Eye Doctor

So today I took Bri to see an eye specialist. I wasn't sure what this would involve seeing that I have never been to one myself or for any of the other kids! They turned the lights out and had a flickering light (kindof like the ones you buy if you go to Disney on ice or any show, and you push the button and it lights up and spins haha, the best way to describe it :)) and he had Bri look at the light than he changed a lense on this gadget and did it again. The assistant came in and said that they would now be dialating her eyes to see the back of her eyes? Ok...so they held her head down and held her eyes open and put a drop in each eye and we went and sat in the waiting room for about 10 minutes or so. We went back in he looked with several other eye tools into her eyes and said he does not see any inflammation at this time. He said this is good because with JRA there comes inflammation, uveitis. This eye exam is where the blood test results of the ANA come into play. So children with pauciarticular JRA are at the highest risk of developing chronic eye inflammation known as uveitis. Chronic uveitis occurs most in young girls with JRA whose blood contains a protein known as antinuclear antibody (ANA). It most often occurs in the first 3 to 5 years after diagnosis, but has been reported as much as 30 years after diagnosis of arthritis, and can occur in other types of JRA and in children who do not have a positive ANA. OK so we are in this for the long haul...this is a lifelong journey. So right now Bri has to be seen every 3 months for an eye exam.