I realized after writing the post about David's allergic attack after being exposed at school, that I wasn't writing about a key step in my process of dealing with David's allergies: gratitude.
Because, really, I am so incredibly grateful, everyday, even in the midst of all the little things we do to accommodate David's needs, that we get to go through all these nitty gritty details.
I've used this blog to rant about various allergy issues and even to inform ... hopefully someone ... about the ramifications of allergic disease. I don't think I've ever expressed my gratitude that David was born in this modern era.
Fifty years ago David would have died when he was three months old during his first massive skin infection caused by allergic eczema. If he had somehow managed to survive it's very likely that they would have covered his skin in tar in a last ditch effort to try to save the skin.
I'm not kidding.
Imagine a four month old baby covered in tar.
When I think about all the things that have been developed since then. The soak and seal method of treating eczema. All the medications we've used ... anti-histamines, vanicream, atopiclair, steroids (creams, breathing treatments, and oral solutions). All the knowledge that we've learned about what is going on in David's body during an allergic attack, how allergies affect his immune system. The blood and skin prick tests that help us gauge what is going on inside David's body. The epi-pen.
Yup. I can't think about all of this without getting teary with gratitude.
This is my beautiful boy. I'm so thankful he's alive.
No comments:
Post a Comment