Julia Miller looked at Sydney. She was getting so big. Not big enough to grow out of eczema. Sigh.  But Dr. Bates nurse told her they just might have the answer for Sydney. Safe, effective, easy peasy.  It seemed too good to be true.

Denise Abbott wanted to drive herself to her appointment. “I understand what’s going on!” she exclaimed to her mother.  “The only difference is Dr. Bates is going to give me something to use at home.”  Mrs. Abbott smiled and said “Unless you’re paying for it you’ll need me to figure out the insurance.”  Denise frowned and then “It better work as good as the office visit does! People have finally stopped staring.”

Rod Hughes’ psoriasis was under control using a biologic treatment. But his wife Cathy had become increasingly concerned about the potential side effects.  He didn’t care. That stuff never happened in his opinion. It was just something the FDA made them put on the literature. How could something that looked like a glorified tanning booth keep his skin as clear as the injections did?

Brian Johnson had started to panic. The term scleroderma was slowly working its way through his consciousness.  He veered between denial and anger.  All he could envision was a slow painful future in which he became less Brian and more “sufferer”.  Dr. Bates thought he had a plan to change that up a little bit.  Brian hoped so.