Practitioner Call to Action: Please Help This Mother of Four and Others Who Are Suffering

Dear practitioners, providers and global healers,

I formed KnoWEwell after a series of family health crises. Blessed with my family's healing, KnoWEwell is my way to pay it back to the thought-leading practitioner organizations and knowledgeable practitioners like you who helped my family heal. It also is also my way to pay it forward by making that healing journey for others easier.

KnoWEwell is designed to inspire and enable WELLthier Living and to grow the Regenerative Whole Health movement to transform healthcare. Please join us as we connect the ecosystem by reaching out to your friends and colleagues and sharing KnoWEwell with them.

People are suffering. They are searching for you but can't find you using traditional search engines – that is where KnoWEwell comes in.

I recently received the email below from Kirby, a mother of four, who is frustrated and desperately needs help. The solution requires us to all work together so we can stop her suffering, and the frustration and suffering of so many others.

This mother was blown away by the magnitude of knowledge and resources in our platform and has since joined KnoWEwell to help grow our movement.

If you can help Kirby, please email me directly so we can help her get to the root cause of her chronic condition and restore her quality of life.

Thank you.

With love, gratitude, and blessings,

Kimberly B. Whittle
KnoWEwell Founder & CEO
kwhittle@knowewell.com

From: Kirby
Date: Monday, February 7, 2022 at 3:28 PM
To: Kimberly Whittle <kwhittle@knowewell.com>
Subject: help with a chronic issue

 Dear Kimberly,

 Could you please help me? I have been dealing with a chronic skin issue for three years now that is affecting my daily functioning and quality of life.

 I contracted a patch of poison ivy on my hand while hiking with my kids three years ago but didn't realize it was poison ivy until about a month into the infection, at which point the infection became severe and my primary care MD thought it was MRSA. I was treated with a topical antibiotic and steroid and sent to a dermatologist, who put me on a stronger topical steroid (Halobetasol) which, within a day of beginning it, began to make me itch. After leaving multiple messages with the dermatologist and not hearing back, my ears and lips began to swell and I ended up in the ER, where I was put on Prednisone and referred to an allergist and another dermatologist. 

 The allergist (who is world-renowned) recommended taking Allegra for the rest of my life and keeping Aquaphor or Vaseline on my hand at all times. The second dermatologist wasn't able to initially diagnose my hand, so she pulled in another dermatolgst and they took a biopsy and confirmed I had developed eczema in the area where the poison ivy had been. I have never had any eczema prior to this. She prescribed yet another steroid and antibiotic cream, neither of which yielded any results.

 I tried this course of action for about two years, with no results. I then went to another dermatologist, who is well renowned/published, who prescribed the same course of action: steroid/antibiotic/hand cream. I also went to a naturopath who put me on evening primrose oil, which I took for months with no results. I have also been on every type of topical hand cream, both traditional (Cutemol, Aquaphor, etc) as well as natural (manuka honey, fulvic and humic acid, coconut oil). My skin can no longer tolerate even the mildest lotion, so I try to keep it dry, but then it cracks and is scaly. 

 Not only have I not seen any improvement, but the patch on my hand is now spreading and takes up almost my entire right palm, which is my dominant hand. As a mother of four young children, much of my daily life-changing diapers, washing dishes--is extremely difficult and painful. Having gone through this for three years has been one of the most frustrating experiences of my life. No one seems to have answers for me.

 Four weeks ago I decided to begin taking matters into my own hands, and after some research on the gut-skin connection, I removed gluten from my diet. Within 24 hours, the itching stopped almost completely. Four weeks in, the redness is also subsiding.

 Unfortunately, my skin quality is still extremely poor, and my skin barrier is compromised after being infected for three years now. My concerns are that after my immune system has been fighting this area for so long, 1) my skin barrier cannot be repaired and 2) I could be at risk for developing an autoimmune disease. I cannot afford to become unhealthy. My family needs me, and I need my quality of life back. 

 I have spent hours researching what type of doctor/provider would be able to help me--dermatologist/allergist/functional MD/naturopath--and it is such an overwhelming and time-consuming process. The one provider who seemed like would be qualified to help me is across the country in CA, and even if I were to fly out for an appointment, she wouldn't be able to treat me, as she is only licensed to treat CA residents.

 Any help you could provide on the next steps so I can finally heal would be so appreciated.

 Thank you so much for your time and all you do!

 Blessings,

Kirby