Lesley’s Story: The Quest for Sleep
Lesley’s son Arturo was a light sleeper from the very beginning. By the time he was 17 months old, it was clear that severe eczema was making sleep impossible. “We wondered if his early sleep problems were related to undiagnosed eczema,” says Lesley.
Like a lot of parents of a child with more severe eczema, Lesley looked for a “cure” for her son’s condition. “We tried everything – Swedish lingonberry cream, eliminating dairy, crazy things friends suggested. Our pediatrician prescribed topical steroids and we quickly went up the ladder to stronger and stronger medications. Our pediatric dermatologist had more information, but no solutions.”
Arturo's skin was often raw and infected and the family's days revolved around bleach baths, multiple daily wet wraps and sleepless nights.
That whole period is a blur for Lesley. She was trying to run her home-based business –a Mexican food tour company – and take care of a new-born and Arturo with his involved skin care routines, all while operating on almost no sleep. Did her family manage to have fun sometimes despite the pressures? “Are you kidding me? We were in survival mode. If everybody got fed, bathed and clothed that day I was happy.”
With newer treatments for children now available, Leslie and Arturo have found a solution that by and large controls the eczema and they are no longer "just surviving." Sleep has returned for this family, and we're wishing them many restful nights into the future.
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