Living with “Arthur”, should not mean you give up living.

I am writing this in the hope that my daughter and other kids who are facing challenges with JIA will read it and I hope that it will open their eyes to a few things and will not let this disease beat them.

Just because you have JIA does not mean it is the end of your life, sure a few things may have to change, in the way you do things and you may not be able to do the things that you once did, but it certainly does not mean you should give up living.

Where one door closes, many doors will open for you.

I know of a young girl who was also diagnosed with JIA at the age of 15 and now at the age of 25 is apparently not able to work or lead a normal life, once I heard about this I begun to ask questions… “Was she encouraged to get out into the workforce?” “Was she just allowed to laze around and let everyone do everything for her”, in this case sadly the answer was she was not encouraged to get out into the workforce and yes she was allowed to laze around and have everyone do everything for her.

Sadly many parents see their child in pain and I as a mother do want to do everything in my power to make sure my daughter is comfortable etc, but if this is taken too far, we risk hindering our children for the future.

We need to be their backbone when they dont want to face the world. We need to be their encouragement and their hope when all they can see is darkness, because if we allow them to lock themselves away, and hide away from their problems then they will always feel helpless and unable to do things on their own.

My daughter was an avid soccer player before she was diagnosed, and yes it was hard for her to give it up, but she didnt give it up completely, she finds when she is well that she loves going outside and kicking the ball around with her friends, and she always now knows her limits.

So instead of playing soccer, she was encouraged to find something else she would like to do to, and with the help of an art teacher at school she found a new passion in photography. She doesnt know whether this is something she will want to do long term, but in the meantime if it is something that gives her something to look forward to then so be it.

She is also going for her first job interview today, she has explained to the company of her illness and I can only hope that they do not discrimminate against her for it, and if they do, then a new door will open for her, as long as she keeps looking.

Basically what I am trying to say is that because you have JIA or your child has JIA it is certainly not a death sentence, it is certainly not something that is going to stop living their lives.

At the end of hardship comes ease.

With hope anything is possible