5 QUESTIONS WITH: Jasmine (and Jennifer)

I have now shared eighteen 5 QUESTIONS WITH, highlighting inspirational members of our wonderful community. Two of which have been children and today, as I interview eight year old Jasmine, it doesn't get any easier to deal with the fact that children have to go through something as terrible as TSW. Jasmine's Instagram (here), run by her lovely mother Jennifer, has been such a positive account in the face of what must have been a terribly harrowing experience for the entire family so I couldn't have been happier when Jennifer posted that Jasmine had made a full recovery. This interview is written by Jennifer so without further ado, I will hand it over to her:


1) Tell us a little bit about yourself and your skin journey.

Jasmine 5 months into TSW.

Jasmine was about 5 years old when she started her TSW journey, she's now going to be 8. She had just received her pre-k shots and we got a baby kitten when I began to notice really dry patches on her skin. I tried every type of cream and lotion you can think of. Then someone suggested I use the Cortizone 10, we used it once and away went the dry skin, but it came back worse. This is the part I regret the most ... instead of me looking into what the underlying reason was I took her to the doctors and without asking many questions, her pediatrician prescribed Hydrocortisone then began the repeated cycle of good skin with the steroids, bad skin without. Unfortunately it took us almost 2 years for us to notice this cycle.

2) How did you find out about TSW?
I will forever be grateful to ITSAN.org. Without them we would still be stuck in that awful cycle.

3) Did you find that anything aided your healing?
Our naturopath was a godsend, she also had never heard of TSW but was willing to go on this journey with us. We put her on a specific diet, no sugars, specific supplements based off of certain testing we did, lots of water & coconut juice. As far as her skin she couldn't tolerate anything on it or even touch so we had to do moisturizer withdrawal. Now we use coconut lotion from topical traditions but only after a bath. I am happy to say her skin now stays pretty hydrated. It took her about 7 months into TSW to barely tolerate a bath - we did Apple cider vinegar and dead sea salt. It would burn her at first but after a few minutes it would soothe the itching. Also taking pictures to help see the progress.The most helpful part for us was lots, I mean lots, of praying and having faith that she would overcome this incomprehensible journey.

4) Sum up TSW in five words.
Not linear or fast healing.

5) What positives, if any, have you found from going through TSW?
Lots of positives now, we have grown closer as a family, learned that things are not always in our control and sometimes you have to let go and have faith. We are more cautious about our health and what we put into our bodies and now know to ask questions! We are our own advocates.

Jasmine NOW!

For me five words for this journey would be, True test of patience and faith. This journey not only hurt Jasmine but my husband, my son and I. Emotionally it tore us apart to see her in excruciating pain not laughing or playing full of life. Her brother and dad would have to leave the house during the times I would have to clean her up because they could not bear hearing her scream in agonizing pain. Physically all of us had no sleep, all of our health and wellbeing was put aside. Mentally my husband and I were at numerous breaking points, Jasmine would curse God for not giving her a break, we would question our faith and journey. Financially, we would call off work constantly and our bills were pilling up due to the numerous hospital visits, doctors appointments, traveling far to different doctors and not to mention her Naturopath visits and supplements were pretty pricey and not covered by her insurance. Now we are rebuilding all of this, the scar is definitely there for all of us. Knowing that this could've been preventable kills me still...

To follow Jasmine's inspirational Instagram account, click here.

Thank you to the amazing Jennifer for sharing Jasmine's story with me <3

Links to my previous 5 QUESTIONS WITH:
Henni @rawsomesoul (here)
Alice @healthy_healer (here)
Maleeha @TSWHealed (here)
Nina Sloan (here)
Nick @Eczemacism (here)
Stephanie & Isaiah Quinn (here)
Stephanie @TheItchyConundrum (here)
Josh @Redskinrecoverydiary (here)
Briana @PREVENTABLE (here)
Melanie Lynch (here)
Stephanie Miller (here)
Holly Dillon @GetYourSkinOut (here)
Me (here)
Keisha Gregson (here)
Douglas Maddy & Charlie (here)
Gillian Breslin (here)

Love & hugs,
Cara x