Eczema Outreach Scotland are a charity I've written about here before.
They are a relatively new charity, set up by a mum of a girl with eczema to help and support other families living with eczema. They do so in many different ways, one of these being organised days out for families to get together.
On Saturday we attended one of these events, the second one we have been to.
It was held at an indoor snow slope near Glasgow - David & Calum loved how the UV lights at the entrance made their jumpers glow!
While the children all took part in some sledging, the adults stayed warm and had an informal chat with a dermatologist.
Before hitting the slopes the boys were kitted out with helmets. Alasdair (4) had been saying that he didn't want to go sledging but he went down to see what the boys were doing anyway.
Once he saw them on the snow though, he changed his mind and got a bit braver. He loved every minute of it!
Once their time on the slopes was up they all came in for some juice and snacks and then had the chance to fill in some surveys and give suggestions of any tips they have for managing their own eczema, as well as writing down any questions they would like to ask a dermatologist.
It was a great morning. They boys really loved the snow slide and are keen to go back another time.
I thought it was good to hear the questions and concerns the other parents had about their children's eczema. Everyone seems to agree that many people who don't have to live with eczema think of it as a much milder thing to live with than it really is.
Having been at a similar event last year - in fact I think it must have been almost exactly a year ago as I was in the midst of the worst weeks of pregnancy sickness - I was already aware of other families going through the same skin care routines and sleepless nights as we are, but somehow it really hit home to me more this time because as I was greasing Fraser up on Saturday night, while my hubs was doing Alasdair's creams, I thought of the others who right then would be doing the exact same thing.
Knowing this doesn't make what you have to go through any easier, you still have to spend all that time looking after the skin, watching your child cry in pain while they scratch and you try 101 things to distract them etc, and yet it does help that little bit too to know that you aren't the only family going through it either.
I'm not sure if that makes any sense but if you are another eczema family then maybe it does to you! And if you haven't joined up with Eczema Outreach Scotland yet then do head on over to their newly re-launched website here and sign up.
Hi, I enjoyed reading your blog, I too am a member of EOS, but have not yet attended an event. Hoping to go to the next one in Edinburgh.. I have 3 children with Ezcema ( aged 16,13 and 16 months) .. I also have severe eczema myself.. You are so right that people with no experience of this disease think it is no big deal! I am lucky in a sense that I know exactly how it feels for my kids :-( ... My skin is sore just now and my confidence has just gone, I think it is hard for my husband as he feels helpless, I need to put on a front though as caring for my kids skin is more important than looking after mine.. How do we get enough hot water to all have the soothing baths we need!!.. Anyway, hopefully things will ease soon.. maybe see you at the next event.. Take care, U r not alone! .xx
ReplyDeleteI think it is wonderful that you have a good support group like that. I can imagine how hard it must be; and how exhausting to your own body taking care of everyone at all hours of the night. I love the indoor snow slope; that is wonderful, I have never seen anything like it. In Arizona, they have a man-made beach and ocean type pool that makes a big wave, and people can surf on it with surfboards or boogie boards. It was always something fun we used to do, and so I can see that this is a similar sort of thing. Alasdair is soooo cute standing there wearing his helmet and carrying that sled.
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