23 August 2016

Update of Charlie ❤️

Almost three weeks ago I took Charlie to get an allergy test. He has had severe eczema since he was a baby, maybe 6 months. It ebbs and flows, but never ever goes away. Lately it had gotten worse and his pediatrician recommend an allergy test. We did it. 

The very next day she called with the results. She said that he tested off the charts as far as allergies towards every type of grass (yay Georgia summer 😁) and dog dander, as well as cat dander, (but shouldn't everyone be allergic to cats?! 😜). Anyway, she proceeded to spout off a list that included wheat, cows milk, peanuts, soy, shrimp, walnuts and mold. Wowza! Not what I was expecting. She advised us to schedule an appointment with an allergist ASAP and to immediately eliminate wheat, cows milk, and peanuts from his diet. Bummer. 

So, fast forward to today. It has been over 2 weeks with no wheat, milk, and peanuts - quite a feat for us! And his skin was looking worse than ever. No positive change to be noticed. Also, he was consistently complaining of belly pains. So sad 👎. Finally our appointment with the allergist was today. 

We learned lots of things. It was half "hooray!" And half "o no!". But, the long and short of it is that his food "allergies" have pretty much nothing to do with his eczema. The only food the dr said for him to never eat is walnuts, and for now to continue avoiding peanuts and soy. Yay! Donuts for everyone 🎉😉 !!! 

His eczema, however, doesn't seem to be the kind he's going to grow out of. It seems more that it's something he will be battling for most of his life, unless the Lord changes his skin. With that, the doctor gave me a detailed and LONG list of things to begin doing daily for my boy. It will take time and effort. It will definitely affect our daily routines for at least the few weeks until we get into a good rhythm with some of the treatments. But, I'm very hopeful and thankful for something that might help him! 

Once we can manage it a little better, he won't have these terrible flare-ups, Lord willing, and his life will be much less itchy! And then hopefully if these more hard core things help, we can just go to regular management and moisture! 

Pray for him, please! It's hard to be itchy all the time. His legs are bright red and bleed almost every day! That stinks. 

Pray for me. Please pray that I would find it a joy to serve Charlie in this way. Pray that I don't see this as an inconvenience, but as an opportunity to be an example of Christ to him! ❤️