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A three-year-old has been diagnosed with arthritis after medics dismissed her symptoms as "just growing pains".

Skyler Smith began experiencing leg discomfort in early 2024. Her worried mum, Elaine-Maree Telfer, 31, sought medicaladvice but was reassured there was no cause for alarm. Over 18 months, Skyler endured three ultrasounds, an X-ray, two MRIs, countless blood tests and a steroid joint injection before doctors identified juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), Hoffa's Fat Pad (HFP) herniation and Trigger Thumb.

Yet despite these diagnoses, the JIA remains incurable and Skyler is "still in pain" as well as suffering numerous treatmentside effects, including night-time pain, stomach ache, diminished appetite and nausea.

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Elaine-Maree, a kennel assistant from Murray, Scotland, said: "I searched up how rare it was to have all three conditions but she's one of a kind. It just makes her all that more special. It was a huge relief when she was diagnosed, to know what it was after being told for so long it was nothing to be concerned about.

"I had to show them videos of her in pain, asking for help, limping, refusing to walk, waking up. I was saying, 'surely this is something to be concerned about', it was very frustrating. If it wasn't for the lump, I'd have just been told it was growing pains, but because she had the lump, they were trying to find out what it was and also found out why she was in pain."

JIA is exceptionally uncommon in youngsters, impacting just one in 1,600, and while trigger thumb occurs far more frequently, HFP is so unusual in children that no statistics exist. Skyler initially began experiencing discomfort in her leg at 18 months old, and after several weeks of attributing it to growing pains, Elaine-Maree brought her to A&E upon discovering a bump in her knee.

Elaine-Maree said she had to challenge a GP during a follow-up consultation when Skyler's symptoms were being dismissed without examining the lump, which led to a series of referrals to orthopaedic and paediatric experts to determine what the bump was. It was only after Skyler's other leg started aching that doctors requested another MRI and proceeded with a diagnosis of JIA on October 23 2025, which ultimately proved to be a completely separate matter from the lump in her knee and was identified as a malignant HFP herniation.

Elaine-Maree said: "There's no reason why she has it. I asked if the trigger thumb and arthritis were related, but no one could tell me. I did a TikTok about it, and it went viral, loads of people messaged to say they had the same and had lived with it forever but only got diagnosed as an adult.

"I don't think I knew kids could get it before Skyler's diagnosis, a lot of people tell me she's too young to have it so I have to explain it's autoimmune related, not wear and tear."

While the JIA diagnosis has provided some relief from symptoms, Skyler continues to battle the side effects of her treatment, which involves weekly methotrexate injections requiring anti-sickness medication beforehand and folic acid supplements afterwards. The mum explained: "It's impacting her a lot but she doesn't really understand yet. The weekly injections come with horrible side effects.

"She has to be super brave, she's an inspiration to lots of people. She's my everything. Her brothers, Leo and Jax, are really good with her. Her dad, David, is in the army so he's not here often as I am but helps as much as he can.

"She's a mummy's girl, whenever she's in pain she just wants me to hold her and him to inject. She hasn't got used to the injections – how can you? She finds the blood tests every three months worse, she has a fear of the hospital and can get a bit anxious."

The treatment offers no guarantees regarding Skyler's long-term outlook. Elaine-Maree added: "No one's told us how long it'll last, it could be years, it could be forever. She'll always have the diagnoses but can go into remission and get taken off medication.

"We're not sure on a cure, the Juvenile Arthritis Research charity have been great. The diagnosis was bittersweet because I was being thrown loads of information, there was lots to remember. She'll have appointments for a long time.

"She's still in pain, and I still get nervous about knowing whether problems are actual illness or side effects. A side effect of her methotrexate is sickness and I have emetophobia which isn't great. I have to be extra aware of things like chickenpox or viruses – it's still quite new and scary.

"I just hope this story is relatable and can spread awareness. Not every child is the same, Skyler didn't have the typical, visible JIA swelling. Parents should know that they can keep pushing if they're unhappy with answers."