God Hears

My son was born with a skin condition, It’s a disease, I said it! It’s a disease. I hate that word it implies that you can brush up against him and catch it. You can’t.

It is heart breaking at times the best way for me to describe it as if you have poison ivy your entire life from birth to death always wanting to scratch ripping at your skin never feeling relief. My son would go to bed with clean sheets and wake with blood and scabs covering them.

People would look at his little body and whisper, point, and walk away. One mother actually with a discussed look on her face asked me in a very hateful manner as she snatch her child away "What is wrong with him?" I smiled, grabbed my strength, and calmly said "He has a skin condition. Thank you for removing your child from the toys he’s a bigger treat to my son, what with germs and all" She looked at me and walked away silently. I would have removed my child, not knowing what the other one had I never would have been so mean.

As time passed I grew use to the looks. My family didn’t. My mother was pushing the stroller at a mall the longer we walked the more upset she became until she just couldn’t take it any more. "How can you take them staring and talking about him like this?" I told her that while it is hard to have people doing that I was now use to it. My husband blew up at a woman who was working at a book store. She had pointed and whispered to the person next to her. He lost it I heard him yell at her and rushed to try to calm him. He walked out. I then turned to apologize. She made an excuse about how she was talking about something else with him. I knew she had lied. I said that’s fine I’m use to people judging him. I hit her with my words possibly harder than my husband, because she looked hit.

My son seemed to take it better than we did where people are concerned. In first grade his teacher told me that a boy told him that he didn’t want to play with him because of his skin. My son said he understood and might feel the same way himself. WOW . . .what a blessing this kid is.

We were told that he might grow out of by one doctor. The others said no. Your heart breaks when your children are in pain. Asthma was the next thing added to this. It goes hand-in- hand with it. We watch as he struggles to breath at times and feel blessed that it isn’t as bad as others.

Why am I posting this? Because of this:

Before my son started kindergarten his skin hit it’s worst. I was desperate for help. His doctors weren’t able to get it under control and his face was breaking out. His beautiful face. People would look at his face and tell me how pretty he was. He has dimples and he smiles with his eyes. I stepped up my research. I was given Dr. T. Berry Brazelton’s phone number. I called him for help. My parents were ready to fly us where ever we needed to go. Now for some who are thinking what’s the big deal? The flesh eating virus, scars, pain, lack of sleep, and tons of antibiotics to get rid of infections. The doctor, the one who’s book I read when they put me in bed while pregnant with him because of labor pains and a placenta problem when I was seven months along, the one who’s TV show was one that I watched, the one who sat next to the Clintons at an event, said to this mother, "What do you want me to do about it?" I was broken, that was it. "You don’t understand he is so bad." "I can’t help you." I was broken. My heart was broken.

I went to my knees then found myself on the floor. Flat down, arms out, face down, on the floor. I prayed for my son. I hadn’t felt that I should ask for help for him. I had pray sure I’m a parent, I hadn’t like this. I worked with children that seemed to be far worse than my son. I was so wrong and God showed me just how wrong I was. There I was stretched out on the floor praying for some help. That’s when I heard a voice so calmly so peacefully say call CMC and

Dr. M. I picked myself up and called DR. M. and made an appointment then CMC the woman who answered was at first a bit stoic she must have felt how broken I was because after saying we just can’t give recommendations.

(I picture her looking around as to be sure someone wasn’t listening) She gave me the name of who they use. This woman didn’t care if she had a televisions show or if a president and his wife invited her to the White House she doesn’t have a well known book on the shelf, she was just a loving person.

I typed up ALL the things that we had tried and went to this new doctor. He examined my son and gave him more to try. He looked me in the eyes and said if this doesn’t work I’ll put him in the hospital. Thank God it did. We went from doctor to doctor each time I would hand them the new treatments the others were recommending. I told all three, yes three, that egos were not to come in to the room. You will work together. Thank God they did.

After a few months of, at times, seeing two doctors in one week my son rebelled, who wouldn’t, I was ready to. I asked him to choose a dermatologist. He is now old enough to control his scratching most of the time and kids still say things, then again so do adults, so that won’t go away.

God has always been with us through these trial in our lives. We are worthy of His help we just need to stop running around and listen. We need to stop drop and pray. He just wants our faith in trying times. We are not in control, we can't be.