Making Waves: How Kade Got His Life Back After Severe Eczema
For 15-year-old Kade, summer means time at the lake, strumming his guitar and hanging out with family. The lake has always been a favorite place for his family, but, as a child, Kade could only watch from the shore. His condition made outdoor play nearly impossible, cutting him off from the summer activities everyone else enjoyed.
“His skin looked like he had been burned,” his mother Lisa said, recalling the early days of his diagnosis. “We were introducing foods, and his body rejected everything that we gave him.”
The culprit behind Kade’s symptoms was eczema, a complex genetic disease that causes itchy skin rashes and systemic reactions that often result in food allergies — a process known as the atopic march.
Kade is our son. He's 15 years old. He's just your typical teenage boy.
Some of my favorite things to do are play guitar, hang out with family, and go to the lake.
We spend our summers in the water. It is very active. But when he was very little, something wasn't right. When we introduced foods, his body rejected everything that we gave him. His skin looked like he had been burned.
It was a constant battle to try to keep him from just tearing his skin to pieces. It broke my heart.
I had taken him to who I thought was the best of the best, and nothing was helping. I remember sitting on the couch and thinking, okay, this is his life.
I personally didn't see any way he was going to be able to go to school.
The chief of medicine at a hospital in Houston was in tears. She said this is the first child that she had not been able to help.
My wife asked her, “What would you do if it was your child?” And she quickly responded, “There is a place in Denver called National Jewish Health.”
We got to National Jewish Health, and it was pretty scary because he was in the worst shape he had ever been.
He was in terrible pain. The misery index was about as high as it could get.
I recall being in the hospital and the nurse saying, “This is the worst case I've ever seen. But we know what to do.”
The basic plan with him was to get him in water right away. Then we used clothing for the wet wrap.
In a few days, he had brand new skin. It looked like a newborn baby. It was so soft and shiny. Dr. Leung was our doctor for the next two weeks, and he was absolutely amazing.
Eczema is a complex genetic disease. When it appears, children get very itchy skin rashes, and they scratch constantly. Food from the outside gets into the body through the skin. Then you develop a systemic allergic reaction, where the entire body reacts to the food, and as a result, they develop food allergies.
The first week at National Jewish Health, they spent healing his skin so they could start testing him for foods. They would take the actual food and give him a tiny piece of it, then build up to a full serving. If he didn't have a reaction, we could start another food. Over the course of the second week, he passed 11 of the 12 foods.
On the first day of kindergarten, I had my phone out the whole day waiting for a call that it didn’t work. But that call never came. He made it through. That day, I thought about National Jewish Health, the hope they gave us, the encouragement, the education. That was an incredible day.
We are now developing techniques to identify atopic dermatitis before it develops in babies. Because atopic dermatitis is the first step of the atopic march, it may also prevent food allergy and asthma.
Kade’s first truck is going to be one that’s been in the family for a long time. It’s old and needs a lot of attention.
Building cars is so complex. There are so many moving parts that have to work in perfect harmony together. I’ve had to put in a lot of work with my allergies, too — always reading the ingredients before I eat something, always double-checking.
He’s been a patient of National Jewish Health for his entire life. They opened up his diet and taught him how to use an EpiPen, how to eat lunch, how to manage his skin himself. As a parent, that gives me confidence.
We’re a family that loves to go to the lake, and we didn’t think Kade was going to get to be a part of that. To see him healed at National Jewish Health with water — the very thing we thought wouldn’t be part of his life — is truly amazing.
This is really exciting. I’d like to thank National Jewish Health for their love and commitment. It has made a huge difference in Kade’s life.
A Constant Battle to Manage Severe Eczema
For young Kade, the discomfort produced by his severe eczema was unbearable. “Your skin’s always itching, and it’s always burning,” Kade said. “I was in bad, bad shape.”
“It was a constant battle to try to keep him from just tearing his skin to pieces,” added Kade’s father Kirby. “It broke my heart.”
The family sought out top specialists, but nothing helped. “I remember sitting on the couch and thinking, ‘Okay, this is his life. He can’t go outside. He can’t just play like a little kid can play,’” Lisa said. She recalls one physician being moved to tears, saying, “This is the first child that I have not been able to help.” When Lisa asked what the doctor would do if it were her own child, the answer came quickly: “There is a place in Denver called National Jewish Health.”
By the time the family arrived at the hospital, Kade’s condition had deteriorated. “It was pretty scary,” Kirby remembered. “The nurse said, ‘This is the worst case I’ve ever seen. But we know what to do.’”
From Severe Eczema to Newborn Skin
The care team, led by pediatric allergist and immunologist Donald Leung, MD, began treatment right away, with the first week focusing on healing Kade’s skin. “For Kade, we used the Soak and Seal method,” said Beth Ann Wagy, RN. This therapy involves the special application of a wet wrap that allows the skin to heal, and it was during this process that Lisa saw the change she had been hoping for.
“He had brand new skin,” she said. “It looked like a newborn baby. It was so soft and shiny.” Now that Kade’s skin was in better condition, Dr. Leung and the National Jewish Health team turned their attention to his food allergies. “They would take the actual food and give him a little tiny piece of it, and they would build up to a full serving. And if he didn’t have a reaction, we got to start another food,” Lisa recalled.
Getting the Right Tools to Manage Severe Eczema
After his initial treatment Kade also was given tools to help him manage his severe eczema on his own. “They opened up his diet and they taught him how to use an EpiPen, how to eat lunch, how to manage his skin himself,” Lisa said. “We’re a family that loves to go to the lake, and we didn’t think Kade was going to get to be a part of that. To see him get cured at National Jewish Health with water — the very thing we thought wasn’t going to be a part of his life — is really exciting.”