A family comprising five members underwent an 18-month ordeal to pinpoint the rare and life-altering medical condition afflicting their youngest child.
Skyla Smith, aged 3, started experiencing persistent leg pain before she turned two, causing her distress and tears for nearly half her life. Despite numerous visits to doctors seeking answers, Skyla’s mother, Elaine-Maree Telfer, did not anticipate the extended duration it took to identify Skyla’s ailment.
Elaine-Maree, hailing from Portnockie in northeastern Scotland, expressed her frustration at being repeatedly told that Skyla’s agony was merely due to growing pains. The diagnosis of Skyla’s condition as Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) finally emerged in October 2025, a year and a half after her initial medical consultation.
JIA, affecting 1 in 10,000 children in the UK and more prevalent in girls, triggers the immune system to erroneously attack the body’s joints, potentially leading to irreversible harm if left untreated. The delayed diagnosis of Skyla has left her family grappling with mixed emotions.
Elaine-Maree stated, “It was a tremendous relief to uncover the root cause of the issue, but it also brought about a lot of anxiety.” Skyla’s routine now involves weekly methotrexate injections, an immune-suppressing medication, alongside anti-nausea drugs and folic acid to mitigate side effects. Regular blood tests and ongoing medical consultations have become a part of Skyla and Elaine-Maree’s daily life.
Elaine-Maree shared the challenges of administering injections to Skyla at home every Friday, noting Skyla’s confusion and dislike for the process. Despite the pain relief from the injections, Skyla still has good and bad days, affecting her mobility compared to peers her age, although she enjoys activities like ballet and attending nursery.
Elaine-Maree, along with her partner David and their older children Leo, 11, and Jax, 8, are committed to ensuring Skyla experiences a fulfilling childhood despite her condition. They have received support from Juvenile Arthritis Research, a charity dedicated to improving the lives of those affected by JIA.
With the help of Juvenile Arthritis Research, Elaine-Maree aims to raise awareness about JIA and offer guidance to parents facing similar situations. She emphasized the common delays in diagnosis due to lack of awareness in the general populace.
Elaine-Maree hopes that by sharing Skyla’s journey, other parents recognizing similar symptoms in their children can become more informed. She advises families to maintain a diary of symptoms, documenting dates, times, and specific issues, and even consider recording incidents to provide specialists with comprehensive evidence beyond the assumption of growing pains.
