Cyrus’ Eczema Story
What follows is a story submitted by one of our young Eczema Client’s mothers. Happy to report that Cyrus is a growing kiddo who remains free and clear after extensive eczema and rashes.
Cyrus, Before and After Care
“I remember my breaking point like it was yesterday. I opened the car door and there was my tiny, helpless baby with blood covering his hands, face, shirt, and car seat for the third time that week. In the short 7-minute drive to the grocery, he had shredded his face and was now crying out for my help, but I felt helpless. All I could offer him was to wipe his raw, blood-covered cheeks and head back home for a bath. But, I couldn’t even muster the energy to do that. Instead, I sat down in the driver seat and started to cry. Ugly cry. Like can’t see my phone to even send a text cry. And that’s where my journey with Elizabeth began. In the Kroger parking lot, through tear filled eyes, sending a text for desperation to see if she had any ideas. My name is Samantha Aylmer, and my little guy, Cyrus’ life has been changed by the care and knowledge provided by Elizabeth Sharrett’s nutritional therapy and wellness strategies. She changed our view entirely on healing versus symptom management and provided us with the knowledge to completely reverse the severe eczema that had begun to take over our lives.
At about 3 months old, Cyrus’ face broke out in tiny red bumps and began to develop small, scaly spots. The pediatrician said it was just cradle cap that had moved onto his face, but as a Mom, I knew that wasn’t it. But, what else could I do? So, I followed their instructions and we attempted to treat it with antibacterial creams and ointments. It only got worse.
A wellness chiropractor friend of mine suggested I eliminate dairy and gluten thinking his issues were an allergic response. So I did. And then egg. And then corn. He did improve, but we were still battling eczema that stopped strangers in their tracks. Every outing was met by questions of “what’s wrong with his face?” or comments such as “I see he really enjoyed his spaghetti at lunch” (when he was exclusively breastfed) because his face was completely covered in scabs, raw spots, and often oozed. Meanwhile, I was eliminating foods, covering him with doctor prescribed ointments, and getting nowhere very quickly.
We saw a dermatologist once the pediatrician gave up on the cradle cap theory when the ointments didn’t work. There, we were given an actual diagnosis of eczema (duh!) and sent home with a suggestion to continue our elimination diet, see an allergist, and use steroid cream mixed with the previously prescribed ointments 3 times a day. Again, I knew this wouldn’t do it, but what else could I do? The eczema did clear up. Temporarily. Within a couple of days of discontinuing the steroid use, his face was covered in raw, oozing eczema yet again.
The allergist visit proved to be about as helpful as the previous doctors we had seen. Allergic to eggs-check. Allergic to peanuts-check. Sensitive to dairy-check. Sensitive to gluten-check. All things I already knew and had already eliminated from my diet. They sent me away with an even more powerful steroid cream and an appointment for follow up testing 6 months later. 6 more months of this. And another cream I did not feel right about putting on my baby. But, again, what choice did I have? He was suffering and these were the only solutions being offered to me. We spent hundreds of dollars on lotions, soaps, and ointments. We changed our detergents, only dressed him in cotton clothing, and had him in scratch sleeves for 99% of the day to keep him from scratching. He wasn’t sleeping. I was an anxious mess. And he wasn’t getting any better. It was miserable. But, then…
God sent a nutritional therapist (not Elizabeth) into my path at work who asked me a question I had been asking in my head for months but had not heard a single medical provider ask: “Have you found the root cause of his eczema yet?” And, this was the game changer. Suddenly, I began to explore the idea of nutritional therapy as an answer to our problems. We began by sending in stool samples for him and I both because he was exclusively breastfed at that point.
As we awaited testing results, another game changer presented itself. Cyrus eczema cleared 100% while we were on a week-long vacation (yay!), but then flared to the point of oozing and bleeding within 24 hours of being home. We decided it was something in our home exacerbating his condition. We moved within 3 weeks of this discovery. I had already reached out to Elizabeth for care at this point, but we had decided to postpone starting treatment until we saw how the move affected him.
Through our testing, we discovered that Cyrus and I both had severe bacterial overgrowth inside our intestines, that I as his only source of nutrition was not digesting or absorbing foods properly, and that we both had blood in our stool (which is really bad!). In addition, our histamine levels were through the roof and our bodies were in severe dysfunction on the inside. Mold. Every symptom and finding suggested it. And, after moving out, it was confirmed. It had been in our ceiling. In our carpet. In the cabinets. It was literally everywhere. And we had been breathing it and possibly touching it for an unknown amount of time. Not a single medical provider ever questioned what was happening on the inside. No one suggested I try to heal him and bring his body back to proper functioning. And no one made suggestions for a root cause other than food allergies. All I got previous to Elizabeth were symptom alleviating treatments that were not getting to the source of the problem. It seems the problem was exposure to a toxic substance long term that had destroyed us from the inside out. Cyrus’ eczema was our first and most obvious sign of this exposure and NO ONE caught it. Until Elizabeth.
From the very beginning, she has met me where I am, educated me about all things pertinent to our healing, and has never made me feel like a burden for my thousands of questions and repetitive calls/texts of my concerns and fears. She has treated me like an individual not a patient on her case load and has respected my needs as a mother to protect my baby by providing reassurance and a sense of safety and security with each new step along our journey. When no one else could help us, she stepped in and saved the day! We have been under her care for 7 months and have seen changes I never thought were possible.
We have taken countless supplements, eliminated more than a handful of foods, and have pressed into new and creative ways of eating. Now, we are able to do so with purpose and intention where there used to be guessing and suspicion. We have learned to care for our bodies in a new way, have started practicing stress management techniques, and have learned to read our bodies to identify the small changes that signal a problem. As a result, my little buddy is 100% eczema free, is having normal and regular bowel movements, and is able to eat an assortment of foods that are providing healing and proper nutrition to his developing self. We went from bleeding cheeks, sleepless nights, and a suggestion to postpone eating solids for an undetermined amount of time to a happy, well fed, joy filled, and beautiful baby. Outings are now met with comments from strangers about his beautiful big, blue eyes and his irresistible smile that spreads joy to anyone he comes in contact with. His life, and mine as a trickle-down effect, mirror that of a normal family and have been everlastingly improved. Looking at him now, no one would ever know he spent 6 months covered in horrible eczema or that I spent countless nights crying out to God in desperation for an answer or cure. I’m so thankful that answer and cure came through Elizabeth. We will be eternally grateful and will continue to practice the healthy habits her education instilled into our family. Life is better with proper nutrition and with the choice to heal and respond to our bodies in a way we didn’t know was possible prior to care with Elizabeth. “
-Cyrus’ Mother, Samantha
