10 MONTHS - MEETING DR ARON!

All is good! My legs are still doing well on one application every other day, though I’ve had to start moisturising them once with Diprobase on the off-day as they get a little dry.

I’ve still got rough patches on my sides so I’m keeping those at 2x a day (it’s nothing major but I may go up to 3 if it’s still like this in a week) and my back and stomach have been able to return to 1x a day.

I’m tapering my arms down to 2x a day! Eep, finally! My neck and forehead are also stable (a tiny bit bumpy in places but nothing that annoys me) at 3x. I feel like something has just clicked and my skin has started to join the fight rather than just relying on the compound to do all the work. Basically, life is good, and although I obviously keep tabs on it, I never worry about my skin. I can handle it.

I’m not sure why my boobs look so big in that photo, but I’m not too unhappy about it.

More exciting than that even, a few weeks ago I actually got to meet – yes, MEET! – Dr Aron! He was working at the BMI in Hendon for a few weeks invited all the UK admins/campaigners to lunch just as a thank you for all the hard work us volunteers put into supporting people across various social media platforms all around the world.

The man is incredible. He is teeny-tiny but he has one hell of a presence (maybe because we were all hanging onto his every word!) and he makes you feel so at ease. Bit of a joker, too! We made him a collage to put up in his London office of some of the patients he’s helped, and he did wipe away a tear or two when opening it.

You can tell how much this means to him, but also how frustrated he is that many of his own peers refuse to listen and take notice of a treatment with such unbelievably high success rates. We will get there one day 

Besides meeting the doctor himself, it was absolutely incredible to finally meet all the other admins/campaigners who have become like a little family within a big family – these women constantly have me in fits of giggles over Facebook chat (much to my boyfriend’s annoyance) so it was amazing to be able to laugh together in person. The day was amazingly fun, yet at times overwhelmingly emotional. Everyone there (apart from Dr Aron’s daughter) was a patient or parent of a patient who had been saved by Dr Aron. We didn’t just talk about skin, but when we did it was cool not to have to hold back from talking about my favourite doctor too much! 

Here are yet more photos because, let’s be real, this was probably one of the highlights of my life so far.

Hayley (an adult patient) with Debra and Anjali (Aron Mom OG):

The instagram crew!

I’m now also an admin of the big Facebook group (Dr Aron Eczema Treatment Discussion Group), so I can continue to spend hours of my week giving support without feeling like a massive keeno with no other hobbies  (For the record, I do have other hobbies…. Helping people just comes first!). The group has nearly 9000 members and our Instagram page now has over 450 followers with new ones every day; everything’s just quite exciting at the moment.

So back to my skin, the only thing I’d really like to improve is my scalp; I’ve run out of Salcura shampoo and conditioner and kept forgetting to buy more (I’ve just placed a £51 order for just 800ml of each). It’s so expensive but it soothes my head so much. I’ve been using Pantene at my boyfriend’s house and whatever I can find at home, and it’s taken a big toll on my scalp – it’s real flaky and a little sore in places.

One thing I’ve noticed as all my apps taper down and my skin remains mostly clear: I just like to pick. I like to pick my skin, and I do it when I’m bored, when I’m stressed, when I’m concentrating; the only time I’m not doing it is when I’m asleep or completely lost in a moment of fun. It kinda fascinates me, this skin stuff. I’m not sure I even want to give it up. I think if I didn’t constantly pick at myself, my neck would be totally clear and tapering with the rest of my body (note how the rough patches are only on the right of my neck as I’m right-handed!), and maybe my arms would be too. My scalp would certainly be much improved. All the bits that have tapered very successfully over the course of this treatment so far have been the ones that are typically under clothing, hidden away from my beady eyes and eager fingernails. I just can’t help myself!