Monday, February 10, 2014

Feeling hopeful

Big step for me today!  I took a shower instead of a bath! I am hoping I feel good enough to do it again tomorrow!  Posting this from my phone in bed because I already took benedryl for the night and am so sleepy. Just wanted to share some good news for once! :)

Friday, February 7, 2014

Busy Busy Busy

I haven't posted in a few days because I've been very busy. We finally got carpet in rest of the upstairs of our house, so I have been doing a final deep cleaning of the upstairs so that I can (finally) put things in the rooms up there! We moved into a new home about four months ago, and two of the bedrooms were not finished. It is an old farmhouse, and a work in progress, but we are renting from my grandpa, so we have an awesome landlord who takes great care of us! :)

I also have been working a lot, I work at Dairy Queen currently, and lots of people want ice cream despite the fact that we have about 10 inches of snow and sub-zero weather! This week is midterms for me as well, so I've been attached to my Anatomy and Physiology textbook whenever possible. I must admit, I am busier than most people, but I really love everything that I do, and each of the aspects of my life connect, so I can't give up anything, though some days when my skin is really bothering me, I would like to! I have to work to support my son, I have to study so that I can get a degree and get a better job to support us, I obviously have to care for him and my home and my fiance, so even on my most exhausted days, I push through, because I know that the pain and exhaustion is only temporary, and there is a much brighter future ahead!

Recently a LOT of people, particularly customers at work, have been commenting on/asking questions about my skin. Mostly they assume it is sunburn, but it really irks me that a complete stranger would comment on another person's appearance like that. It's nowhere near as bad as when I worked at Walmart a few years ago, the fluorescent lights made me look even redder than usual, and almost every customer who came through my checkout line would comment. It really wears you down to have to keep explaining it, or more often in my case, making excuses. It's something that I know most people won't understand, so I just say I stayed in the tanning bed too long. 

I am so glad I started this blog, it is nice to know that even if only a couple people read this, they are people who truly understand what I am going through. I have spent far too many nights crying in bed and saying "Why me? I can't be the only one going through this.." 

Monday, February 3, 2014

Making Progress-Pictures

I have decided to finally post some pictures of my skin. If you are reading this, please note that I am posting because this a VERY good for my skin, and I am proud of my progress. 
Neck. This is still by far my most sensitive area, but a month ago it was raw and weeping constantly. I still can't wear any shirts that touch my neck, but it is much better than it was. 

My hands are healing nicely, they are still puffy, (they call this elephant skin, I guess?) but I am hoping they will look better as time goes on.

My face, not even any cracks!


My arms tend to get very itchy and I did scratch them a lot last night, but very few small cracks here.

The tops of my feet are scarred, this is the site of my original eczema outbreak when I was a baby. 

My ankles and the sides of my feet are still a problem area, and by far the itchiest part of my body. 

And just for fun, here is a picture of my darling little boy, Owen, and his perfect skin! :)

I have had several good days and several bad days this past week, but my fatigue is at an all-time high. I am not sure why, but I am hoping it gets better as the week goes on.