Whose shoes do you walk in?

If you are a bio-mom, you probably get this too, people suggesting that we are extreme and go overboard with our kids.  We are extremists, right?  Wrong.  If you had diabetes and required insulin and dietary changes, you wouldn't take half of your insulin and watch your diet part of the time, would you?  What many people don't realize is that heavy metal toxicity is a real medical condition....you can't remove SOME allergenic foods, and take away a FEW toxins, and give SOME supplements to a child who is in recovery from over-toxicity.  They NEED it all in order to recover completely and in the shortest amount of time possible.  This isn't speculative, it's proven, but I am not here to provide you with all of the science you need to believe me, I am here to take care of my children.  I am a mom, that's me!

Unfortunately, until you are forced to walk in our shoes, you don't know this, nor would you need to.  We don't choose this life, we don't want to force a trillion pills down our children's throats, and spend 3/4 of our time in the kitchen making specialty foods, we don't want to watch our children feel different from their classmates, but we also don't want to watch our children suffer in an inflexible world for the rest of their lives.  Their health conditions cause a slew of symptoms that we consider socially unacceptable, but for this I am grateful, because otherwise, we wouldn't have motivation to get to the bottom of the problem.  If teachers weren't telling us our children are unruly and disturbing others in class or if non-verbal children weren't tainted with the misconception that they are mentally challenged and what about the child who has a very loud and wild tantrum in public beyond the age of two, would we go to the extent that we need to in order to see change?  I think as a society, we are too selfish and proud not to do something about these kids.  It is in our research that we begin to learn that it is more than a tantrum, defiance or hyperactivity, there are MEDICAL reasons why our children are different.  They aren't trying to be difficult, they are in pain, they are confused and they need help! The best news is that this is reversible!  And let me clarify that I am not just talking about autism here, ADHD, allergies, asthma and autoimmune diseases all fall under this umbrella.  And in my most recent reading, I am convinced that cancer is the end result for someone who doesn't recognize and address their issues with toxicity.

Diet plays a HUGE role in all of these disorders.  When we eat processed foods devoid of nutrition we starve our body of the nutrients that help our organs function properly.  If those deficiencies go un-noticed for years, we begin to see the degeneration of our bodies in small signs like changes in our physical appearance, GI dysfunction, more rapid aging, mood changes, memory loss....and we have been brainwashed to think this way of aging is normal.  It's NOT!  Combine our nutritional loss with the bio-accumulation of toxins and you have a recipe for disaster!  The symptoms are compounded and you start to see our body attacking itself in diseases like arthritis and Lupus, you develop something doctors have come to call Chronic Fatigue.  It's a way to say, "I acknowledge that there is a subset of people who have similar symptoms, but we don't know what it is or what to do about it."  Now that they have a label for it, that gives you the warm and fuzzies, right?  But what do you do about healing yourself?  Don't think you are going to find your answers at your mainstream doctor's office.

In children, the symptoms differ and we are just learning what they are.   We once thought that learning disabilities, ADHD, autism and allergies were all genetic.  Sure, there is a genetic link, but that is just the seed, once it's planted into an environment, it's that environment that determines how it grows.  Are they bombarded with heavy metals from parents who have amalgam fillings that release mercury into their bodies every day, are they breathing and bathing in strong chemical cleaner residue, is there a mold in their home or school, sleeping in beds that release antimony, phosphorous and other harmful heavy metals, have their foods been so limited that they are developing sensitivities to them, are they drinking from bottles or using formula containers lined with leaching BPA and phthalates, are they getting proper nutrition for healthy physical and neurological growth, are they ingesting chemicals from pesticides and processed foods, food dyes, refined sugars and genetically modified foods.....I can really go on and on and on.  Some would say that our bodies are designed to handle toxins, which is partly true, but not as much as we are exposed to daily.  We have really bombarded our homes with unhealthy levels of toxins and we don't even realize it, it's become second nature for us to trust that everything we buy is made safely.  Think again!

Why is it that so many of us are tied emotionally to our food selections?  If we know we can begin to heal ourselves with simple changes to our diet, why is it SO hard for many to make those changes?  But if you were told you had to cut off an arm to remove a deadly flesh eating bacteria, you will jump on the table to live, won't you?  Why does the AMOUNT of time we have on this earth put us in panic mode?  What about the quality of your life?  You are still killing yourselves with poor food choices, just at a slower pace.

When we take away as many foods as our children require, and yes they ALL need complete removal for very specific and medical reasons, they require nutrition that they aren't always getting from their acceptable food list, so the supplements are necessary.  Also, children with gut problems have mal-absorption issues causing the need for additional supplements, and higher amounts of them.  When you delve into the holistic approach to caring for a person who is deficient in many ways, you also learn little tips such as splitting the supplementation up into three doses a day, in order to increase absorption, etc.  The list goes on and on.  When you do your homework, you end up where we are.  You will find that what we do with our children doesn't differ very much for any other bio-medical family.  There is a reason for that, it works!

So next time you think about cracking a joke about or to your bio-medical friend/brother/neighbor/co-worker or you think about questioning the extremity of the things they do with their children, think again.  If it were you, how would it make you feel?  And remember, as long as you are still in your child bearing years, it still CAN be you, this effects well over 1 in 90 children now!  Those are just the diagnosed cases!

What next?

We are at this fabulous plateau, certainly not finished with recovery, but at a nice comfy place.  I am ok with our little bouts of regression, oxalate dumping, yeast flares.  They don't last nearly as long as they used to and are no where near as severe.  I see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Sure, we still have a long road ahead of us, but for the first time in almost three years, I finally feel like all of the hard work is paying off!  It is finally our turn to start climbing to the other side of the fence. 

So...what next?  I am so used to having to research some new treatment option, supplements, protocols, scanning forums and now?  I am actually taking a break from all of that and it feels, well, pretty good!Of course, there is no break in the biomedicine, that is a way of life for us, but just enjoying our family with no questions at the tip of our tongues, it's nice.

So...what next?  Christmas, that's what! 

I finally did it!

I made the appointment with my mercury-free dentist, yup that's right, getting these nasty MERCURY fillings removed.  And why is it that we call them silver fillings anyway, because they look silver?  Well people, news flash, they are 50% mercury!!  We all know that mercury is the most dangerous heavy metal on this planet, hey, so why not fill our TEETH with the junk, yeah, that's a great idea!!  I shake my head at doctors and dentists these days, I really do.  How on earth could this make any sense?! 

Luckily there are fabulous mercury-free dentists out there and we happen to have one right in Easton, PA!  I was terrified to repeat the dreaded drilling, by choice no less, and kept putting off my plans to have my 7 fillings (10 surfaces) replaced with a resin filling (BPA-free of course), but I feel the symptoms of the mercury poisoning increasing.  I have always been very healthy, although lately, I seem to catch every illness that crosses my path.  I am definitely fighting the same gut bugs my kids deal with daily, based on the die-off symptoms when I treat myself and I know I have the herpes simplex virus (at minimum) based on the multiple canker sores I experience so before things get out of control, I want to do some damage control and prevent future illnesses like autoimmune diseases and worse, cancer.  Yes, cancer is the result of toxic overload! 

I am putting my fears aside and, in two appointments frighteningly close together, I am having it done!!  I feel surprisingly excited too though.  The idea that I will be on a path to health....some time after I withstand the trenches of chelation, is exhilarating.  If I want my children to live this life, why wouldn't I treat myself in the same manner?  I want to be around, and healthy, for many years to come.  I want to see my children get married and have their own children.  I have plans to be one of those grandmas who can still dance, drive myself around and has style well into my 80s!!  I know, you are wondering how this little procedure is going to have such an impact, aren't you...how can removing the silver lining in my mouth do all that for me?  What about genetics, right?  Let me just share a little piece of information with you.  A wise doctor once said, "Genetics loads the gun, environment pulls the trigger", about autism.  Autism is just a label on children who are experiencing toxic overload before their neurological development has a chance to mature.  In adults, it looks very different, but the mechanics are the same.  Alzheimers and dementia?  Heavy metal overload!  Multiple Sclerosis?  Heavy metal overload!  All these "aging" illnesses are caused by the bioaccumulation of heavy metals that we are encountering daily.  Our government does a good job of allowing more toxins than we are even capable of testing for, so how could we even know how toxic we are?  That's the point, I think!  What they don't know, doesn't hurt them.  I've chosen to take my family's health into my own hands and more people should consider the consequences of their actions. 

Think before you dump your expired prescriptions down the drain to become part of our rainwater, think before you use another disposable diaper that will take 500 years to decompose, think before you spray your yard and veggies with mercury-laden pesticides, think before you have a "silver" filling installed in your grill!  It's time for change....mine is starting with this one (ok two) small procedure.  Then I can add myself to the chelation progress blogging!  YEAY! Ugh...

The calm

Gotta love the calm before the storm!  I have all of my Christmas shopping done (not wrapped, that would be TOO good), the tree is up and is beautiful as ever and a lot of organizing around the house has me feeling more content in general.  I am an organizing freak and having two boys who un-organize everything I organize has me whirling in a tizzy most days, lol.  I feel so accomplished when I pull a closet apart and put it back together all nice and tidy....OCD?  Just a touch!

We just finished up rounds 43 and 18 with the boys' oral chelation.  They had an absolutely wonderful weekend with the exception of an overtired evening after getting the tree.  They were just behaving like two typical boys who had too much going on for the day.  Since the start of chelation, so much has changed!!  We have even had a few people mention that they can see the progress.  That is like music to my ears.  I know the nuances in my children and I see the changes, but I don't always expect others to see those things too.  The fact that they do is a testament to our hard work.  It's not easy following diets, cooking to order from scratch, reading every label I encounter, sending child-friendly, healthy lunches to school for a 5 year old who just wants to fit in and then, of course, there is chelation!  Last night was one of the hardest nights we've had in a long time.  In addition to dosing them at 10:30pm, 1am, and 5am, our little guy woke between 3:30 and 4:30 with painful teething, darn molars!  Needless to say, I am a zombie today!  He's pretty tired today too, poor guy.  Then coming down off chelation puts extra strain on him.  In fact, speak of the devil, his nap was just cut short, probably the effects of his DMSA wearing off.....he will have a little rough patch before getting back to his baseline some time tomorrow.  Grayson has gone far enough through chelation to not have the post-chelation issues that come with the early rounds.  As we near round 50, I see the yeast becoming easier to control, the SPD is all but gone, all we see most days are normal boy behaviors!

We went to a drum circle at his school and his initial reaction (probably habit now) is to cover his ears with loud sounds. My husband took him into the other room to talk with him briefly, preparing him for the drum circle, and before I knew it, he was sitting next to me drumming along with a smile on his face!  Less than a year ago, he would have kept his ears covered, screaming and crying until we took him out of the environment.  And I am noticing more shyness than he ever had, age-appropriate shyness!  One of his symptoms had been an over-social side, he would talk to ANYONE and usually too much, lol.  Now, I am pleasantly surprised by the bit of a shy side he is demonstrating.  I was really worried, about a year ago, that if I didn't have him right by my side, he would literally leave me to go with anyone who asked him to.  Not something a parent wants to worry about at crowded events, but luckily, back then the mitochondrial dysfunction caused by heavy metals also encouraged him to sit in a stroller or cart rather than walking by himself. 

We have plans to do another hair test some time in February.  There were big changes between hair tests we had done pre-chelation and a year into it.  Now that we are seeing more good days than bad, I am excited to see how things have changed.  With Gavin, I expect to actually see MORE metals since we are so early in the process.  It will tell us a lot about him though and I am anxious to get the big picture. 

I will have to take some time in the near future to jot down the incredible progress we have experienced.  It's nice when you see it all side by side!  That would be a lot easier than reading my blog from front to back!  An idea for a future post...