For the past five months, the Jensen family from Idaho Falls, Idaho, has been seeing different doctors and traveling hundreds of miles, trying to figure out what’s going on with their six-year-old daughter, whose body seems to be shrinking.
Her mother, Katelynn Jensen, said the health problems first started in September.
At the beginning, Valerie complained that her legs were hurting. Katelynn assumed it was just typical growing pains.
However, the pain got worse – to the point where she was crying out in pain nearly every night.
Her parents had no idea what was happening.
Just months earlier, Valerie had spent the summer outside enjoying family time, going camping, riding her bike, and taking walks with her mom, dad, and her eight-year-old brother.
Then a few months ago, something more alarming happened while Valerie was getting ready to shower.
Katelynn noticed that Valerie’s right big toe had turned a strange purple color- almost as if circulation had been cut off. She also spotted bruises scattered along Valerie’s legs from the knees downward.
Concerned, Katelynn quickly arranged a visit with the family’s doctor, Dr. Craig Steiner, who ordered blood tests.
By that point, the unusual purple discoloration had already started spreading farther up Valerie’s body.
Surprisingly, the test results showed nothing abnormal. Doctors ran additional exams; once again, everything appeared normal.
Her right leg was about a centimeter shorter than the left.
Within weeks, her foot also began to change; it started to waste away and looked noticeably thinner and more bony.
An X-ray later confirmed the troubling discovery – Valerie’s right foot had physically become smaller than the other.
The family also reached out to several other doctors, but none of them have been able to explain what’s happening.
Meanwhile, Valerie continues to deal with severe pain, crying throughout the day and night.
Her parents eventually decided to take her to see a pediatric orthopedic surgeon in Salt Lake City, Utah, which is about a four-hour drive from their home.
During a visit on November 17, the specialist reviewed X-rays taken while Valerie was standing.
He soon noticed that the difference between her right and left legs had become even more noticeable than before.
The doctor later ordered MRIs along with a number of additional tests.
At first, he wondered if she might have an autoimmune disorder. He reached out to a rheumatologist and a dermatologist for their opinions, however, they were not able to determine the cause either.
Then in December, the dermatologist spotted another change. Valerie’s right arm had become shorter than her left, and her right leg had become even smaller compared to her left leg.
To investigate further, the dermatologist requested 45 X-rays.
The scans showed that everything on Valerie’s right side, including her fingers, hands, and ligaments, was smaller than the left; doctors still had no explanation.
Earlier this year, Valerie met with a genetics specialist who is now going through her DNA to see if it might hold any answers. However, it will likely take several months for the results.
In the meantime, the family has set up a GoFundMe fundraiser. They hope it will help cover the cost of replacing their car’s transmission so they can keep taking Valerie to her many upcoming appointments; it will also help make up for the work they have had to miss while traveling to different doctors.
