Freddy's story
Freddy has suffered from eczema since he was about four weeks old. His mum Vicki talks about the difficulty he faced until their GP recommended a trial at Sheffield Children's Hospital.
Being a single parent 99% of the time, it was down to me to fight to get Freddy the help he needed.
To start with he was prescribed the usual steroid creams and emollients which his skin never really appreciated.
Freddy's grandpa is a farmer and he suggested trying udder cream – what they use on the cows. This gave a short/brief bit of relief for Freddy but didn't last for long. I tried everything I could think of, but I kept hitting a brick wall.
His doctor first referred him to the local hospital. They suggested putting him on an immunosuppressant drug. He was only five at the time, I didn't know what the side effects would be and I didn't feel comfortable doing this to my baby boy. So I decided to change GP surgeries.
Freddy's new doctor suffered from a similar skin condition, he knew just how much Freddy was suffering. He and the nurse practitioner suggested getting Freddy on the Dupilumab trial at Sheffield Children’s Hospital. They spoke highly of the hospital, which put my mind at ease.
When Freddy's skin was at its worst, we had to change his bedding every day, due to the amount of blood on them, from him scratching. I often used to cry, thinking I was failing my son, because of the pain he was in, yet there was nothing I could do. Yet Freddy always wore a smile, giving me the strength to keep fighting.
He started the blind trial for Dupilumab in 2018 and started on the actual drug in 2019. His skin improved so much that if you saw him today you wouldn't believe he had anything wrong with him.
Freddy and I are eternally grateful to Professor Cork and the entire Sheffield Children’s Hospital team.
My son is now 12 and he's now able to live his life.