10-year-old Lily, from Kidderminster, is sharing her experience of living with severe eczema on national radio this week.
It’s not every day that you get to walk into a national radio studio and chat to a famous radio presenter about your life.
But that’s exactly what happened to 10-year-old Lily, one of the young people supported by EOS, when she visited the Heart studios to share her experience of living with severe eczema.
Lily will appear on Heart this Friday 9 October at 9.10am, where she was interviewed by Jamie Theakston about what it’s really like to live with eczema.
Lily has experienced just how difficult severe eczema can be. When her condition was at its worst, she spent a month in hospital.
Now, Lily is passionate about helping other children living with eczema feel less alone.
“It’s important to me to talk about eczema so that people know what it’s like to have eczema. Not everyone understands how it feels. I used to feel like I was the only one.”
And her message to other children who might feel embarrassed or different because of their eczema is simple:
“It’s ok to have eczema, you don’t have to feel embarrassed. Don’t let it stop you doing the things you like to do!”
A very special day at Heart
Lily was “really happy and so excited” when she found out she would be going to Heart.
During her visit, she met Jamie Theakston and the Heart team, who Lily says were “really fun”. Jamie asked her about her eczema and what it is like to live with the condition, as well as the music she likes.
The team even played Lily’s favourite song from the musical Six for her in the studio.
Lily’s mum, Rachel, was there to watch her daughter being interviewed.
“Watching Lily be interviewed by Jamie Theakston was amazing, I couldn’t have been prouder. Despite the fact that Lily was talking about the hardest times in her life, she wasn’t daunted by it and really took the experience in her stride.”
Rachel said the Heart team helped Lily feel comfortable straight away.
“The whole team at Heart FM were fantastic, putting Lily at ease straight away, playing her favourite music. I couldn’t believe how comfortable she was with her headphones on and chatting away. She would have stayed all day given the chance!”
Finding confidence through connection
Lily’s confidence in talking about eczema has grown through her involvement with EOS.
Our monthly High 5 sessions give children and young people living with eczema the chance to meet others who understand what it’s like to live with the condition. For Lily, having that safe space to talk, make friends and share experiences has helped her realise that she isn’t alone.
Rachel says:
“Having the monthly High 5 clubs has meant that Lily has got used to regularly talking about her condition with others who understand without being the odd-one-out. This has really helped to build her confidence in being able to vocalise what it means to struggle with severe eczema.”
For Rachel, seeing Lily wearing her EOS T-shirt during her Heart interview was a particularly special moment.
“The charity were there for us in the darkest and toughest days, and today Lily is doing so much better and was proud to be asked by the charity to represent them and talk about what they do.”
Awareness and hope
EOS CEO Suzi Holland said:
“Lily has shown such courage and confidence in sharing her experience of living with eczema. To see her representing children and young people on a national platform such as Heart Radio was a proud moment for everyone at Eczema Outreach Support.
“Her story will resonate with so many families affected by the condition and demonstrates the power of lived experience to raise awareness and give others hope.
“We are incredibly grateful to Global’s Make Some Noise for making opportunities like this possible, empowering young people like Lily to raise awareness of a condition that is too often misunderstood and underestimated.”
“I hope that it will help other children with eczema”
For Lily, the most important part of the experience is knowing that other children might hear her story and realise they aren’t alone.
When asked what she was most proud of, Lily said:
“I’m proud that people will hear me talking about Eczema Outreach Support on the radio and I hope that it will help other children with eczema.”
And that is exactly why we are so proud of her.
Tune in to Heart this Friday at 9.10am to hear Lily share her story. 💛
