It's "JUST" Arthritis, It's Not Serious

Allow me to paint a picture for you, please. If I do this right, then you will never utter the words, "It's just arthritis, it's not serious", ever again.
Friday night in our house is "shot night". Nope, not talking about pouring my favorite liquor into a tiny glass and tossing it back. I'm talking about injecting our youngest child with toxic medications in order to attempt to control her chronic illnesses and stop them from destroying her body. That in itself is a horrible position for a parent to be in. Which is better? Taking our chances with the diseases destroying her? Or take our chances with the medications destroying her? Hmm....what would you do if it was your child? I pray that you never have to face that decision.
So, back to shot night. We do this every Friday. We have been for the past 4 years. But it's not just Friday really. The countdown starts as soon as the injections are done. 7 days, 168 hours, until we have to do this all over again. The stress and anxiety is every day because you know it's coming around again. There is also the daily reminder of the injections thanks to the daily meds she has to take to attempt to counteract the side effects of the injections. Though those don't always work so well. Then the alarm goes off on Friday letting you know that it's time. You get the med basket out, prepare the syringes, have your child get her comfort items and get in her favored "shot spot". All the while she is crying, begging you to please not do this, please not hurt her, asking you WHY are you doing this to her again. Now it's time, everything is ready. In our house, Daddy does the injections, Mommy does the hand holding and soothing. Every week another chunk of my heart breaks listening to her screams, seeing the look of absolute terror all over her face as the medicine goes into her and burns like acid. I hate it. I hate everything about it. The real kicker is that despite these medications, she still experiences periods of pain, stiffness, discomfort. You know how your body feels when you have the flu? That feeling of, "Man, I feel like I've been hit by a bus.". Yeah, imagine being a child and LIVING with that feeling.
Still think it's "just arthritis, nothing serious"?

It's a Fundraiser!!!

A big thank you to my wonderful friend and neighbor Michelle for this! Michelle is a Sr. Director with the direct sales company Thirty-one. This is an AMAZING company based on the Proverbs 31 woman and they sell amazing product! They are also a company that likes to give back and that is exactly what Michelle is doing. I can't thank her enough! Details on the fundraiser as well as contact info for Michelle are below. Please share this info with everyone that you know! Thanks so much and happy shopping!!

"Pain is weakness leaving the body."

Apparently this phrase has been used by the Marine Corp for many years. Not sure where I've been, but I had never seen or heard it until today. Or, I did but it didn't register. So today I was at the gym, moving and grooving on the elliptical, listening to my Pandora dance cardio station and I see this on a tshirt. "Pain is weakness leaving the body." I read it over and over again as the guy wearing the shirt is running on the treadmill in front of me, Taio Cruz's Dynamite blasting into my ears, and I had a moment. It was all I could do to not break into a fit of tears right there in the middle of the gym. This must explain then why kids with Juvenile Arthritis are so strong. Pain leaves their little bodies ALL THE TIME. So if this is true, and why not, then if all this pain (insert weakness) is leaving their bodies, then what is left? STRENGTH. It's kind of ironic considering that even if these kids wanted to, they can never be a Marine. But, they are just as strong as a Marine. It's just a different kind of strength.
I decided right there on the spot that I too would adopt this philosophy. I am going to work out like it's my JOB. I am determined to make my body strong, lean, mean and healthy for Jenna "Bean" (hahaha, that rhymed!) and all the other 300,000 kids just like her that can't.