Happy New year! Finally an update!

I figured with a New Year it would be a good time to give an update. Jacob just had a birthday last week. He is now 13! A teenager! I can't believe how quickly he is growing up. He is getting so tall too! I am happy to say his arthritis has been doing well. He hasn't complained much at all in the last few months. I think maybe it was around Halloween he had some ankle pain, but that was short lived. Today he had his 3 month follow-up with his rheumatologist. The doctor we see we really love! She is so kind and I just love how she interacts with Jake. She understands his personality well and knows exactly how to talk to him. This is huge for us. Overall she said she is giving Jacob an A today. His joints are doing great. The only issue, which has been an issue for quite some time is his left hip. It is significantly tighter than the other side. Jacob has zero pain from this even when the hip is manipulated. She said it will only be a concern if it does start to cause him pain. The only other findings were his left knee and leg are overgrown from the active arthritis in the past. It is still not corrected itself. I thought the leg lengths were a little more off than the last visit. His left calf muscle is about 1 1/2 inches smaller than his right. The other issue that we have been following is his scoliosis. The rheum felt as though it has worsened. He has grown almost 3 inches in the last 3 months so with this growth spurt it is possible. Jacob will see the orthopedic in April and he may get a shoe lift at that point. He is also being followed by a nephrologist for another issue that seems to not be going away.
I do think the appointment went relatively well. I had a talk with the doctor today about how Jacob has had arthritis for 8 years now. When she was pointing out the issues to me today she mentioned how he has had arthritis for a long time. To hear that out loud I have to admit kind of startled me. You know to look at your 13 year old child and accept he has these "issues" from having arthritis "for so long" it kind of hits hard. He has many more years to live and if he has permanent issues already, what will the future bring? We continue to pray that a cure will be found.