*Before reading, the treatment detailed below is in FRANCE, as of August 2022 France have removed all entry restrictions, so we can finally go!*

Those of you who know us will know Reyes was born with a severe case of atopic eczema. Reyes also has a number of severe allergies for which she carries epi-pens including nuts, shellfish, fish, milk and eggs.

I could honestly write so much, but, to sum things up:

Reyes has struggled physically since she was born and unfortunately, over the last few months things have worsened for her. It's very difficult to explain how debilitating eczema and allergies can be for a child, particularly as they have become so common, but when they impact your child's quality of life the effects are widespread and felt by all of those that care deeply for her. As a family there are many general day-to-day activities that we can’t enjoy together due to the severity of her skin condition.

We took Reyes to see a private Paediatric Allergist when she was 10 months old after 2 separate GP surgeries refused to refer her to an Allergy Clinic. That day we were told that for all we knew, we had saved her life. Health professionals had continuously failed us and ignored all the signs of severe allergic reactions which were in turn worsening her eczema to the extent that she looked like a severe burns victim.

Since then, it has remained extremely challenging to keep her safe and well. Reyes is regularly in hospital to see her Dermatology and Allergy Consultants, Dieticians, Paediatrician's and unfortunately sometimes emergency care. This year we have had two serious anaphylactic incidents requiring emergency care. Both of which have sadly left her extremely sensitive and her skin open and sore from the swelling.

Reyes is on a private treatment regime for her skin which we pay for fortnightly: this treatment was recommended by her NHS consultant but cannot be funded by them since cuts were made to the service.

As things have worsened, I have had to give up my job to meet her care needs as she rarely completes a full 2.5 days at nursery due to her condition. We continue to try find various ways of earning money flexibly and work from home to continue to afford the thousands of pounds spent on her creams, treatments, specialist clothing and wraps for flares and hundreds of tried and tested remedies. Natural, medicated, homeopaths, senior consultants... we have exhausted so many options and so often we hit a brick wall.

Any parent can imagine how soul destroying it is to see your child in constant discomfort every night, we feel truly helpless. Those who know us know that as a family we truly do everything we can to improve her quality of life but unfortunately, we can't do everything alone.

Whilst she doesn't look as sore as she once did, her sensitivity has heightened so extremely that even water stings her at present.

We have been strongly recommended a 3 week visit to a specialist treatment centre in France, but the treatment centre closes in November so we have a limited amount of time to raise the funds. We are funding the majority of this treatment with our remaining savings but are now fundraising to try and cover the additional costs and get Reyes a place ASAP.

I would love to get Reyes there this year so that we can hopefully see results from this before she is due to begin school next September. Everyone that knows Reyes knows what a vibrant, fun-loving, clever, charismatic ball of energy she is and she would flourish at school, but as things stand we do not feel comfortable sending her to school due to constant open wounds, weeping skin, risk of infection, cross contamination, constant hospital appointments and trips, the frequency of application for her creams and so many other factors. To provide her some healing and relief would truly be a dream come true for us.

If anybody would like any more details on the severity of her medical conditions or the Avene treatment centre and programme itself, please do not hesitate to ask.

We totally appreciate that money is incredibly tight for a lot of people right now and are open to any fundraising ideas. We would like to be able to offer people something in return for their generosity alongside our eternal gratitude. We are going to be hosting fundraising events, raffles etc very, very soon so keep your eyes peeled!

Best wishes,

Ruby, Jaanai, Izasher and Reyes x