Mum’s plan to fight the agony of eczema
A GOLD Coast mother is on a mission to get eczema recognised as a serious condition after years watching her twin sons battle the disease.
Mischievous boys Matthew and Harry Funk, 10, suffer from severe eczema and allergies, with something as simple as pet hair or dust causing a major flare-up.
The Hope Island boys first touched hearts across the Gold Coast at just four years of age, when a campaign raised funds to send them to a revolutionary hydrotherapy centre in France.
Almost six years later they are still living largely off hypo-allergenic formula and are homeschooled, after an eight-week trial attending regular school was called off.
But if you ask them, they’re fine the way they are.
“I was in the nurses’ hospital at school most of the time, so I didn’t think we’d end up surviving in school very long,” said Harry.
Not one to let his brother get away with exaggerating, Matthew teased quickly: “He likes to say ‘surviving’.”
Their eczema and allergies are now manageable, a change which has been a “godsend” for the family. Mum Melanie, who founded Eczema Support Australia (ESA), said she does not like to think back on those days.
“(Back then) they were completely covered. They didn’t have hands or feet (uncovered) because they’d rip their skin open at any opportunity,” Ms Funk said.
“I try not to think back on it because it does put you mentally right back there.
“Those first couple of years after we saw improvement, every time there was a slight flare-up my heart rate would go up, my emotions would get the better of me, my stress levels would be through the roof.
“Now I am coping better. We’re doing the best to make sure they don’t go back to that severe situation.
“And there will be times in their lives where it will be out of control, and I just hope there are better treatment options for them at that time.”
It is because of that hope Melanie is launching a campaign through ESA, aiming to have eczema more widely recognised as a severe illness.
The SOS campaign – “Save Our Skin” and “Share Our Stories” – is calling on sufferers to share their story and lobby politicians for better treatments and medications across Australia.
“We need people to understand the agony of severe eczema, how it can completely impact every part of your life,” Ms Funk said.
For more information about the SOS campaign and to help ESA, visit eczemasupport.org.au/sos-campaign