Another Mysterious Ailment
Since September of last year, Skoshi A has suffered from migratory joint pain and swelling. It has affected several joints but never more than one at a time. Other than the discomfort from the pain and swelling it hasn't bothered our steadfast girl too much and she just shrugs and chugs along.
As the discomfort would last only a couple days and then disappear as mysteriously as it had come, and as Skosh had grown several inches in just a short period of time, I chalked up this mysterious ailment to her all too quickly growing body rebelling against her. Between March and this September, she hadn't had a single episode, so we thought she was in the clear. On Friday last week her hip was swollen, hot to the touch, and painful. By Saturday the pain and swelling had travelled to her knee. Her knee swelled to twice its normal size and I knew this was something that really bore a more professional investigation.
Our family doctor took her history and gave her a quick, but thorough examination. It is as I feared, likely an auto-immune disorder and possibly JRA(juvenile rheumatoid arthritis). He ordered a blood panel to screen for several diseases and on my suggestion he also ordered a Lyme's disease test. He agreed her symptoms could also be explained by Lyme's and the timing does seem to fit.
And so we wait for the results. Hopefully we could have some answers next week. If not, there may be further testing required to get to the bottom of this medical puzzle. Say a prayer for our sweetie. She's such a little trooper and so far this hasn't affected her sunny outlook on life.
As the discomfort would last only a couple days and then disappear as mysteriously as it had come, and as Skosh had grown several inches in just a short period of time, I chalked up this mysterious ailment to her all too quickly growing body rebelling against her. Between March and this September, she hadn't had a single episode, so we thought she was in the clear. On Friday last week her hip was swollen, hot to the touch, and painful. By Saturday the pain and swelling had travelled to her knee. Her knee swelled to twice its normal size and I knew this was something that really bore a more professional investigation.
Our family doctor took her history and gave her a quick, but thorough examination. It is as I feared, likely an auto-immune disorder and possibly JRA(juvenile rheumatoid arthritis). He ordered a blood panel to screen for several diseases and on my suggestion he also ordered a Lyme's disease test. He agreed her symptoms could also be explained by Lyme's and the timing does seem to fit.
And so we wait for the results. Hopefully we could have some answers next week. If not, there may be further testing required to get to the bottom of this medical puzzle. Say a prayer for our sweetie. She's such a little trooper and so far this hasn't affected her sunny outlook on life.
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