Infection and seeking resolution

Baby Dal was due for his first year immunizations and already had an appointment with his new Pediatrician. He had been covered with eczema for a couple of days that was particularly bad on his legs. It was mostly rough and red, so I had been putting Vaseline (i.e. petroleum jelly) on it.
When I took him in for his immunizations I pointed out the eczema and told the doctor how I was dealing with it. She didn't have any speculations as to what might be causing it and told me to just keep doing what I was doing. Dal got his shots and I left wishing that Dr. K could have told me more than just "Keep doing what you're doing."

The next day, Dal wouldn't walk. He had been toddling around unsteadily for only about two weeks, so I didn't think much about it at first. I figured he was a little cranky and fatigued from the immunizations and just didn't want to put in the effort of walking. A couple of days later he still wouldn't walk much. He would pull up, take a couple of steps and then plop down again. He wasn't fussy and didn't cry. He didn't seem to be having any trouble, just deciding not to walk. Then we went to a backyard party at the home of some friends. Usually Baby Dal was pretty social and would smile sweetly at everyone giving him attention. I fully expected him to perk up and show off his new walking skills when he got among several adults who were eager to fuss over him. While I carried him he was his usual content little self, but when I put him down to walk, he just stood for a few seconds and then plopped down on his bottom. I tried to encourage him to walk to his Dad, but he whined and pulled his legs up when I tried to lift him into a standing position. He seemed a little uncomfortable in some way.

The next morning, I took him in to the Pediatric Clinic and told the receptionist that since his shots a few days earlier he had refused to walk. After a bit of a wait, she got us in to an exam room. A different Pediatrician, Dr. C, walked in. He took one look at Dal's scaly red legs and said, "Well, that's infected."
I felt a slight flush of shame as I looked at his little legs and realized that I hadn't noticed that they were even worse and had gotten infected. He had broken out with the worst case of eczema in his life on his birthday the week before and it hadn't cleared up since.
Then I felt a bit angry that I had been in just a few days before and had been told to just keep doing what I was doing. Anyway, Dr. C prescribed antibiotics and suggested I use Eucerin cream instead of petroleum jelly. I asked if this eczema could be related to food allergies, but he didn't have a really good answer for me. He said possibly, but he would outgrow it most likely.

After getting the prescription filled and buying the cream, I went home and decided to look up an Allergist. I felt that I had to get some better answers and that if the Pediatricians weren't very up on allergies then I needed a specialist. I found several Allergists in the phonebook and called them. I briefly described Dal's food reactions and his severe eczema and asked if he could be tested or something. Each one told me that he was way too young to be tested for allergies and that they didn't usually see children under age five. I was discouraged, but still a bit angry at all the complacence and lack of solutions for a baby who couldn't eat much and had infected legs. I think I also felt an extra bit of outrage because of Dal's obvious bravery. He must have been in pain, as evidenced by his lack of walking, but he wasn't constantly fussing and crying. He was dealing with the pain and discomfort as best he could.

Finally, as I was searching the yellow pages for other possibilities, like some sort of Pediatric specialist, and I spotted a Pediatric Allergist listed in a town about 45 minutes away. I called and explained the situation again. The receptionist listened carefully and asked me to hold a minute. When she came back on the line, she said that Dr. Lee wanted to see Dal. A feeling of relief and gratitude filled my chest as I set the appointment.