(Editor’s Note: This article was written by Regina Minerva about her daughter’s journey with SJIA & MAS)
At 13 months old Julianna was diagnosed with SJIA in July of 2017 after 15 days of consecutive quotidian fever and rash. A diagnosis of SJIA was made after ruling out infectious diseases, Kawasaki disease, and malignancy. Joint inflammation & arthritis never presented as one of her symptoms, but doctors warned us that it could take months or years for arthritis to appear.