Miss Ella\'s Treatment
Donation protected
Miss Ella is 5 years old with sparkling brown eyes and a smile that
lights up a room, and she has been living with Polyarticular Juvenile
Rheumatoid
Arthritis since she was 18 months old. She has been an incredibly brave
little girl throughout years of treatments, including a combination of
chemotherapy drugs that have difficult side effects, including
immunosuppression, which leaves her extremely vulnerable to ordinary
childhood illnesses. Ella experiences joint pain, swelling and stiffness on a daily basis and has already sustained permanent damage to her tiny joints thanks to this aggressive disease.
Ella has been blessed with wonderful doctors who take great care in choosing her treatments, and while a cocktail of medications have for brief periods brought her arthritis under control, she continues to develop adverse reactions and has to discontinue them. Currently, Ella takes 6-8 daily medications and receives a medication via infusion every 2-3 weeks which requires admittance to the Children\'s Hospital. Medications are constantly being adjusted and added in an attempt to reduce or counteract nasty side effects of her primary medications. She experiences constant stomach pain, mouth and nose ulcers, nausea, a suppressed immune system, hyperactivity and mood swings - and those are just the side effects. This week she is undergoing a new workup as her specialists believe she is developing another autoimmune disorder that is complicating the treatment of her JRA.
Thankfully, Ella\'s parents have insurance coverage for much of her treatment costs, however, her high level of treatment still requires significant out-of-pocket costs, including frequent travel to Oklahoma City which is approximately 100 miles from their home.
Ella\'s family is doing everything possible to help her continue to fight JRA. An account has been established to help her parents cover their extraordinary out of pocket expenses for her medical costs throughout 2011. Any and all donations are deeply appreciated.
Thank you!
Ella has been blessed with wonderful doctors who take great care in choosing her treatments, and while a cocktail of medications have for brief periods brought her arthritis under control, she continues to develop adverse reactions and has to discontinue them. Currently, Ella takes 6-8 daily medications and receives a medication via infusion every 2-3 weeks which requires admittance to the Children\'s Hospital. Medications are constantly being adjusted and added in an attempt to reduce or counteract nasty side effects of her primary medications. She experiences constant stomach pain, mouth and nose ulcers, nausea, a suppressed immune system, hyperactivity and mood swings - and those are just the side effects. This week she is undergoing a new workup as her specialists believe she is developing another autoimmune disorder that is complicating the treatment of her JRA.
Thankfully, Ella\'s parents have insurance coverage for much of her treatment costs, however, her high level of treatment still requires significant out-of-pocket costs, including frequent travel to Oklahoma City which is approximately 100 miles from their home.
Ella\'s family is doing everything possible to help her continue to fight JRA. An account has been established to help her parents cover their extraordinary out of pocket expenses for her medical costs throughout 2011. Any and all donations are deeply appreciated.
Thank you!
Organizer
Friendsofthe CollinsFamily
Organizer
