Jennifer's health

On February 10th, Jennifer started to limp on one foot and complain about pain in her toes; they were swollen and red. By the next day they were completely better but that night her elbow was in excruciating pain and she would not move it for 24 hours. Soon that pain too went away and her knee became swollen and red. On Tuesday night she stopped walking and it was at this point that we put together that all of these abnormalities were related. Since then she has had redness and swelling in both knees, ankles, toes, her right wrist and fingers (so she could not move them to write), her hips, and her right shoulder. We toook her to the doctor on Wednesday morning and she was diagnosed with migratory arthritis. This of course is indicative of another condition in a child her age so they did a battery of blood and urine tests to help with the diagnosis. On Thursday several of the blood tests came back and they were negative for Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis and Lupus; for this we feel very blessed. The doctor’s best guess (maybe 70%) at this point is HSP. There are still more tests that will be coming back next week. If she gets the rash with the HSP (she now only has the arthritis) they will be able to make a positive ID, without it the identification will be more difficult. HSP is an autoimmune disease and is not communicable; basically her body is for some reason attacking itself. She has good hours where she is able to walk around with only a mild limp and then a few hours later she will not be able to walk at all. She is in good spirits and for the most part sleeps soundly at night; we are so thankful that it appears not to be chronic. We will keep you informed and we continue to covet your prayers for her.