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Juvenile Arthritis
September 27, 2007
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Arthritis is a painful disease that’s most common in senior citizens. But in today’s Health Matters we introduce you to one South Florida girl who deals with the disease
every day.
Rained Dyer seems like any other seven year old. Her favorite activities include
going swimming, playing on the computer and hanging out with friends. But there
is one thing that makes Raine very different from most of her friends. The vibrant
youngster has Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. When Rained was just a toddler her
mother suddenly started to notice that something wasn’t right. Cindee Dyer says “One day she walked with a limp and within about a month she quit walking entirely.”
Dr. Eric Jones is a Pediatrician with Lee Memorial Health System. He describes how the disease is different for children. “The elderly form of arthritis is a wear
and tear. Younger people have the arthritis that attacks your tissues.”
In the case of Raine, arthritis first attacked her knees and ankles. Her mother
says “She had to be in leg braces. She had a little miniature walker. Her knees
were like they were bulbous.
They were round and the skin on them was very taut
and red and warm to the touch.”
Raine has undergone several forms of treatment for her arthritis including chemo
therapy and lots of physical therapy. Although it may be challenging Raine’s mother
says arthritis has not taken away her daughters chance at a happy childhood. “Some
days are just bad days and bad days don’t mean that she can’t move it means she
can’t move as quickly.”
Raine is not fighting this disease alone. Doctors say there are at least 300-thousand
kids in the United States suffer from some form of Arthritis. Some common signs
of Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis include swelling, heat and pain in a child’s joints.
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