Emotions are flying this week......

Having JA is not only physically draining, but emotionally draining too. Bella has a tough time expressing her feelings and often turns to anger to express herself. It is hard to listen to her talk mean to her sisters and equally hard to get the same treatment. Bella goes through these waves of emotions and we can always tell when she is in a lot of pain (but not telling us) because the tween attitude starts flying in full effect. I seriously feel like her eyes are going to roll out of her head this week...ha ha
Bella is usually such a sweet kid, sassy, but sweet. She is usually giggly, carefree, and full of life. When something is "off" everyone in the Anderson house knows it because we become the punching bag for her feelings.
So, we got to the bottom of the issue this week (after an emotional 2 days of drama mama moments and calling Bella out on treating a friend a little crappy). We found out that Bella is being made fun of at school for the way she walks (when in pain she drags her one leg and limps a bit). Both of her legs are turned inward and cause a slight limp from time to time too. Bella tries to cover it up but sometimes the pain/exhaustion get the better of her and she can't control it. Bella works hard at trying to look normal so that no one looks at her differently. Bella hates being the girl with JA.
Of course the mama bear in me wants to march up to the school and yell at these kids, but I know that won't solve our problem. So I contacted the school and have left it in their hands to help my daughter.

At the end of the day we all know that Bella really doesn't think we are ruining her life like she tells us and her sisters know she really doesn't hate them.........but in the moment it s so hard to hear such hateful feelings come from your child.

We are meeting with her JA doctor Thursday and I will be asking for counseling recommendations and hoping Bella will find comfort in talking to someone about her feelings.  I can't stand to see the emotional toll it I having on her....the physical aspect of JA is trying enough.

One thing that I keep thinking is that JA is forever and I can't allow her to feel so angry for the rest of her life. So, my goal is to find a happy medium for Bella or at least a way to cope with these feelings.

Also, find the perfect combination of medication............I'm not asking for to much am I????