Joy's Medical Fund

Before diagnosis

Hi, I would like to introduce to you my two year old daughter Joy who has Juvenile Polyarticular Arthritis. She was diagnosed in January of this year, though prior to this she was a very healthy, happy baby with no problems. In January we brought her into our local clinic who sent us to UC Davis in Sacramento who sent us to UCSF in San Francisco. What followed was a very trying and stressful process of elimination to reach Joy's diagnosis, which included multiple blood draws, several stool tests, a urine test, fluid extracted from her swollen joints, an eye examine, a MRI and several x-rays. This has stressed our family greatly and between appointments, court hearings {more about that later}, we have been unable to work and have been physically, mentally, spiritually, and financially drained and stressed. We need a lot of help, particularly financially, to pay for Joy's Naturopath {who does not take insurance}, for her supplements, gluten-free food, medical bills and rent.

Now to explain in detail the situation.

At UC Davis

While we were glad to know what she had {eliminating other terrible possibilities}, learning that Joy had arthritis was an unexpected blow to our fond pictures of her future. Juvenile Arthritis affects nearly 300,000 children in the US alone and is an autoimmune disorder, meaning that her own immune system is in hyperactive mode and is attacking itself, affecting the joints in particular. Polyarticular Arthritis is the second most common form of arthritis in children and teenagers, and affects five or more joints. Due to her condition, Joy had stopped walking. Her knees and ankles were swollen and she'd scream in pain and fear of pain if we tried to touch her feet to the ground or even put her socks on. Arthritis has no cure; it is possible to achieve remission but she'll have this disease for the rest of her life and it will affect her. She won't play sports like normal children, rainy days will mean stiff and sore days, her diet will change and there will be flare-ups and days where, despite what she wants to do, she'll have to rest and let her body recover. On top of that, the standard course of treatment will require horrible medication and frequent blood draws.

While we were still in the hospital in San Francisco trying to communicate with several doctors who were trying to figure out what to do, Joy's appetite took a dip - both from the arthritis itself and from her developing depression. Being in the hospital for so long isn't fun for anyone, let alone a two year old who doesn't understand what's going on. She was put on Naproxen, a form of "baby Aleve" to reduce pain and inflammation. She was given steroid injections into both knees, both ankles and her left wrist which was excessive. She hadn't been home in weeks and hadn't seen her favorite auntie either. Her immune system was already compromised and she didn't smile anymore.That was when the doctors made their brilliant decision that she needed vaccines. We had never vaccinated Joy and never intended to as it violated our personal and religious beliefs, but the personal belief exemption was removed here in California last year. The doctors blatantly stated, "No vaccines, no treatment."  And so on legal advice that we received, we left the hospital with the hope of seeking a second opinion for our Joy and alternative treatment.

At UCSF

The doctors wanted to give Joy eight vaccines at once before immediately starting a heavy dose of Methotrexate and Enbrel, two heavy duty chemo therapy drugs that would suppress her immune system in the hopes of achieving remission which only has a fifty-fifty percent chance of success. This has been the standard form of treatment for arthritis for over twenty-some years now and is still in use today. The Enbrel and the requiring of vaccines {which is not a form of treatment} is new and questionable.  Methotrexate can cause loopiness and day-long nausea in children, among other side-effects while the Enbrel can cause cancer in children. Joy is genetically predisposed on her biological grandmother's side {who passed away from cancer} to possibly develop the same cancer which this drug can potentially cause. Worse, due to her age Joy won’t be able to fully communicate any pain or discomfort that she’s experiencing from these treatments.

We found the help we needed in the form of a Naturopathic doctor. We had Joy tested for food allergies and found out that she is allergic to citrus and soy beans, so removing those from her diet was step one. From there, we focused on her diet and getting her mobile again. Her Naturopath placed her on a strict Weston Price diet with no soy, no corn oil, no gluten, and no dairy. We’ve reduced her sugar and have avoided processed foods. Implementing this diet into our lives has been a struggle due to her picky habits and our limited funds. All of these diet changes have helped her immensely; she is adding inches to her height and building back the muscle tone she lost when she stopped walking. The steroid injections to her knees and ankles improved mobility almost immediately and we were able to build on that, slowly getting her to crawl and then walk again. As of now, she can walk independently and is beginning to navigate stairs once more. She still has stiffness in the mornings and after waking from naps sometimes. But she is mobile again and thriving. Since being home from the hospital, her mood improved immediately. It took her three weeks to get used to her auntie again but she still doesn't smile at the camera and her ‘stranger danger’ is in full gear.

The last is probably due to the current muddle we're in. After leaving the hospital as advised, CPS was called in as threatened. They demanded an interview with us and the very next day they announced they were taking us to court to have a judge decide whether or not our daughter should be vaccinated. The charge against us was medical neglect and failure to protect. For three months now we've been dealing with a rotating assortment of ‘professionals’ consisting of doctors and CPS officers, who insist on interfering with our daughter's care. If they hadn't interfered, we'd be completely gluten-free by now and much further along in Joy's natural treatment. Instead, we have been denied our parental rights and forced to vaccinate our daughter. She has received the MMR shot {a live vaccine which we were told she shouldn’t receive in her condition}, DTaP, PCV13, Hib, Hep A and she will receive the chicken pox shot {another live vaccine she shouldn’t have} in two weeks, supposedly finishing the required vaccines before forcibly beginning a round of Methotrexate. Not only were all of these vaccines unwanted, the live ones, Hep A and polio were unnecessary and highly questionable with her autoimmune disease, but the doctors went ahead and gave her the vaccines anyway. Joy will be scheduled for blood draws before beginning Methotrexate and every two weeks following to monitor her liver because these drugs are so toxic.

My daughter cries now whenever we go anywhere, even to my midwife appointments. She is able to walk again and is improving so much, but she will be forced to receive a form of treatment that she no longer needs and certainly not as urgently as the doctors would have everyone believe.

Due to all of these meetings and appointments, my husband has been unable to find full time work and is barely making ends meet with his current part-time job. We have been rushed in for unscheduled doctor visits with the threat of losing our daughter hanging over our heads and in complete disregard for a previously set up appointment three or four days later. My husband has had to cancel work at the last minute to bow to the wishes of CPS. We can't afford the gluten-free foods she needs, the herbal supplements she's taking, the frequent required trips to the physical therapist and nutritionist, and we really can't afford the required trips to San Francisco hospital that are coming up soon. Her Naturopath isn't covered by our insurance. On top of all this, we have a second baby coming at the end of July that we need to prepare for.

Recent photo

That’s why we need your help. Any donation you make will be received humbly with extreme gratefulness. Please help us; please help Joy!  And whatever you choose to give will be used to pay for Joy’s natural treatment, for the food she needs to combat the inflammation in her joints and help her to grow stronger, as well as expenses to drive her to her much needed physical therapy and eventually to San Francisco for the required Methotrexate treatment.

Please help us financially and support this beautiful growing girl.