STRESS, ECZEMA AND BOYS WHO NEEDS REMINDING

Eden's currently preparing for her upcoming exams. Am shocked how much work the school gives to little 9year olds: it's projects, homework, tests and exams around the corner ... she is writing an exam EVERY SINGLE DAY until middle June. So, we are preparing before it starts so that she doesn't feel overwhelmed by the time exams are here. Having said that ... she's just a kid and wants to play and relax, watch tv, have fun etc. She's also in the middle of her cortisone withdrawal / healing journey and her skin is still red, patchy, flared, sores, at times itchy (especially when she needs to study ... STRESS of exams) she's more moody than usual and craving junk food / comfort food during this time. It's no easy or quick fix....this is a long road. After a family member expressed his concern about our decision to completely stop cortisone treatment, I felt the need to ask Eden what she wants and she very firmly told me that she does not want to use cortisone anymore ... she wants to heal ... she wants her body to heal. She's seeing the homeopath again this week ... A kind lady (think she's from the States) shared with us her eczema secret: Curel cream. Will definitely look into that as well. Eden's just arrived home from school: complaining of a sore throat and headache. It's winter now so lots of germs going around. A thought that came to mind this week is the huge responsibility parents have in teaching their BOYS to be kind and gentle wrt how they treat and speak to girls...they need to realize that girls are fragile in their emotions and what they say to them can hurt them for years and years. Eden's experiencing a lot of nastiness from boys at school (some intentional others unintentional) ... it breaks her little heart... and it makes me so angry ... however, more angry at the parents for their lack of teaching their sons. Every day I tell my little boy to be kind to girls ... I try and explain to him that all girls want to feel beautiful and that it's the boys responsibility to help a girl feel beautiful ... by how they treat them... he now even takes flowers to school for the girls... such a hopeless romantic and sweet boy. I guess what I'm trying to say is that: Boys have a responsibility to help girls turn into ladies & Girls have a responsibility to help boys turn into men. BELOW is a picture of her tummy area ... it seems to be getting better if you compare it to week 1 (the picture just below ... she was terribly flared up and in a lot of pain) ... happy and grateful for the progress we are making (BIG SMILE).

2 Weeks Cortisone Free

It's exactly 2 weeks of being Cortisone Free. The first week was terrible ... she was in a lot of pain but now 2 weeks later there's definite improvement! For 9 years we have solely relied on Cortisone creams and oral medicines as well as Antibiotics to fix her Eczema problem and now we are all tired of it! Year after Year of seeing skin specialist after skin specialist ... and every time it's the same old thing: Cortisone! We've had a complete mind shift ... and attitude change. Eden's been incredibly brave throughout this process and she's been extremely obedient with regards to her detox diet (I'm not starving my child ... we've simply removed certain food such as: dairy, wheat, egg, nuts, sweets (candy) etc. in an effort to heal her body) ... when she's done with her detoxing I will slowly start reintroducing these foods ONE at a time to see how she will respond. In the meanwhile we are using medicine from an incredibly gifted Homeopath as well as cream (all natural and herbal)... it seems to be working: - Eden's not as bloated anymore - less tummy ache and nausea - the rashes are getting lighter and less inflamed (she does still have eczema rashes especially on the back of her legs) but there's a drastic improvement. - not as itchy - not infected anymore - skin not as hot to the touch anymore. I'm happy with the progress we are making. Eden's school exams are around the corner so she'll be studying a lot and we'll be blogging less for the next 2 to 3 weeks.

Little victories

Eden woke up this morning ... and for the first time in more than a year her bed was not stained with blood spots ... from all the scratching *Happy dance* She's still covered in red rashes but what matters to us now is that's she's feeling better ... less itchy, less painful. Unfortunately she still gets teased at school ... heart breaking and then there's the stress of exams around the corner but all in all she's doing great.

One step forward, two steps back

No one said this was going to be easy ... I didn't expect it to be. Eden and I looked at some youtube videos with people going through cortisone (steroid) withdrawals ... everyone experiencing almost identical symptoms ... it can take anything from 7 weeks to 18 months! I use to feel so frustrated and completely obsessed with why her skin was looking this way and obsessed with the quick fix of applying some cortisone, getting antibiotics and clearing the skin ... temporarily until the next flare up ... which always started as soon as you think you have the flare up under control (literally days apart) ... I never realized it was the skin's need for cortisone ... her skin was so completely addicted to cortisone ... now that I finally finally FINALLY understand what is going on (it took me a while to realize) ... I feel like I don't have to obsess about it anymore ... I can finally focus on: healing her from inside: by changing her diet, getting her into a healthy lifestyle, using natural healing (homeopathic medicines ... from our trusted and incredible Dr. Usswald) I finally feel like I can breath. Having said that ... the thing that really ticks me off is the amount of teasing and bullying that Eden have to endure at school. I wish I could change into a bird every time she goes to school so I could fly over and poo on every child's head that teases her ... humiliate them in front of their friends ... She's in good spirits ... she's still itchy and have moments of fatique and irritability but all is okay. Her skin is still covered with red rashes and dry patches but the infections are clearing.

COULDN'T HAVE ASKED FOR A BETTER GIFT ON MOTHERS DAY

Just a brief summary of the past week. Last week Saturday we started Eden on Homeopathic medicine drops and creams ... all completely natural. Before that we've only ever had her on anti biotics and cortisone (oral and topical) with the result that her skin got so addicted to it that it stopped creating natural skin oil ... her body was so broken down ... her immune system completely run down ... her skin so incredibly addicted to cortisone that when we took it away her body completely crashed: - infections spread over her skin - stomach ache - nausea - wheezy chest - red rash ALL over her body - open oozing sores especially on the back of her legs and thighs. - bad breath - fatigue - scaly and dry skin - moodiness etc She applies ointment to her top lip about 50 times a day ... to keep it hydrated ... so that she can actually smile because her skin is not creating natural oils. It's really hard on her physically. It's equally hard on her emotionally ... perhaps even more so. Her greatest fear (when the school counsellor asked her the other day) was ... the fear of ECZEMA. She NEVER has same friends for longer than a week ... her friends constantly change ... and often she doesn't have any friends at school because she is the odd one out ... the one that is different from them. Long story short ... it's been ONE week without cortisone ... one of THE hardest weeks ever. But, it seems like there is light at the end of this tunnel after all ... the most wonderful Mothers day gift came in the form of my daughter's skin today ... even thought it's still dry (you Ccan see on the photo's below around her eyes slight wrinkles due to dry skin ... but LOOK AT THE IMPROVEMENT FROM YESTERDAY TO TODAY!!! AND IT'S ONLY BEEN ONE WEEK!!! We've removed: dairy wheat / grain eggs nuts minimal sugar no biscuits, crisps, chocolates or sweets We've added: Coconut milk to her diet Lots of veggies and soup ... I will continue this diet for the next 2 months to clean / detox her body and then slowly I will start to reintroduce foods one at a time. It's still a long road ahead ... but I am SO grateful for the progress I can see today ... in my prayers last night I asked the Lord that if it's not the time to remove Eczema indefinitely ... then please could He just bless us with an improvement. He always answers prayers ... and I am so incredibly grateful for this blessing in our lives.

Happy Mothersday all

"What a wonderful thing you have done as mothers. You have given birth and nurtured children. You have entered into a partnership with our Father in Heaven to give mortal experience to His sons and daughters. They are His children and they are your children, flesh of your flesh, for whom He will hold you responsible. You have rejoiced over them, and in many cases you have sorrowed. They have brought you happiness as no one else could. They have brought you pain as none other could. You have nothing in this world more precious than your children. When you grow old, when your hair turns white and your body grows weary, when you are prone to sit in a rocker and meditate on the things of your life, nothing will be so important as the question of how your children have turned out. It will not be the money you have made. It will not be the cars you have owned. It will not be the large house in which you live. The searing question that will cross your mind again and again will be, How well have my children done? May the virtue of your children’s lives sanctify and hallow your old age. May you be led to exclaim with gratitude as did John, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth” (3 Jn. 1:4)." (Gordon B Hinckley) Happy Mothersday

WEEK ONE: DONE AND DUSTED

It's been one week of cortisone free. Her skin is red, flaky, oozy in some places, painful, itchy and infected. I've attached a few pics of Eden's skin for those who wish to follow her progress and healing ... even though she still looks terrible she still manages to smile, laugh and be silly like any child. She's sleeping over my her granny tonight - lots of love and cuddles. Tomorrow we are all visiting with her cousins ... this should cheer her up some more. Please remember to comment directly into Eden's email address (please don't comment on the blog)it's: havaraeden@gmail.com