We have decided to start a blog to share our daughter's (Bella) arthritis story. Bella chose the name of her blog and will actively post on here as well.
Bella is a 10 year old little girl that is currently in 5th grade. She has two sisters; Valerie is 14 and Chloe is 7. Bella has 2 dogs (Hanna and Aussie) and 1 cat (Squeaks). Of course Mom (Jamie, that's me) and Dad (Danny). We all live in a small town right outside of Harrisburg, PA. We live a pretty traditional life and I am luck enough to be a stay at home mom (And I design and hand make handbags from home) while Dad works Monday-Friday to pay all those pesky bills. We spend most of our time running our kids to numerous sporting activities each week and trying to figure out the perfect balance (does that really exist?). We are very involved in the community and we try to offer help whenever we can. Bella has been running her own food drive for the past 4 years (pretty amazing, huh?). Collectively she has raised over 3000 pounds of food that she donated to needy families in our community, the local food bank, and a soup kitchen in Delaware. I am one proud mama to say the least.
Bella is a normal 10 year old girl that loves to shop, play sports, do crafts, and collect shoes (yes, she has quite a collection). Bella loves cheerleading, gymnastics, basketball, and baseball. But most of all she loves her friends and enjoys quality girl time!
As many people see her, they think she is a happy, healthy young lady. But for the past 3 years she has been battling joint pains (and other quirky ailments) that have gone undiagnosed until recently. Honestly, until the winter of 2012 we didn't take the complaints to seriously either. But when she wanted to miss practices/games because she hurt too much I realized that things might be more serious that growing pains. When she started waking up in the morning crying because her back and ankles hurt, I got a little worried. The day that she felt like her legs couldn't hold her up was even more scary for this mama! Even this summer when we went with friends to see her favorite artist, Justin Bieber, she spent over half of the concert sitting in her chair teary eyed because she couldn't stand without pain and shaky legs. These are the moments when you realize that you have to fight a little harder for your child and find a solution. And so we did..........life would quickly become so different for Bella!
In the posts to follow we will help you understand the journey Bella will take............help cheer her on during the tough times and celebrate the victories big and small!
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