Answers

We went to IA City today to visit with the pediatric rhuematology specialist.  Maci has oligoarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis.   Sounds worse than it is I think.  The main concern is that there is a 20% chance it can cause vision impairment or blindness.  But if we catch it and we monitor it, she should be fine.  Basically this means she would need drops in her eyes to minimize swelling and damage.  She also now has it in her right knee so we are going back as soon as we can after our trip to have another injection in that knee.  She needs to be fully sedated again.  :(  Hopefully that is the last place it decides to flare up.  

If the injections don't cut it, we will discuss systemic or oral medicines but since she is so little we'd like to avoid that for now. From there we just watch her and take her Iowa City and the eye doctor every 3 months...probably for a few years.  The best news is that children who develop this type of arthritis before the age of 7 have the best chance of "growing out of it!"  Well that and the specialist said she would lead a perfectly normal life doing all the things that little kids do! :)

Iowa City is the place to go!  We had an awesome experience and everyone we met was great.  Very thorough and personable.  Maci loved everyone and so did we!