Clayton

Last year on June 12th we took our dear son Clayton to a pediatric dermatologist in Portland. At about 4 months of age he got a rash. Turns out it was really bad eczema, more than likely food allergy related. We knew that if we took him to the doctor we would probably be prescribed cortizone and sent home, we really wanted to avoid that and so we tried almost everything else we could think of. I started making our own lotion to put on him so that I would know all the ingredients in it, I made our own laundry soap and washed everything (everything!) in the house in it to find out if it was a topical allergy, as I was still nursing I went on elimination diets and gentle cleanses to see if it was a yeast problem or a food allergy but nothing really helped. He was still red and itchy, especially at night. He wore socks on his hands all of the time to keep him from scratching his skin raw but he still rubbed it raw with the socks on. I went to a Natrupathic Physican to try and get some answers but together we couldn't find anything either. I discovered during all this that I am a comfort eater and I was slowly going mad not being able to eat anything, so we decided to try and wean Clayton to formula, a homemade formula that the NP recommended. Clayton ended up being allergic to many of the ingredients and we weren't sure what to feed him and I was scared of making his rash worse, then he came down with pink eye, strep and thrush all at the same time and really didn't want to eat. We went to a docter then and gave him antibotics. Finally we made an appointment with the Ped. Derm. and went in. He took one look at Clayton and "strongly urged" us to have him admitted to Doernbecher Children's Hospital right away. Clayton was very mal-nourished and showing many signs of edema and protein loss. So we went and ended up spending 5 days there while we tried to get food back in him. He ended up with a feeding tube down his nose and cortizone to keep his eczema down while he regained his weight. When he was born he weighed 9lbs. 2 ozs. and he started gaining weight right away and was a chubby, chubby baby, when we went into DCH he weighed just over 18lbs, this at 10 months of age. After 5 days we came home with all of the equipment to feed him through his feeding tube, the docters expected him to have his feeding tube in for at least a month or until he took all of his food by mouth during the day instead of through a drip all night. He only had his feeding tube in for about a week. Praise the Lord.
Until about 8 months ago Clayton wore arm bands all the time to keep him from scratching, then we started taking them off during the day and only putting them on for naps and bed time. Now he has not worn his arm bands in 6 months.
He still has some food allergies and we're not sure what all of them are but we are slowly introducing food and watching for reactions. He also loves to eat! A lot.
I am still in awe of how good our God is and what he has done. I remember sleepless nights of crying on the floor next to Clayton's bed because I could not help him, or relieve the itch and I didn't know what to do. I am so thankful that I know the God who is a God of healing and who held me even then. I am so blessed. And this year, at this time Clayton is chubby once more. He's full of character and loves to play in the dirt and boss the dog around. If I didn't have the pictures to prove it and the memories I wouldn't believe it was the same boy. Thank you to all that prayed and thank you for your continued prayers, God is good.