The three year wait

I have waited THREE YEARS for today.  I couldn't imagine life like this and both my husband and I got teary eyed acknowledging that we are getting there....We've seen hints of it, little glimmers that it was possible, but nothing ever like this.

The three year wait....for what?  I'm not talking about a doctor waiting list or an opening in a highly respected school, I am not even talking about finally having a nice night out alone with my husband (Lord knows we need that!).  What is different about today is that Grayson just went through a round of chelation (low, frequent oral dose) without a single regression!!  His belly remained flat, he slept well and didn't have any bed wetting incidents, he woke happy and stayed happy through the entire round, no irritation, he's been patient, cooperative, helpful, independent, flexible, very affectionate to us AND to Gavin....I am completely and utterly amazed!  For those who know what I am talking about, seeing a round with no regression is nothing short of a miracle.  Our kids have ALWAYS regressed on round, and sometimes pretty significantly.  They always came out of it a few days later and often with gains they didn't have before, but the round itself was like a living hell.  That is why we can only handle one round every two weeks.  We are now post round by one day and STILL nothing negative!!  Everyone went to sleep well without melatonin.  We even increased his ALA recently!  He reacted SO severely to our original addition of ALA and then again with any subsequent increases, we even had to reduce our increases numerous times because he wasn't handling it well.

We just finished round 63 and I had heard that when you get past round 60, things start changing for the better.  When we reached round 60, things were actually getting worse!!  So this comes as a huge surprise that we would see a round this good so soon after those traumatizing days. He's been doing really well lately, but this just tops the cake!

I don't know, if all rounds will be such a breeze, and frankly I don't care.  If we only have one of these rounds every now and then, it has shown me what is possible.  I am grateful for the reminder of what we are working so hard to recover.  When I look back to where we started, how incredibly difficult life was every single day, I want to cry tears of joy for the progress we have made, and believe me, I do.  I have never been more grateful for anything in my entire life, it gives me goosebumps.

We've had parent teacher conferences with both boys' schools in the past week and our children are not just doing well, they are excelling and flourishing.  They are respectful, well rounded children and I am proud to know that they will be astounding members of our community some day, because of this intense labor of love.

In honor of all of the recovering children out there, if you are a biomed mom, please raise your right hand....higher, higher.....now bend it and pat yourself on the back!  You deserve it.  This is no easy road, in fact, it is downright grueling at times.  Life changes and we accept it and challenge it, we take the bull by the horns and we dominate this illness like warriors!!  And thanks to all those who paved the path before me, my children are living proof that this IS reversible, healing the immune system IS possible!

I am a firm believer in living one day at a time, and this is one heck of a day...