*This is part three of Julie’s story. The rest of her story can be found here: part one, part two
Julie’s story starts with understanding a hereditary skin condition she knew very little about when she married into the family. But one she’s been dealing with since the birth of her son, who also has it.
At this point, she still has no idea what it is; not many doctors know either. That was pretty frustrating. But on the positive side, their advice was a great help. Between their suggestions and her own intuitiveness, Julie figured out an effective treatment plan for her son. All the while still trying to decipher what the condition was in the first place. Though, she had to put the search on hold for a bit while she gave birth to her second child.
The birth of their daughter
It was a little girl! And Julie and her husband were thrilled to welcome their daughter to the world. But their joy was coupled with surprise when they realized she also had the skin condition. Up until this point, none of the girls in the family ever had it. Naturally, everyone assumed it only affected males. So it was a shock when their daughter had it. And Julie had to work through those feelings. But it showed the necessity of getting an accurate diagnosis. Without it, speculation and false assumptions can lead to unnecessary pain.
Even though Julie had to come to terms with the fact her daughter had the skin condition, she never doubted God. She had already prayed about the pregnancy and placed the future of the baby in God’s hands. So no matter what happened, she knew He would give her the strength and wisdom to accomplish whatever task He placed on her plate. That’s why her faith never wavered, although her hands were pretty full.
Taking care of two kids with a skin condition
Taking care of two little ones with an unknown skin condition had its challenges. Julie learned right away any amount of friction would cause blisters. So she had to make sure things like diapers and clothing didn’t fit too snugly. Everything needed to be one size bigger, to allow the baby to move freely. For example, footed sleepers. They needed to be big enough so that when the baby stretched, their feet wouldn’t rub against the bottom of the sleeper and cause blisters.
Julie also learned some materials bothered their skin more than others. So through trial and error, she figured out the best types of clothing and shoes to buy that didn’t aggravate their skin condition. But they were babies, and exploring their world was what they do. So it was inevitable to avoid any type of friction on the skin. Blisters happened and when it did she had to pop them. Otherwise, they would get infected. Julie says it was one of the hardest jobs she’s ever done. It tore her up each time because she knew it hurt them, it was hard hearing them cry. And regardless of how often she did it, it never got any easier.
Getting pregnant for the third time
Needless to say, Julie was pretty busy taking care of her two little ones, one was turning 4 and the other 2. So the last thing on her mind was having another baby. But the Bible says in Proverbs 16:9 “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” And another child was on God’s agenda.
Of course, there was the very real chance this baby would also have the same skin condition as his siblings. But Julie wasn’t stressed out about it because she’d already seen God work in her life. She’d seen how He gave her the strength to take care of her kids. How He’d given her the wisdom to know what kinds of treatments to try. To such an extent the doctors were always surprised when she shared her treatment plans. Her solutions were always medically sound even though she didn’t have a medical degree.
Beyond all that, she realized she loved being a mom! She thoroughly enjoyed her kids. Yes, some of the things she had to do were hard. It definitely stretched her. But the love and joy her kids brought into her life outweighed all that. She’s not sure if she would’ve felt this way without Jesus in her life. Without Him, it would’ve been too easy to be totally overwhelmed by her circumstances. But her faith in Jesus gave her hope and allowed her to enjoy her babies. It’s a tremendous gift that she’s very thankful for.