I take methotrexate. My name is Kristina and I am proud to have Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. God Bless
