My little sister, Ronee', is NOT doing well AT ALL today.
She is in her bed, with the shades pulled down, and the blanket thrown over her head, as she TRIES to sleep (which she CANNOT at the present time), even though it is a perfect, BEAUTIFUL, sunny late spring day. The other kids are outside, but mommy is stuck inside with Ronee'.
Ronee' awoke this morning in EXCRUCIATING pain. Her joints are swollen; her knuckles and her knee look like baseballs, they are so swollen, and she is feverish, nauseated (she's thrown up at least 3 times today; the ONLY thing she can keep down is water or Coke Classic), irritable, and just generally feeling HORRIBLE. Her joints are probably throbbing, and each and every little movement causes unbearable agony for her. Her chest is also killing her, and she is having a hard time breathing. (She's on her oxygen.) Her tummy is also upset, and her cheeks have a bright-red rash.
She is suffering from what is known as a "flare". She has those every so often; and some are so bad they have put her into the hospital.
But not THIS one. But it IS pretty bad, though.
Ronee' has severe systemic-onset juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. It is the worst kind of juvenile arthritis. Besides her joints, the disease affects her major organs (heart, liver, lungs, stomach, etc.), and when her disease is active (such as is the case today), it can make her feel plenty sick. She also gets a high fever when she has her flares.
I DON'T think she'll be attempting to use her crutches TODAY....
She'll just probably stay in bed and try NOT to think about things like pain or throwing up or just how bad she happens to feel in general....
Poor little kid....
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Author's Note: I may have arthritis, but my arthritis is nowhere as bad as those who suffer so needlessly from the rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis is just about as bad as you can get, especially if the person suffers from "flares". I have a few friends with rheumatoid arthritis, and when they suffer from those flares, I KNOW it. I also have a sister-in-law (my brother's wife) who has severe systemic rheumatoid arthritis (she got it as a kid) and has had a lot of serious problems because of it. This story is a fictional account of a kid with systemic-onset juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, but the feelings expressed by both the child and her older sister are real. It is hard to live with someone who has such a significant disability, and it is even harder to see them suffer so needlessly. God bless these courageous people. They deserve our concern and our prayers!!
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