Girl, 5, diagnosed with juvenile arthritis which leaves her struggling to walk – The Mirror

1,000 children in the UK are diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis each year. Elizabeth Archer hears hears how one mum and dad have helped their daughter adapt after diagnosis

Little Lara Hutchings, who was diagnosed with arthritis when she was a toddler

As Lara Hutchings dances gleefully around the kitchen, it seems like she doesn’t have a care in the world. But the five-year-old has already been through experiences most adults would find hard to bear.

When she was a toddler, Lara was diagnosed with arthritis, which made walking difficult.

She then developed the sight-­threatening condition uveitis.

Lara’s had countless procedures under general anaesthetic, including having the lens removed from her right eye due to swelling.

She also has to have weekly injections at home for her arthritis.

But now her condition is under control, Lara is throwing herself into dancing, gymnastics and swimming clubs, and she loves colouring, reading and writing.

“She’s such a happy little girl, you’d never know what she’s been through as she’s so brave,” says her mum, Sapna, 34, a teacher from Luton.

Lara first got ill on holiday in Cornwall aged two, with her mum, dad Tom, 34, a marketing manager, and little sister Reeva, who is now three.

“She had a swollen knee and we thought she’d fallen over or she had an insect bite,” says Sapna.

Lara with her mum, Sapna, and her dad, Tom

“We took her to the doctors and they sent us away with some ­ibuprofen. But her knee got so bad she couldn’t walk, she was crawling and was in so much pain.

“We came home and went to see our own GP, who sent us to the hospital as he suspected she had sepsis.”

At Luton & Dunstable Hospital, sepsis was ruled out, but Lara saw a rheumatology consultant who diagnosed juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

Like arthritis in adults, the condition often starts with the swelling of joints, as well as pain and stiffness in the affected area.

Although it’s not known what triggered the condition, arthritis is an autoimmune disease, which causes the body to attack itself. Around 15,000 children in the UK have it, with 1,000 youngsters newly diagnosed each year.

“It was a huge shock for us as …….

Source: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/girl-5-diagnosed-juvenile-arthritis-25297991