The fact is, it's been a roller coaster ride the past two years, at least for me. This is because at a few points, I really thought that she'd be cured completely, and then after awhile the itchiness and redness returns. Then I not only have to motivate her again but also myself too.
A summary is:
1. We've stopped seeing the Dr in Tangkak. That was in April 2011.
2. We've not done any more blood tests for allergies since August 2012.
3. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) - I brought her to a traditional chinese doctor in USJ a couple of years ago too, can't recall when exactly but I can remember his corner lot house with many herbs growing in the garden and some dogs and his consulting "office" was an open table in the patio. Complimentary "leong cha" for his regular customers or friends who dropped by to chat, as I saw. Paid RM50 for some herbal cream in a small container and RM180 for their homemade organic papaya enzyme. Out of this two, we've used the cream but not the enzyme. Dunno what I'm gonna do with the enzyme now, maybe I should fertilize my plants? We visited only once, got some advice on diet and that was it. I guess I'm just not comfortable with seeing snake wine in a bottle.
4. In 2012 itself, when Vic was 7 and in Standard One, I started her on a strict candida diet. If you google candida diet, you'd be shocked to see the amount of food that one should avoid. Here's one link just as an example. There are other links which are less stringent, but basically the idea is to eliminate sugar, molasses, fructose, syrups, or any other kinds of sweet food from the diet. Even certain fruits such as grapes and red apples which are generally very sweet fruits are to be eliminated during this plan.
Let me clarify. Hers is just skin eczema and allergies, and nothing else. It's not severe candida like some who have itchiness elsewhere. In fact, the only reason why we'd look at candida as a culprit was because this was first mentioned by Dr Wong in Tangkak.
We didn't stick to the plan long. I suppose it was around 3-6 months and during this time, Vic's skin condition did improve. I read about leaky gut symptoms too when I found a book in a Christian bookshop and it also recommended a whole lot of supplements and food. The ones that I introduced or reemphasized into her diet was organic virgin coconut oil, lotsa garlic (we buy from wholesale), organic olive leaf extract, organic oregano oil and probiotics.
5. In 2013 we attended Randy Clark's Healing Rally at DUMC, and Vic stood up for healing. From then on, we believe by faith that she has no more allergies, because Jesus has healed her completely.
Now I know that wasn't much of a summary, instead seems more like another long, dry post of mine. But really, there's so much in between that I've omitted.
I guess I'm just tired of controlling the types of food she eat. I'm tired of watching out, fearing if, and asking why. So just letting food be food, as good as it can be, and trusting our God.
So, Vic eats normally for a long time now, and we still practice healthy eating. I reminded her and William many times, that even if we have no allergies, we'd still be eating good healthy food. She's been taking eggs and bread and egg noodles and many other food stuff which she has refrained from when younger. Forget the sweets and candies because that was never in our "allowable food" list anyway.
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| Photo taken at Ante Kitchen & Bar during Mama Yeh Yeh's birthday dinner |
This year when I was away in the UK in July, she developed some bad rash and the eczema worsen on her arm folds and neck and face. One day, after a meal, she had a bad outburst of rashes all over her body and legs and arms. Thank God her face was spared!
Long story cut short, a pediatric consultant friend of ours recommended seeing the dermatologist at her hospital. She wrote us a referral letter and helped us get an appointment slot. We went, and pleasantly discovered that the doctors there were really good - took close to an hour to understand her history and clarified our query. We didn't have to wait long to see the doctor, nor at the pharmacy. We were given big supply of creams and medicine and the best part was, we paid NOTHING as students are not charged in government hospitals. Wowzers!
We just brought Vic for her follow up appointment and she was seen by another dermatologist who spent 45 minutes with us on eczema management. He basically answered most of our questions hovering in our mind even before we asked! Again, we were given a fresh supply of creams and charged nothing. Finished everything within 1.5hours with hardly more than 15 minutes wait!
So. If you ask me now, if Vic can eat anything and everything? Yes and no. She's taking everything we eat except for shrimps and crustacean. It's OK if there's a shrimp in her soup or fried with her noodles once in a while, we just remove it and she eats the rest. We won't freak out, or jump at the waiter or ask for a change.
I'm sorry, Mummy
She's apologized to me a couple of times - for the inconvenience she thinks she caused us to bring her for doctor visits, or the expenses we pay, or like recently, she felt "bad" or appreciative that Daddy took leave from work to ferry us to the hospital because parking was a challenge there. For each time she shared this with me, I tell her, "No girl... it's NO inconvenience, NO issue on money, and we do this all for us out of love. So don't say sorry."
