An inspirational healing journey
by Sarah Govind
When Rebecca Bonneteau first started working with Emilia Michalska's daughter Zoe back in 2019, her eczema was the worst case she had come across in her time as a naturopath. Her whole body was covered from head to toe in patches which in places resembled severe burns. It was hard to stop her from scratching herself raw and Emilia could not leave the room for fear of returning to find her covered in blood.
Emilia’s struggles were not confined to one child - her older daughter Kate also had eczema. As it was not so severe, she was able to get it under control using remedies recommended by a homeopath. She had seen further shifts after cutting out dairy and limiting the amount of meat that they were consuming.
But Zoe’s eczema was on a whole different level. None of the remedies she had tried were giving her the desired effect and the situation soon became uncontrollable. Emilia was at her wits end. She was exhausted from coping with the seemingly never ending nights of scratching and screaming.
“Zoe slept like two hours every night and it was literally when we held her and I had to take turns with my husband. She slept for 15 minutes and then she’d wake up crying and scratching.”
Zoe at this point was five months old. Emilia went from doctor to doctor, knocking on every single door searching for a way out of her situation. After visiting what seemed like about twenty different doctors, she was still at square one. She had not come away with any advice other than to use steroids, which she had already tried in good faith but with zero results.
“All I could hear is, ‘Oh my god your child is suffering so much, just give them the steroids. Don’t be scared’ but with Zoe’s eczema, I’d have to literally bathe her in steroids. She would have to be covered head to toe and that wasn’t the way I wanted to, you know.”
Nothing was getting any better. Zoe continued to toss, scratch, itch and scream for hours every night. Emilia was heartbroken watching her suffer and it was unbearable not being able to take away the pain. The turning point came when she was advised by a dermatologist that the best course of action would be to hospitalise her daughter and for a period of a week put her on antibiotics and a steroid drip. Of course this came with no guarantee that it would eliminate her eczema forever. This was definitely something that Emilia could not allow to happen. She had to find a better and more natural way. Really, what she was looking for was someone who could work miracles!
”I thought there must be something else, there must be someone, there must be somewhere that I can find the support without getting all those toxins in her body and shattering all her organs.”
She started to research natural ways of healing online and it wasn’t long before she came across Rebecca’s Eczema Expert Facebook page. At this point in time, Rebecca was offering one to one calls to potential clients so that they could tell their stories and get an idea of whether working with her was a good fit for them. Within a week of discovering her, Emilia booked a call and after their chat, was left with the feeling that this was meant to be. Rebecca had such an extensive knowledge of the human body and eczema itself. It was exactly what she needed and had been looking for. There was nothing that would stop her now from signing up to work through the membership programme!
Emilia came into the programme lacking the moral support and understanding that she needed to progress on her journey. Some of her family members did not understand her decision to take the natural route and could not see beyond the use of steroids for treating eczema. All of this was having a knock on effect on the speed of Zoe’s healing. Sleep deprived and with emotion welling up inside her, all Emilia wanted to do was sit down and cry.
However, on the Eczema Expert membership programme she found the support that she was lacking. On Group Support Calls and within the community she could talk to other parents going through the same ups and downs. Finally she had the understanding she needed.
“We’ve got the support, we’ve got people we can always talk to. It’s like family. You know people on the street or close family members, they won’t understand it until they’ve gone through the same thing. It’s so hard for someone who’s never been through having a child with eczema to understand what it’s like.”
In addition to the sense of community, she appreciated the guidance and understanding that Rebecca provided. There was a sense that Rebecca knew inside out how she was feeling and
what she was going through. The calls that she has with her were therapeutic, a safe space where she could talk about her fears and struggles and feel supported on her journey.
She worked through Rebecca’s online course material and began to educate herself step by step on how to take control of eczema naturally, feeling supported to use her own judgement as to what she should apply to her situation. It wasn’t always easy to absorb all of the information in her sleep deprived state. However, she turned this into a positive.
“I had uninterrupted time when I could study. My little one was sleeping my arms and I was learning. I was opening myself up to a wealth of knowledge.”
Emilia was determined to help her little girl who was so reliant on her. She ploughed ahead, applying what she was leaning from Rebecca to herself and Zoe, following her dietary advice and taking herbs to strengthen their bodies and all the systems within.
Despite the speed at which she was learning, Emilia didn’t find working through the membership programme to be a quick fix that provided instant results. Her healing journey came with many ups and downs. She had known from the start that it wouldn’t be easy, but she had no idea of how hard it was actually going to be. There were many tough weeks when the healing crises hit hard. There were severe allergic reactions to deal with and all of the fears and emotions that came up alongside of all of this. The road was certainly bumpy. But despite her struggles, she gained strength and motivation from working alongside the other parents on the programme. It was
wonderful to see their progress as it happened and to share in it!
”You’ve got a group of people, they’re going through the same thing. You share your strength and you push a little bit forward and you’re seeing other people’s gains and the improvements in their children and how everything was just coming along. The healing, it was amazing and it was motivating!”
Healing did not come instantly for Emilia and Zoe and Rebecca’s approach was pretty
tough. Slowly but surely, however, they began to make progress of their own. Despite the severity of Zoe’s eczema and the hurdles that she had faced along the way, Emilia began to see improvements within six months.
She continued with the membership, making further shifts and within a year, Zoe’s skin was clear. Not a single patch on her body was to be seen. And it was not just the skin; Zoe had blossomed into a healthy and happy child. To her delight, Emilia discovered that she had changed as well.
“It was a horrific experience and now she’s happy, healthy, she’s calm and she’s matured so much and we’ve go such a strong bond and if it wasn’t for eczema, we wouldn’t have that strong bond. With both of my girls, it’s not just Zoe, I had to spend so much more time with them, and gave me strength as well, this journey gave me strength that I never expected that I’ve got in me. I’ve learnt so much about my self, I’m definitely calmer, I’ve got more patience for my children, I’ve now got the strength and patience to approach certain things differently.“
The transformation could be seen in many different ways, including a shift in diet. Emilia and her family went from initially eating meat on a regular basis to the majority of their food being raw fruit and vegetables. It’s no longer about skin, it’s no longer about eczema, it’s about general health and just being healthy and making sure they’ve got a good start for the future. Rebecca changed everything from the way we eat, from the way we cook food,what we wear and how we think. She changed our lives completely!
Now that Emilia works as part of Rebecca’s team, helping to make a difference in other people’s lives and sharing with them what she has learnt about taking control of eczema naturally. It had also been a continuation of her journey towards improving her family’s health. She has learnt so much more about natural healing.
Looking back to the starting point of her journey, to a time when she was exhausted, sleep
deprived and lacking in support, Emilia can really appreciate what a huge transformation working
with Rebecca has been. She really did prove to be that light in the darkness.
”“You want to help your child, you want the best for your child, you’re choosing everything against the mainstream and everyone makes you feel so little and stupid and everyone is undermining your decisions. But now I feel really strong. I’ve got the knowledge to back up my decision, I’ve got an understanding behind it. I cannot be phased by anything. At the moment all I feel is calm and peaceful. The transformation is massive!”
Emilia’s advice
For those of you considering joining supported membership, Emilia has the following piece of advice:
””Just jump in! It’s going to be a bumpy ride. No one is promising that it’s a quick fix and that you’re going to get results instantly but the transformation in the health of my family, my child and the way we look at people and the world, it’s just amazing. It just transformed everything in my family and my life.
For those of you who are already on a journey towards natural healing, she has these words of support:
“I know that there are times when you want to give up, when you want to throw in the towel and say I’m not doing it any more, it doesn’t work. Start thinking about your mind and the way it works. You have to start with shifting the way you think about it before you see the improvement in the body. If you heal the mind, you’ll heal the body; they are so connected with each other. Never give up on a hard day, just power through and reach out to other people when you feel like you can’t cope any more. We’re here for you! “
If you are inspired by this story and would like to become a member of the Eczema Expert community, take a look at the links below:
Check out our free membership here: https://p.bttr.to/3mMhPDY
Follow in Emilia's footsteps and sign up for supported membership: https://p.bttr.to/32xEJbt
For further details of the membership benefits available, take a look at our website: www.eczemaexpert.co.uk