Hello, some may know, some may not know my niece Emmalyn has been battling Rheumatoid Arthritis for several years. Within the past year, she has had many doctor's visits and infusions. She is 14 years old and has been through more with medical issues than most people would in their lifetime. It's incredibly hard to find words as to not disregard my niece's feelings in all of this. She is a beautiful, intelligent, kind-hearted young woman. She has so much love and life to give. I want to protect her personal space in what she is going through, but I will say it's been incredibly hard for her and her family within the past few months. As some may know, in and out of ER visits and hospital co-pays, medical bills, and life bills add up. My brother-in-law has taken some work days off for hospital stays, and my sister has also put work to the side. They are not ones to ask for help, but I know what it is like to be in a hospital and know how much of a burden finances can put on our shoulders. My hope is for my sister and brother-in-law to focus on my niece and not have the added stresses of finances on top of her medical emergencies.

It's incredibly expensive taking time off of work and all of the traveling and medical bills are piling up. It’s hard to keep up with it all. Now that we know it isn’t a fracture, we are left with it being a mystery and she’s in severe pain in the meantime.

I am posting a comment below from my sister on just a bit of what they are going through. I will add my niece was just seen today by a specialist, who they were very hopeful would give them answers, completely dismissed them and walked out on them. It's incredibly disheartening, and my sweet niece doesn't deserve that. We are praying and praying for a breakthrough and answers, but lately, they've just been put on the back burner and have not had answers. If you have read this far, please know that if you cannot help financially and are a believer, please pray for them. I believe in the power of prayer and the miracles of God.

From my sister directly, read below...

"It’s hard to even try and find the words to express how tough the last couple of weeks have been.

With 4 ER visits total and Emmalyn being admitted for a couple of days to Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital, I am absolutely exhausted and my heart is overwhelmed with emotions.

As most of you know, Emmalyn was diagnosed with RA a few years ago and it’s been an uphill battle since then but especially lately.

She’s been having some unexplained pain that didn’t seem like it was lining up with the pain she usually feels with her RA.

Very long story short, after a lot of tests, we discovered that she has a fractured spine.

But how does a 14-year-old get a fractured spine when she didn’t have an injury?!

Well, after being diagnosed, Emmalyn had to be put on a steroid for the better half of 2 years and that caused her bones to become compromised and the slightest movement (dancing with her friends) fractured her spine.

She will be laid up for around 6 weeks and we will be getting some tests done to check the integrity of her bones and then come up with a plan to help her strengthen them.

I can’t begin to tell you how I feel because I haven’t given myself a chance to even go that far yet because when I do, I know I may not stop crying.

My poor sweet girl. My beautiful, kind, selfless daughter doesn’t deserve any of this.

It’s a choice to get up every day and surrender to the Lord in all of this. I don’t know why these things happen, but I do know that my flesh will never understand and to choose to trust in something bigger than my mind can comprehend might be crazy to some people but to me, it’s all I have. My faith is everything and I will continue to walk through the fog because I know beyond that, there are clear skies.

If you’re the praying type, please lift my daughter up in prayer as she navigates some really hard things that no teenager should.

I’m so thankful for the friends and family that have truly been there for us. I can’t imagine doing this without them."

If you've read this far, please take heart in her circumstances and know it is not easy to ask for help, but if you do contribute, please know how eternally grateful we would be.

Thank you,

and much love,

Kathryn, Emmalyn's aunt

Update 1/22/25

From Emmalyns mom

"Well.

The IV steroids didn’t do anything for the pain.

Still no diagnosis or explanation.

We are being discharged with a hospital follow up with her rheumatologist and a referral to pain management in Seattle at the children’s hospital. Her rheumatologist is also adding some more medications to hopefully help?

There is still no explanation for the spot on the MRI.

The pain may or may not be related to the spot on the MRI.

I’m at a loss for words at this point.

We will still be searching for answers after this hospital stay and it looks like that may have to be in Seattle.

I also have a functional medicine doctor scheduled but they are a few months out, so we are waiting on that as well.

In the meantime, we are trying to just take things one day at a time.

I’ve never been so tired in my life.

Thank you to everyone who has messaged, called, sent gifts, donated etc.

We are beyond grateful for the support and encouragement.

I wish I could hug each and every one of you.

Please continue to pray for our girl "

Update 1/28

A lot of people have been reaching out hoping for an update, so I thought I’d just post it to make it easier.

Em had an appointment with her rheumatologist yesterday. She said that she’s communicating with rheumatologists and radiologists in Seattle and they’re coming up with a plan but don’t have one quite yet.

She said she is thinking about ordering a biopsy of the spot that’s on Emmalyn’s spine but is unsure until she talks more with the Seattle providers.

Good news is Emmalyn’s pain is staying the same, it’s not getting worse. It’s not better, which sucks, but it’s not worse and for that I’m glad.

She did say that if Emmalyn’s pain gets worse, they’ll order the biopsy right away.

She is thinking that the acute spot on the spine will heal but it can take up to three months.

All of this is of course unknown since we don’t really know what that spot is or what’s causing so much pain.

So we are just waiting…

It’s extremely hard to sit around and just wait. Especially since Emmalyn is out of school and in a bed 90% of the time. That can really start to wear on a person, especially a 14 year old girl.

I’ve been searching for other treatments and therapies, I’ve considered so many things from hyperbaric oxygen champer therapy to Cranial Bionic Technology…. We are just praying about what route we should take to best support Em and what makes most sense for us.

In the meantime, we are trying to just keep things going here at home as best we can.

Our horse Tucker is still experiencing neurological symptoms and we are hoping to see improvement, but if we don’t, then we have to make some hard decisions about what his future would look like and how is quality of life would be. This is just terrible timing and so heartbreaking to watch him suffer.

I can’t thank everyone enough for the support and love they’ve shown us in this really difficult time. I hope you all know how much it means to us all.