Our Holiday Was Cut Short Because of Eczema

IT’S HOLIDAY TIME!!!! Time to rest. Time to refresh. Time to spend quality time together as a family. Time to have fun.

Why did we go on vacation?

We had a holiday last month that was really needed by my family. We have had a big year and needed time away to relax and spend quality time together. We rented a cabin at a caravan park, and it was lovely. It was by the river, we had a view of a magnificent rock cliff on the other side of the water, and we were away from everything – we didn’t even have phone reception.

But… We quickly learned that a flood had gone through the whole caravan park about 6 months ago. You could see the flood damage in some places and you could even feel the mold in the air. Don’t get me wrong, they did a great job repairing the place, but it wasn’t to Harry’s skin standards. He was already starting to flare up and it was only day 1.

Should we leave early?

We had to make a decision. Do we go home now, so he doesn’t get worse? His skin takes a long time to calm down after flaring. But our family needs this holiday to spend quality time together, have fun, and, most importantly – have a break.

Do we stay and just be cautious?

We could make sure he doesn’t touch some things. Not let him go in certain areas where it’s worse, such as the putt-putt golf course. But we’re surrounded by mold everywhere (inside the cabin, the playground, the dirt in the ground – everywhere/everything).

Or, do we ignore it? If we do this, we could just enjoy the moment and have fun.

What did we decide?

We decided to stay and have fun. We let him play on the playground, go to putt-putt golf, we played tennis and soccer on the tennis court, we went on walks, etc. It was great seeing him have fun with his siblings.

But then it got worse. Harry’s rashes were spreading, and he started getting frustrated. So by day 3, we decided we should go home. It’s not fair on poor little Harry to have to deal with the suffering both during the flare-up and the treatment process when we get home. So, we packed everything up to go home.

Did we make it the whole trip?

It was very deflating we had to come home earlier. We were all so excited to have a holiday. Not only that, but it also sucked that we couldn’t do everything we wanted to do on the holiday. We couldn’t use some of the equipment as it was still damaged, or go in the entertainment rooms because it was still closed down.

Why aren't we telling Harry?

Harry is only a 3-year-old. So he doesn’t need to know we left our holiday because of his skin. We also didn’t tell the other kids, so they don’t hate on him. He doesn’t need that guilt. I also didn’t tell Harry we canceled our holiday earlier because I didn’t want him to get even angrier about his skin or get upset he can’t even have a ‘proper’ holiday.