should i hire a wheelchair for my daughter

sarkat

Hello at long last i've decided to join this forum after coming to accept that my lovely 15 year old daughter isn't just gonna get better its taken us over 3 years to get her diagnosed her hips and back used to be the main problem areas for her but recently her knees are causing her to miss school as she is unable to go from one end of the school to the other and i'm afraid to hire a wheelchair for her as one of the doctors we seen at the rheumatology clinic got very cross when i hired her a wheelchair to get back to school in september as this is 5th year and her gcse year it was the only way she could get around school the doctor said her muscles would waste if she uses the chair she only used it around the school but now due to another flare up she has missed another week i feel we're caught she enjoys school and wants to do well in her exams would it be wise for me to go ahead and hire her a chair again she is due to start the anti TNF treatment as soon as a toe infection clears up thanks for any words of wisdom you may have for me :areindeer:

maria09

Hi
The wheelchair is giving her a chance to get back to school and in an important year so I do not see a problem!
Typical Drs don't look at the whole picture! I understand where they are coming from as she's not using her muscles for walking and they feel she will get worse
Maybe she could just use it for school and physios could give her some exercises to help with strengthening.
You are her mum and see her everyday they only see her for a short time and do not know what she has to go through on a daily basis so I say carry on
My daughter has an auto immune condition and at present her iron levels are so low she needs an iron infusion so she has zilch energy and is missing lots of uni and her work is suffering, I see this constantly the Drs don't!
I'm sure she only has another week left at school before Christmas and if the wheelchair helps her go to school then let her
You are doing the right thing for your daughter don't let the Drs make you feel guilty
I hope you all have a great Christmas
:carolers: best wishes
Maria :santa:

iluvhobbits

Hi,
I have a 15 year old daughter (in Year 11 at school) who has had JIA for the past 14 years with many ups and downs. Her JIA has effected her knees and ankles so has had an impact on her walking. Fortunately I have never had to hire a wheelchair for her but I would have done if I had thought it would've made her day to day life easier.
At age 15 your daughter is old enough to know what she wants and needs to be able to cope with life at school, if having a wheelchair helps her out short term before you start the medication then I can't see what the problem is.
When my daughter has had flares in her knees that were effecting her walking and participating in PE lessons (which she loves and is now taking her GCSE PE exam) the hospital were very good and quickly got her in for steroid injections directly into the joints which amazingly worked and got her more or less back to 'normal' within a few days. Following a flare in July of this year she is now back to an increased dose of 17.5mg of Methotrexate once a week by injection which seems to be keeping her arthritis under control again for the time being.
As a Mum just do whatever you think is best for your daughter try and encourage her to do her physio exercises to strengthen her muscles, although speaking from experience I know how difficult it can be to get my daughter to do them!
I hope starting the medication will be a turning point in her life and things improve very soon.
Best Wishes,
Sandra