The Prologue: Our story
Dear Corey,
it has been exactly one year since we saw Dr Hugo who finally set us on the right path of diagnosing your allergies and managing your eczema. I remember the desperation I felt days leading up to that appointment. The feeling of helplessness of not being able to soothe your discomfort. A sense of dread that seeing yet another specialist may not be able to give us the answers and directions we needed. But God answered my prayers and finally we found a doctor who set us on the right form of treatment.
I remember all those months of long nights, holding your hands while you slept to prevent you from scratching. The countless hours of praying that you will have a good night’s rest. Still, you somehow found moments when mummy dozed off, and would manage to scratch till you drew blood.
We did not take many wefies because mummy was too busy taking photos of your body parts to document your progress. But the ones we did take were on better days and they are all the more precious to me.
Many times you would scrunch your brow, leaving mummy to wonder if you were frowning from the itch, or simply taking after me. How I wished you could talk and tell me when something did not feel right. And if I can take your place and be the one afflicted with those rashes, I would do it in a heartbeat.
I remember the guilt, racking my brains over what other bases hadn’t I covered in investigating your condition. Through every new cream, every wash, even alternative healing methods which daddy laughed off as rubbish, I never stopped trying.
Now as you approach 18 months, I am relieved those dark days are behind us. So maybe you can’t try as many foods as korkor did at the same age because you are allergic to eggs, cow’s milk and peanuts. And having a dust mite allergy means we are constantly cleaning the house. But on the flip side, our food choices at home are healthier and we have a spanking clean, uncluttered home to be proud of. You used to hate baths and diaper changes from the pain. Now, you run in happy anticipation, wobbly penguin style, towards the bathroom when you hear the words ‘bom bom time!’. Your cheeky naughty smile leaves me no doubt you will be full of mischief as you get older.
You may never be totally itch free because there is no cure for chronic eczema. Doctor has said this will be a lifelong condition, but with mummy’s continual hard work the rashes will continue to get lesser. And who knows, you might just outgrow some of them in time.
Till then, for as long as you need, Mummy will always be ready with calamine lotion in one hand and moisturizer in the other.
love, mummy
mummy rocking 4 month old Corey to sleep
Look out for our next post, the Simplifier’s guide in step by step detail on how to battle infant eczema.
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[…] and our joy of finally getting his eczema under control! I’ve been spending a bit of time to document our eczema healing journey, and started with sharing Corey’s Nutritious Skin Healing Broth. Next up I’ll be […]