Here are photos from the Arthritis Walk!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31148670@N02/show/with/5204516218/

Almost everyone from our JBW team "WALKING FOR WESLEY!"

Current Medications to try to control his JRA

Here is a list of all of his medications. You have to wonder what all of this does to his body...

Methotrexate injections (weekly)
Leucovorin (help with side effects)
Majic Mouth Rinse (mouth sores from chemo)
Folic Acid (x4)
Prevacid (coat his tummy)
Mobic (anti-inflammatory)
Tylenol (for joint stiffness)
Multivitamin (x2)

Jingle Bell Walk was a HUGE success!

Hello Everyone!

I am SO PLEASED to say that the Jingle Bell Walk turned out to be a HUGE success! They had over 2,000 participants which is more than any other year! They also raised more than $100,000 towards arthritis research! Isn't that amazing?! We had close to 50 team members on our team "Walking for Wesley" and even won some awards! We were given trophies for "Largest Fundraising Team" as well as "Most family and friends team" and we also got "Most original costumes" which was great! Wesley, of course, walked away with his special "honoree" prizes, which made his whole day! I have to say that I have never in my life been part of something so wonderful! The Arthritis Foundation is making a huge impact in our life and changing others lives as well. I have a special spot in my heart for everyone who showed up to help us honor our son and his struggle with this disease. To see Wesley go from having low self confidence and feeling so sad and alone, to looking forward to go to school and start his day to see the people at school who love him and care about him and he knows now, that he is not alone. You can't put into words how that feels as his parent! Our team was made up of the most selfless, caring and sweetest people that you could ever meet! We are SO PROUD to call them all our friends!

Our busy week is over, until next year when we do the Jingle Bell Walk again! Maybe we can get even more in donations and have a larger team next year? I think we can! Thank you SO MUCH to all of you who braved the crowd and the cold weather to help raise awareness on Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. I will continue to be a part of the Arthritis Foundation and will do what I can to help "Change the outcome" for everyone who is affected with Arthritis.

Here are some links of this week! Wesley and I were on WEEK, News 25... WJBC Radio and also in The Pantagraph! It was a great experience! I will post pictures as I receive them!

http://www.centralillinoisnewscenter.com/home/Jingle-Bell-5K-RunWalk-107564468.html

http://wjbc.com/Tabid/7997/default.aspx?AID=2745

http://www.centralillinoisnewscenter.com/news/video/Jingle-Bell-Run-Breaks-Record-108017819.html?vid=a

http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/article_4cedb1fc-f0c2-11df-8d20-001cc4c03286.html

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children...to leave the world a better place...to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” RAPLH WALDO EMERSON

Unfortunate Circumstances

Here we are, closer and closer to the Jingle Bell Walk! It's been an amazing experience preparing for this with all of the help from my friends and family! I wish that circumstances were different and we were going for "happier" reasons. Although, what can be better than honoring your child and his disease and helping to raise awareness in hopes of finding a cure with your friends and family! I need to keep thinking on more positive terms rather than the negative. There are so many mixed emotions with this disease. I feel so sorry for Wesley having to take all kinds of medication just to try to feel better. I hope like crazy that one day there will be a cure and all of these poor children who suffer with JRA and its complications, will be able to lead a normal and healthy life.

We have added more medications to Wesley's small pharmacy. Now he takes MTX by injection every week and then Folic Acid, Leucovorin, Majic Rinse, Tylenol and now Mobic every day to try to keep him from flaring and keep the side-effects in control. The doctors are going to see how he responds over the next month or two and if he is doing better than we'll leave things alone, if not, then he'll probably go ahead with stronger medicine such as the Enbrel or Humira.

THURSDAY we will be appearing on WEEK NEWS 25! We have to be there around 5pm, so I'm not exactly sure what time it will air. And then FRIDAY we will be on WJBC radio in Bloomington to help promote the Jingle Bell Walk! Be sure and tune in!

Angels Among Us - JRA (Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis) and Uveitis

Here is a sweet video of a little girl who not only has JRA, but also a complication of it called "UVEITIS." Uveitis is caused when the blood vessels behind the eyes swell, causing blind spots and if not treated quickly, complete blindness. Most often, there are no symptoms. It occurs suddenly and without warning. It is a constant worry...

So far, so good!

I hope you all had a safe and fun Halloween weekend!

I promised to update everyone on Wesley and his first chemotherapy injection from Friday. So far, he's been okay! Nurse Jen offered to help me with his first shot and even gave me some tips on how to make it less painful for him, so she was kind enough to give it to him for me. He was scared and he pulled away, but then later admitted that she did an EXCELLENT job and he didn't even feel it! LOL! He has done really well with side effects and the only thing he has complained about is his tummy being upset off and on. The only side effects that we have noticed is that he is very, very pale and he doesn't have much energy at all. He tuckered out fairly quickly trick-or-treating last night, but that's okay, it was cold out and we decided to sit around the fire and enjoy some family time!

" One of the hardest things to do, is give your child a medicine that you know is going to make him feel bad, in order to make him feel "better."

2 MORE WEEKS UNTIL THE JINGLE BELL WALK!