We've come a long way, Baby...

I was going through pictures this afternoon and found these. In this day of digital pictures, these had been printed out long ago and filed for me to scrapbook. Only that never happened...

My scrapbooking stopped about the time of the diagnosis.

This picture was taken nine years ago -- at our first Jingle Bell Run. My 2-year old had been diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis just a few months earlier.

It was a much smaller run then (maybe a couple hundred people). I ran the entire course with tears in my eyes, wondering if my daughter would ever have the thrill of running a road race. Afterwards,  we bumped into our new pediatric rheumatologist . He was like a stranger. Now, he greets me with a big hug and insists that I call him by his first name. He's an integral part of our lives.

At the time, I knew no one who had a child with JRA. I felt terribly alone.

I look at that little baby in my arms and think of what she had been through at that point: already a round of joint injections and she was well into her 2nd month of weekly injections of the chemo drug. She was brave then -- just as she is now.

I wish I could go back and tell them both that it's going to be okay, that the next nine years won't be tough. But that would be a lie.

I can tell them this blasted disease won't stop Ellie.

• She will run and swim and kick soccer goals.
• She will climb trees and rock climb and tap dance.
• She will hurt, a toe will fuse, joints will be injected, and we will learn that it sucks to get arthritis in the jaw.
• Shot day will come twice a week -- not just once, and it will be as simple as brushing her teeth. 
• She will write about her disease and explain that it makes her "unique." How's that for a bright side?

And as a family...

• We will find other families who are also fighting this disease. I will never know what it's like to feel alone with this diagnosis.
• We will be inspired by the children who face this disease everyday with dignity, courage, and amazing resilience.
• We will find our voices and become advocates for the 300,000 children who hurt and deserve a childhood free of pain.
• We will see more medical professionals than we ever could have imagined: physical therapists, an orthotist, a naturopath, our pediatric rheumatologist, a neurologist, an ophthalmologist, an orthopedic surgeon, and an oral surgeon. All to treat this disease and the toll it has taken on her body...
• We will see compassion in our daughter who doesn't suffer from this disease, who piggy backs her little sister through the house without even asking why.
• We will gain lifelong friends who push us to do the right thing when we're afraid, who give us tips and tricks, and aren't afraid to give us advice -- even when we might not want to hear it.

And I will discover that you can give birth to something much stronger than you.