My allergies and his career

Did you know that ... I am allergic to perfume? Actually, I am allergic to something called Balsum of Peru which is in all perfumes. I was just thinking about this because I was thinking about doing the laundry. Well, actually, I already did the laundry (and now I am thinking about the fact that I just did the laundry.) Hey, stay with me here! Focus everyone.

Anyways, I really like the smell of dryer sheets. Every time I walk into our laundry room downstairs, I smell all the dryer sheets, and I find myself wishing that my laundry could smell that way again.

Unfortunately, my allergy prevents me from using dryer sheets. It prevents me using any detergent except the Tide variety that is free of dyes and perfumes. I can only use perfume-free soap. I can only use perfume-free lotions. When I have a really bad flare up, I even have to watch out for my shampoo and conditioner and use the only variety without perfume that we have been able to find -- Head and Shoulders. Yuck! My Florida hairdresser, who still cuts my hair every time I return to Florida for a visit, was appalled when I told her that. Sorry Debbie!

To make matters worse, companies don't put "Balsum of Peru" on the limited list of ingredients on their bottle. They list derivatives or you have to call them to get a full list of ingredients. Poor JB has spent many an hour on the phone (don't forget my phone phobia, people!) trying to figure out if I can use a certain product. For instance, Cetaphil soap works great for me. However, we couldn't figure out why I was still having flare-ups until JB went looking deeper at Cetaphil lotion. The stupid stuff has Balsum of Peru in it! Ugh!

I was just married when we discovered this allergy. We believe that it was kept "at bay" while living in a hot and humid climate like south Florida and only appeared to a limited degree prior to my move to Kentucky in 1995. However, once we moved north and I started taking two showers a day as a basketball player in a cold climate, I ended up (and Kristi can attest to this) with an itchy, bleeding skin rash that covered nearly my entire body. It was horrible and especially bad on my feet, hands, and arms. Yuck. This is really stupid, but I actually got mildly depressed from this rash. I felt so ugly and uncomfortable in my own skin and did not want anyone to see me.

However, keep reading folks. This allergy story has a happy ending.

We went from dermatologist to dermatologist trying to find the source for my rash. I was taking cortisone shots to help stop the itching. This would help for about three days. One doctor told me my skin was too dry. Another too moist. Finally one of the dermatologists turned to us and said, "Darling, you are going to have to learn to live with this!"

Of course at the sound of these words I started sobbing. John was also stunned, and we left the office completely shell-shocked. I had to wear turtlenecks in the summer to cover up the scabs. And I was just supposed to live like that? Forever?

So, completely frustrated, John went home and got on the Internet himself. He researched and researched and decided I needed a patch test. A week later, the patch test revealed the Balsum of Peru allergy. It also revealed that some people are actually allergic to the food-version of Balsum of Peru which is in -- GULP -- chocolate. Thank goodness that wasn't the case for me. Can you imagine the horror of a future with no chocolate?!

JB also started treating me with aloe vera (straight from the plant) every night. We eliminated every single thing from use that could bother my skin and started using the aloe. What I was supposed to live with was soon nearly gone.

Okay, so that's part of the happy story. But there's more. Think bigger picture.

It was however, this event that triggered JB's mind into thinking about becoming a doctor. He had always thought doctors came from rich families and were some sort of ethereal being out of his reach. In fact, that is partially true. A lot of his classmates come from families of doctors and money. However, seeing how a little time and brain-power solved my "life-long" rash, made him realize that doctors were just human beings, and you didn't have to come from a long line of them to be one. So he signed up for a class or two at Western Kentucky and within a year, was hooked. He was going to be a doctor.

It is hard to believe that seven years later, he is just one year away from graduating with his MD. I am so proud of how hard he has worked. He put himself through WKU without loans and working full-time on his graphic design business. In addition, he helped around the house and ran errands while I worked a 70 hour work week for four years. He would work through the night to finish jobs on time and still managed to graduate with a 4.0. (He'll be embarrassed I put that on the blog, but it's true.) He also coached the JV and Varsity girls soccer teams at my high school, taught Sunday School, and made it to a ton of my basketball and volleyball games.

Okay, enough bragging on JB. But I am proud even though I still can't use dryer sheets.

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Oh and for those of you who like the trivia, here's another:

Of all the sports you can watch, which is the fastest growing in America?