Living with Juvenile Arthritis

Alexa Wesley, 16, was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatory Arthritis when she was 13, although doctors say she probably had it much earlier. She deals with the symptoms - pain in all her joints - on a daily basis, and has to take 18 pills a day and 2 shots a week. Once or twice a month she spends the night in the hospital to deal with the flare-ups. Although she no longer goes to school everyday, she does her work from home with periodic visits to the school to check in. Afternoons are often spent under heating blankets in bed, to combat the pain.