Our Journey thru JDM and Life!: Happy 4th of July, 2010

Timeline from first symptom to diagnosis

Our son Connor was diagnosed with JDM in January of 2010 and here is a bit of a timeline to show you how this diagnosis was reached...

Towards the end of November 2009, Connor mentioned some pain in his right foot. We found a Plantar Wart and began treating it. We went on vacation in Germany were he mentioned a pain in his knee's, to feeling in his own words, pain 'inside his legs'. By the time we got home on December 9, he needed to be carried almost everywhere. By the end of December he was unable to feed himself, dress himself, sit up or down, lay down and of course walk. Here is a list of tests he went through between December 10 to December 28, 2009

X-ray of his Hips

MRI of his spine

X-ray of his chest

CAT Scan of his brain

CAT Scan of his chest

MRI of his chest

MRI of his hips

Numerous Blood Work

Spinal Tap

and we finished with a Muscle Biopsy

There were many speculations of what might be causing Connor so much pain and one of them was Gullian Barre Syndrom (GBS) due to his first symptoms showing up within a few days of his H1N1 Flu Shot.

The final Diagnosis came on January 11, 2010

-Juvenile Dermatomyositis (JDM)-

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Happy 4th of July, 2010

4th of July 2010 .....

This Year the meaning of this Date is so much more profound for me then it has been in the past.

This is what my husband posted on FB this morning while he is in Santa Domingo today:

"Ron Smith How would you explain the meaning of the 4th of July to a child? or to some one that has never lived here?"

This post got me to think (again). I have lived in this Country now for over 17 Years but have never attained a US Citizenship. I am here as a Legal Permanent Resident Alien and I have held on to my German Citizenship for a couple of reasons.

The most important reason for me was the fact that Germany does not accept Dual Citizenship unless you are lucky and you get an exemption. I spend my first 22 Years in Germany where I was born and raised and where my whole family still lives. I was never ready to let go of my German Heritage and in that regards my German Passport. In my heart I always felt a deep love for each country and in a way it feels like loving your family the way you love your siblings. You might have two sisters or brothers and you love them both unconditionally even thought they are each very different in personality and they are each far from being perfect. Now my feeling in the matter is do I need to give up one sibling so I can fully love and support the other?

For so many of you and maybe even each and everyone of you this question never comes up because you have never had the internal dialog to choose your allegiance. In my heart I am as loyal and fierce in my allegiance to both of those countries and how could I not be?

The reason's why I would love to be officially a US Citizen are as followed. In my heart I am already as American as I can be. I love this country for the freedom it gives the people living here but even more so I love the family I made here. It was you and your hearts and compassion I fell in love with. No matter how diverse my circle of friends are in the form of your believes and political leanings and trust me when I tell you the spectrum of my friends reaches far, you are all the same when it comes to the core of your being ... You are nonjudgmental, loving, full of acceptance (you all took me in and adopted me without hesitation) and what really opened my eyes to the true American Spirit is how you all step up to help out in anyway you can when tragety strikes without ever asking what is in it for me? So much generosity is breathtaking and to me this is what Americans are all about and it is what makes you all the same to me in a wicked sense of way :)

My wish is and always will be that the rest of the world could see the United States of America the way I do. To 'see' and really know it for the people that live here and not the politics alone. I know they would all fall in love with you and this country just the way I did.

I am proud to live here in this country, I am proud to be married to an American, I am proud to be raising part of the American Future :) and I am proud and blessed to have you as friends!

Have a wonderful 4th of July! Be proud to be an American and always keep your head up high because there is no reason to ever doubt the Spirit of this Country ever!

Love You,

R A C A