It's that Eye Again . . . . Getting used to Bumps in the Road

In a dream world, as we prepare for Anna to graduate from high school and move on to college and her adult life, we could hope and pray that we could set aside Juvenile Arthritis and Uveitis in the same way we are preparing to put her childhood in the past.  But we don't live in a dream world, as reality reminds us.  Two weeks ago and five days following Anna's last Remicade infusion, the pediatric ophthalmologist looked into Anna's left eye with the slit lamp and surprisingly found 2+ inflammation.  And he said that he could tell by the exam that this wasn't a one-day flare; those cells had been present for probably at least a week.  So we increased the Pred Forte drops to four times a day and went back for another eye exam a week later.  Thankfully, one week of increased drops was enough to calm down the inflammation to just trace cells.  We were able to decrease the drops again.  Pressures were on the verge of being high (21 for both eyes), but the decrease in Pred Forte should help bring those back down.

We've also adjusted Anna's Remicade schedule.  We had been stretching out the infusions to every five weeks, but I called and rescheduled the next two infusions so that she will receive the infusions every four weeks, as initially prescribed.  

Anna has just a few more weeks left in her high school experience.  As we count down the days, we also have many, many events on the calendar (as you can see on the picture to the right, which is my actual calendar for May!---concerts, appointments, prom, family gatherings, etc.  Sometimes these bumps in the journey (unexpected eye inflammation) can cause some fear, but I plan to be very intentional in the next few weeks to exhale and enjoy the present!  Turning away from fear because our lives are in the hands of Jesus, who gifts us with each new day.