Where do I start???

It's all good news, I just don't know where to start! I feel so behind. Okay so we'll start with lab results. This is something that I had been very worried about, given the fact that she has not had proper labs done in over a year. They....looked.....GREAT! Sedimentation rate is WELL within normal range, WOW. Platelet count is only SLIGHTLY elevated, not a huge concern. The only other thing out of whack was her Alkaline Phosphatase. The rheum nurse explained that in kids it can be high simply based on the fact that they are generating a lot of bone. I'll take it. So, her body seems to be tolerating all the meds AND there apparently is no hidden inflammation. SO, why does she still feel so miserable??
Well, on Thursday she had her first PT session. She seemed to be feeling pretty good that day so I was sure he would think we were nuts for bringing her. Plus she was in one of her, "NO nothing hurts now or ever" moods. *SIGH* But as he was talking to her and checking her out, he was able to somehow by poking around on the back of her knees, reproduce the pain she feels and she admitted that YES, that's it. She then fessed up to her feet bothering her by days end by but that was ALL she was willing to own up to. One of the things he had her try was to stand on one foot and bend down to touch the floor and then stand back up. Most kids SHOULD be able to do this with only slight wobbling. She fell over. Partly goofing off, partly that her muscles are weak. He also pointed out that she has flat feet, virtually NO arch. We had been buying her Keds because she said they were soft and comfortable on her feet. She has always been so picky with shoes. He said they were all wrong for her feet and therefore contributing to her pain. AWESOME. He referred us to a specialty shoe store to have them properly fit her for a well constructed sneaker that would provide good stability. They guy at the store was awesome and we got her some GREAT sneakers! Never heard of the brand, "Brooks", but we will for sure be back for more when she outgrows these! Okay so back to PT. He also discovered that her hamstrings are super tight! She can't straighten her legs except when standing. With all of her hypermobility, her hamstrings are tight?? She couldn't even get into a proper position to stretch them. This will take some work. So we came home with a sheet of exercises to strengthen her hips, thighs and knees as well as stretches to loosen up her hamstrings AND instructions to get her shoes (which we did Saturday). He said he wanted to wait three weeks before seeing her again to see how much progress she could make with better shoes and doing her homework. The exercises are tough on her and the stretches painful but she HAS to do them and we HAVE to make her.
Then on Friday morning I went down to Charlotte to the Arthritis Foundation offices to meet with the person in charge of the Let's Move Together Walk. Our team is not doing so well with getting new members OR most especially with raising any money. This has had me really bugged and I thought for sure I was missing something. I had a GREAT time meeting with Stefani! I left there with some fresh ideas and some fresh energy! I am definitely feeling more positive. It's just going to take some creative thinking. While discussing different possibilities, she mentioned that they would be more than willing to go into Jenna's school to do a presentation and get them involved. I told her GOOD LUCK. Not only have I tried repeatedly and unsuccessfully to get them involved, we can't even get a 504 plan out of them. The more we talked about that, the more outraged she became. Yep. She said they're on it now. Eager to see how this plays out. She suggested 1) Requesting a transfer OUT of that school 2) Contacting a lawyer since what the school is doing is highly illegal. I told her that I would wait and see what happens with the AF contacting them. If they still won't budge, then we will take action. I just left there feeling so good, knowing that we aren't alone. I also left with some great posters, "vintage" AF walk t-shirts, shoe laces and water bottles . So excited about the possibilities! OH, I also left with packs of paper "bones" to sell to raise money! I brought them to our pharmacy and they said they would be more than happy to sell them for us! You know, "Would you like to but a bone for $1 to help support the Arthritis Foundation?" Shyeah! We have some more stuff in the works too. Simply asking people to donate doesn't seem to be working so we are going on to plan B.