Saturday, November 17, 2012

Thinking Problem


I happened to be watching my favorite Nutritionist Julie Matthews on DVD today for the first time.  I have read her book Nourishing Hope which is wonderful because it puts all of the “diets” together and summarizes them beautifully.  Anyway, I had forgotten that a DVD had even come with the book, but my youngest, Ruthie, found it and decided she wanted to see what it was all about.  She was disappointed, but James and I were very interested—especially after I told him that she makes chicken pancakes, too.  :

I was excited because Julie mentioned some things that were not in her book, and reminded me of others that were, which inspired me to tell you a few more things about those opiate-forming proteins, gluten and casein.  First, gluten can be a trigger for a variety of ailments.  In my testimony, I told about gluten affecting my eyes and my daughter, Kaelyn’s eyes.  The proteins form immune complexes and settle in points of weakness in the body.  Some (or all) of the symptoms such as: intestinal aggravation, headaches, joint and back pain, inflammation and swelling, etc. can be seen when exposed to these proteins in individuals who cannot break down and digest them properly. 

There is another tidbit that has been an “Aha!” moment for some whom I have shared. We know that these kids have withdrawal reactions from the removal of gluten and casein proteins from the diet.  Think about this scenario in an adult: there are some people that cannot sleep through the night without that last snack of either wheat or dairy, or maybe both (how about cheese and crackers with a glass of milk?)  I've heard of a few that even have to get up throughout the night.  Though they may not realize it, these folks are most probably “addicted” to their food and have not made the connection with the cravings of their body.

At this point, you may not be able to tell about any food “reactions” if you are getting a daily dose (or several daily doses) of gluten and/or dairy-containing foods.  Some have explained it like this: Your body may have tried to warn you early-on that you were unable to break down these proteins, but when it did no good, it attempted to adapt—kind of like the guy that screams for help when he first falls into the ocean, and then he figures out he’d better hold onto the piece of driftwood and conserve his energy until a chance at rescue was available. 

Another great analogy came from Anat Baniel—read her book, Kids Beyond Limits when you get a chance.  She explains that when you are carrying a heavy load of books, and someone lays a piece of paper on it, you can’t even tell that it’s there.  When the load is lifted; however, and someone hands you a piece of paper to hold there is a noticeable difference.  I have seen this happen several times: brave mamas decide to take away a certain food that seems problematic (craving a food is often a clue) only to find that when they try to add it back into the diet, it causes major belly inflammation and a host of other symptoms.  Several of us in this household have experienced these results. 

For adults: I can’t stress to you enough that these gluten and casein proteins can cause MAJOR thinking and behavioral issues for you if you are sensitive to them.  According to one source that I read, 10% of psychiatrists know that gluten can cause schizophrenia.  The other 90% eat it.  Sorry to you psychiatrists—it’s funny, but more importantly it’s true.  The GAPS Guide written as a supplement to the Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS) book by Natasha Campbell-McBride illustrated a wonderful testimony. The author, Baden Lashkov, tells how she lived her life at home part of the time, and on the street the other.  She had tried to commit suicide and had been in and out of mental institutions when she finally found a doctor that knew that she was having FOOD reactions. 

Anxiety attacks, sudden fear, paranoia, can all be symptoms manifested because of real physiological problems that are brought on by eating certain food.  Soy is another culprit—it affects your thyroid, increases intestinal inflammation, and can be the end of clear and logical thinking for several hours in sensitive individuals. 

PLEASE understand—the food is not the enemy, but it can bring the true problem and its severity to light.  The real issue is the condition of our digestive system and the resulting malfunction of many body systems/pathways.  Healing the gut is the beginning of healing the brain.

 

Monday, October 22, 2012

To Vaccinate or Not To Vaccinate-My Thoughts

It has been a while since I have written, and I apologize to the couple of people that were looking for this post. 

Several months ago I may have told you that you should make that decision yourself (and you should) about what was right for your family, but that my family was not healthy enough to receive shots--that's a fact, no doubt in my mind.  I might have been a little embarassed and maybe even apologetic of the reality that we were unable to participate in "the system."

I'm glad I waited to write!  Now I am settled to say that we should have never ever allowed a shot for any of our children, that they played a big part in the decline of our health, and would advise you to still make your own informed decision: investigate, research, and pray!  This may be a hugely accepted practice, but hugely accepted practices don't always turn out to be as good as their cracked up to be.

(This is a short list...)

I realized not to long ago that I was given an opportunity to LOOK INTO the vaccination debate before our injuries.  Just as the Lord has brought treatment and direction through people who are in my life, or who are just passing through (missionaries, evangelists, etc.) He used several individuals to show me that there was smoke, and if I would have just taken a little time, I would have seen a raging fire. 

I realized it was fear that kept me from looking--I hoped that we'd be "okay"...ignorance is bliss, right?  I know now that if something comes up, especially more than once--if it is in my thoughts and is a burden to my heart, it's a sure sign that I should LOOK and LISTEN! 



I say the ingredients listed in the picture above are dangerous--you say a small amount surely won't hurt.  I say, on this side of vaccine and metal injury, that tiny amounts can make huge differences.  They are synergistic--toxicity value goes sky high on multiple assaults to the immune system.  Immune response depends upon the specific health of the individual, and their ability to detoxify, or "take out the trash"--which is a value that can't be seen.  Is your child's methylation system, their ability to detoxify, in tip-top shape, or is their cup loaded and full: just on the brink of spilling?  All it might take for loss of language, eye contact, mobility, HEALTH, etc. would be one more shot to "boost their immunity" at a well-check up visit.  Have they had a reaction to an immunization before? You are surely asking for trouble by getting another.

Take another look at those ingredients--did you know all of that was in there?  Look at the human diploid cells, proteins from aborted fetal tissue.  Did you understand that they contained it?



Did you know that package inserts for the DTP have warnings of autism (among others) as an "adverse event" of the shot?

There is so much information out there confirming the truth.  Look at autismone.org and ageofautism.com if you need scientific studies to convince you.

More than anything, listen to mothers who have experienced vaccination injury firsthand.  They are all around you.  If you need to speak with any, contact me.  I know several who would set aside their busy schedule of biomedical testing, supplement giving, bath/sauna detoxing, special-diet preparing, healing modality researching, etc, to tell you how their children changed and how their lives turned upside down as a result.

Remember--where there's smoke, there's fire.



Tuesday, July 31, 2012

You May Not Believe It...

"Trust in the Lord and do good, so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed." Psalm 37:3
"...verily thou shalt be fed."  That sounds like a wonderful promise to me; one that I have clung to many days through this time.  There are things that I have learned through this experience, but one that I feel that I have had a crash course in (with many tests!) is diet

What does autism have to do with diet?  Just almost everything.  It plays such a big part in the health of a child that it is regarded as a therapy, and the very first intervention.  Wikipedia defines a therapy as, "the attempted remediation of a health problem; a treatment."  Why would a diet be considered a treatment for the autism spectrum disorders?

I found this excellent explanation at the first place I googled: http://www.glutensolutions.com/autism.htm


"Connection between gluten-free, casein-free diets (gfcf) and autism.

Briefly, gluten is a protein, and so is casein. Gluten is a protein fraction found in all wheat, rye, barley, and most oat products. Casein is a protein fraction found in all dairy products. To most Autistic children, gluten and casein are the equivalent of poison. They leak into the gut, undigested, and attach to the opiate receptors of the autistic's brain. Essentially, many autistic children are "drugged" on wheat and milk products, as if they were on a morphine drip.

Although parents have been reporting a connection between autism and diet for decades, there is now a growing body of research that shows that certain foods seem to be affecting the developing brains of some children and causing autistic behaviors. This is not because of allergies, but because many of these children are unable to properly break down certain proteins.
Researchers in England, Norway, and at the University of Florida had previously found peptides (breakdown products of proteins) with opiate activity in the urine of a high percentage of autistic children. Opiates are drugs, like morphine, which affect brain function. These findings have recently been confirmed by researchers at Johnson & Johnson’s Ortho Clinical Diagnostics. The two main offenders seem to be gluten (the protein in wheat, oats, rye and barley) and casein (milk protein.)"

I'll add one more protein that I learned of from Dr. Devin Houston of Houston Enzymes, and that is a morphine from the heme protein, which is found in red blood cells specifically in red meat. 

As James was growing up, I realized that he was a lot different than my other two children in many ways.  He was beautiful, (still is) and,  although very tempermental at times, he was a very happy little boy.  I overlooked so many things until it was absolutely unavoidable because he seemed so happy.

Would I have ever linked his behavior to food?  Only if  the Lord put the evidence right before my eyes--thank you, Lord!  Looking back now, I can see it clearly.  I especially remember when we would go out to eat at a restaurant.  James would eat a few bites of a very limited selection, then he would get down and stand next to our booth or table for the rest of the meal.  He was wound up like a yo-yo that you had a hard time reeling in--he could not be still.  He had such a charming smile, however, that you had a really hard time stopping his activity. 

Something else James really loved to do before his change of diet was to go to the front of the church at the end of the service and lead some of our girls in several rounds of the hymn, "Halleluia, Thine the Glory," in lots of different voices.  It was hilarious at the time.  Now I look back in disbelief,  realizing that he had such a great time because he was essentially high on drugs instead of being a fun-loving, healthy boy. We called him "fun James," and he had the characteristic actions of someone that was under the influence. He would have a great time...until it was wearing off. Then he would become irrational, angry, and even abusive from the withdrawals. Of course, most people would not recognize the behavior if they were not able to see the whole cycle. Instead, it was viewed as "hyperactivity," and we were viewed as oversensitive.

I will share more of these stories as they come to me, but now I want to give you an assignment: watch for these children!  They can be helped! There are more and more of them everyday, and they don't have to look, or be, an autism spectrum child to react to these proteins.  They can be, "neurotypical," or what we would call normal.  As I said before, I would have never connected food to behavior, but I can recognize a reaction in my children now quickly.   There is a build-up of opiates in these children that affects their actions and attitudes all day every day.  But at every new "dose," there is an increase in aberrant behavior.  Notice bad behaviors; keep a food journal.

Some of the things that the gluten and casein would cause in James:

*reduced eye contact/attention
*slow/slurred speech
*inability to sit still
*toe-walking
*hand spinning/flapping
*sweating (due to food allergies)
*general disobedience-unable to share/self-focused
*falling down often, running into things
*running away from us/away from the house

Not all kids exhibit these same behaviors, and some will have others.  James had some quirks that I remember and have heard of with some other ASD kids, like seeing tigers when he ingested these proteins, and having an over-abundant love of Thomas the Train Engine. 

Keep in mind that adults can react to these proteins, also, and when in this manner it culminates as a mind issue such as schizophrenia, paranoia, or some type of personality disturbance.  It would be disturbing to be on a morphine drip 24/7, wouldn't it? 

Not all kids are helped as much as mine with diet, that is why it is called the autism "puzzle."  There are many pieces to put together and mend.  There are other diets and food reactions that make a huge difference in the behavior and attitude of a child.  I'll talk about one that made a huge difference in my nephew, Will's, life and learning next called the Feingold Diet.

Remember that food is not the problem--just a symptom of things that need to be helped.

Friday, July 20, 2012

Vaccination Infatuation

I wrote this to one of my friends on facebook and decided to share.

Before I was a stay-at-home homeschooling mother, I was a medical technologist/research scientist working in a molecular genetics laboratory at UT Southwestern Medical in Dallas. I love immunology! I love all of the things I’ve learned about these amazing bodies our Lord created. There came a time, though, when that "possible link" referred to between shots and autism became a definite reality in our lives, as well as many others. That's when it hits home: you lose the greater good-herd immunity mindset and focus on the little individual faces and their precious individual lives. When they’re unable to communicate, when they hurt everyday, when your hopes of who they are to become suddenly crumble into a confused mess, you are only concerned for that one. Each child is priceless!

This is to anyone who will read: is it just the vaccinations that cause a regression? No! Any thinking person understands this, thus the debate. If every child that received a vaccination became autistic, there would be no argument, but that’s not the case. However--it does not mean that it does not happen to some, or that it does not cause a break-down in immunity that will cause problems later down the road. So many things come into play—ability to detoxify, metal load, gut health, environmental exposures, etc. There are papers upon papers that teach you why and how this happens, and studies to prove it. There is research by reputable doctors/scientists published—mostly performed because they had the misfortune of losing a loved-one to autism. Scientific theory is a “well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world, based on a body of facts that have been repeatedly confirmed through observation and experiment.” These facts have unfortunately been confirmed over and over through repeat analysis by folks who didn’t even know they were part of the experiment. It’s all there—we just have to listen to the “other side” of the story.

As a researcher who has studied more in the last two years than in all previous years combined, I can say for sure that I don’t know all there is to know, but I can express in-depth myself what is happening to our children’s health to any who would take a minute to listen. What I don’t know, I can tell you where to find it. I believe our family will make a full recovery if God allows- I believe that’s His Will, and am thankful for the journey. I have received quite an education, and have met the most amazing people! They are “important” people who will stop what they are doing halfway across the world from you to receive a phone call or to answer an e-mail. These people love and care for the individual—not just the group.

As a mom, I can confidently say that if there was something potentially hurting one of my children, I would keep that child and all the rest of my children far away from it until I found out more about the source of harm. If my friends left their children with me, I could positively say that this is how they would want me to care for them…take no chances! Why not stop the vaccinations until they are proven safe, instead of continuing to give them until they’re “conclusively” proven dangerous? According to scientific theory there is more than enough evidence of the dangers of vaccinations; most just choose not to see.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

James Update!

Stay tuned, hopefully very soon I am planning to get detailed into food reactions and helpful diets, but for now I must share...

James is doing great! We've known he was improving, but these last weeks have brought to light just how much better he really is, and we thank God for it.

Just a few comparisons--

Around last year at this time, he wouldn't go near the church during our children's Master Club program.  It was too loud and too scary, the public library was, too.

Last week we held our Vacation Bible School at church, and James surprised me by jumping right in and participating.  He went to class, played games, made crafts, ate his "special" snack alongside the other children at snack time, and even wanted to help lead the singing. 

During the summer a year ago, James would not get in the swimming pool.  Around the end of the season he would put his feet in for a little while, but that was it.

A few days ago he was in his Nana's pool with floaties swimming into the deep end.

His speech is wonderful, and his comprehension and expression are growing by leaps and bounds.  I asked him on Sunday, "Were you loud in Sunday School?" He eyed me for a minute, then said, "If I say yes, you can't spank me."  He proclaimed excitedly to the train conductor at the zoo that the man had two teeth, then when the man smiled and said, "Yep," James triumphantly shouted, "Three teeth! Mom, he's got three teeth!"

As I type tonight, James has talked Jim into reading him a book, and he is quietly listening and taking in all that he hears.  How I longed for that a few years ago.  Thank you Lord, for healing and hearing prayers.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

The Whole Story

Our family returned from the Creation Museum in Kentucky not too long ago, and was blessed to see a re-creation of the Garden of Eden. It had a beautiful scene of all of the creatures and plants and trees, and, of course, Adam and Eve (modestly presented), in the very first garden when things were very good.  I so enjoyed being in this part of the museum, to think of how things must have been, and to imagine the perfection of it all. 
We turned the corner, however, and the next room was “corruption”. It had scenes of death and pestilence and horrible things—all brought about by the choice to disobey.  I really just wanted to turn around and go back—to go no further on the tour but stay there with the smiling couple and all of God’s wonder.

That day of the fall, when Adam chose to willfully disobey God, there was a curse placed on the creation.  That was the day we became separated from God by sin. That day was the day we began to die…physically and spiritually.

Hebrews 13:5 “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.” Allow me to praise Him at this time and share with you what my God has done for our family.

About a year and a half ago we discovered that James had a high functioning form of ASD, which is autism spectrum disorder.

Right after the birth of my fourth child, Ruth; after moving; after Christmas and being readmitted to the hospital on Christmas night with a c-section incision infection; we realized something was happening with my then 2-year-old, James.  I was sick, tired, and sore trying to keep up with a new baby and get well myself.  James had stayed with Jim’s mother through the last two weeks, and she made a comment at the time that, honestly, made me angry. She told me that she and her mother, Jim’s Grandmama, had talked about how James was wasting away.  I am now so thankful for the comment.  For all that was happening at that time, I don’t know when I would have noticed on my own.  James had always looked healthy to me, had muscles in his legs and arms, but it wasn’t so anymore.  I remember the day that I changed his clothes and saw how small and bony his legs and arms were, I saw the frail body and the pallor of his skin—it happened so quickly… and I was afraid.

We had been seeing other things in him that were very different.  He, all of a sudden, was very disobedient.  Before, he might not be happy about what I told him to do, but he would mind me.  An example of that was a time that we were at a friend’s home that had a wonderful tree house with a very tall ladder.  James was in the backyard headed for the tree house.  I made him come inside and talked to him; I told him that he could not go outside if he was going to try to get in the tree house, that it was too dangerous by himself.  He cried and was sad for a while, and stayed inside for quite a long time.  Then he straightened up and went outside, and never tried to go to the tree house the rest of that evening.   In his new disobedience, I could tell him to “sit here” and instead he would sit beside the spot to where I had pointed.  When I tried to discipline him as I had before, he would just throw an even bigger fit. We were having trouble getting James to listen—we said his name several times before he would look at us.  He would go out into the yard and just look at me strangely and often I would have to go get him. 

We had tubes put in because he showed to have moderate hearing loss in one of his ears.  That was no help; in fact, it shut him down even more. 

James could speak: not well, but he was able.  Earlier, at about one-and-a-half years of age, Jim and I noticed that he wasn’t really saying anything—when he did, it wasn’t always in context.  My mother helped to point this out.  Our mothers are wonderful--I didn't usually want to hear what they had to say at first, but it was always wise to listen, and I am thankful for them.What was worse was that we kept waiting on progress, but there never seemed to be any.  I used a natural heavy metal detoxification product on him at that point, and he did begin to speak more and more.  I put away the product after a few months, not realizing until later the impact it really had.

I remembered a beautiful young boy that came to church a few years ago that was autistic.  He spun his hands and made some funny noises, and was really busy.  I was teaching Sunday school at the time, and I honestly did not know what to do with him.  The family went on to visit other churches, but I always remembered that handsome brown-eyed, Logan.

After James’ ear surgery, he still seemingly couldn’t hear us, and his actions became more unusual.  One day I noticed him walking around saying, “Look mom, I’m a horse.”  He had his arms bent and hands flapping-I couldn’t imagine how that was a horse!  Then I saw the one little spin of the hands and my heart dropped.  The thing I had thought of before I felt like I knew at that moment: we were dealing with autism. 

The Lord was very gracious to our family, and used many ways to direct us.  Proverbs     3:6 reads, “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” It seemed as if no matter what search I put into the internet that it took me right where I needed to be.  This was all God’s hand at work.  I saw an excerpt from a book that perfectly described my boy: drinking almost a half a gallon of milk a day and hardly eating anything else.  I learned of the “mischievous little proteins” of which thousands of moms and dads around this earth are well-acquainted-they are not broken down well in these little sick bodies and as a result act on the brain as morphine.  I ordered about four different books, which was the beginning of my education, and have been reading and learning ever since.

We took James to a Defeat Autism Now! doctor in Montgomery, had many tests run, and started him on nutritional supplements and a detoxification program.  She instructed me to go on a gluten free/ casein free diet to protect Ruth from these proteins while nursing. We saw great improvements in James and praised God for it. I began to relax a little. That was the Christmas of 2011.  Christmas 2012, I received another surprise.

A couple of weeks before Christmas this past year, I could tell something had gone very wrong, though at first, I didn’t know what.  All of a sudden, James looked worse and was reacting very strongly again to foods to which I had been able to begin giving small amounts.  I was able to eat fruit before, but not anymore.  Ruth was the one with the most profound changes.  She lost muscle tone, turned a yellow orange color (that wasn’t associated with vegetables), she quit saying the 5-6 words that she was able to say, she quit babbling, she quit cruising, in fact, she quit moving all together.  She quit.  We could put her on the couch walk around the corner, come back, and find her in the same place staring.  Before she would have scooted off the couch and been calling.  I decided one day in the midst of this that I should really teach my children about the dangers of mercury because of the things I had been reading and learning.  As I was telling Reed and Kaelyn about the heavy metal, what it looked like and where it was found, they chimed in and said, “Yes, and it makes tiny silver balls and it cleans up really easy with paper towels.”  They had broken an old, large candy thermometer just a week or two before—there was my answer for the new symptoms.  The reality of this hit me about the time of our New Year’s revival.  I finally figured out Ruth’s issues weren’t going to just pass. This was a change.  I cried, and called out to the Lord.  Psalm 34:4 says, “I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.”  I told him Ruth was too little, she couldn’t tell me anything, I couldn’t see what was happening with her the way I could with James.  He impressed on my heart that I already knew what to do, and to do it.

I’d like to mention at this point some other things that the Lord showed me along the way.  Kaelyn was having trouble with her health, though I had not realized it.  When we began removing foods/adding foods it became apparent that she was reacting to the gluten and casein proteins in the same way as James.  I had seen her go through emotional issues that I didn’t know how to handle.  She would be silly and wild, and then be as mean as a hornet, then be accusing and weepy and finally sleep, and I would attribute this to being tired—but it was happening quite often. I thought maybe it was a phase, “a hard time,” with her.  When we discovered this health issue and stayed away from the foods containing gluten and casein. As a result, I got my old Kaelyn back. 

The Lord also revealed to me at what point her health took the downward turn.   At six-years-old, Kaelyn began complaining about her eyes being blurry, so I made an appointment with an eye doctor.  Her eyes checked out fine.  When we began to eat a gluten free/casein free diet and would have an accidental infraction, I noticed my eye would get blurry, and Kaelyn’s would, also.  One day I was thinking of her, and the Lord laid an incident on my heart—then a light bulb went on. 

Reed has a live trap and had caught a raccoon.  James was a baby; and I was inside changing his diaper.  Before I knew it, Kaelyn and Reed were running in the house screaming and crying—Kaelyn had gotten her hand too close to the trap and the raccoon bit her.  We had to call animal control, and they recommended a tetanus shot.  I was already wary of shots, but this seemed like one that we needed to get.  I was offered a mixed DT or an individual tetanus shot at the doctor.  I had always heard that separating the vaccinations were easier on a child, so I opted for the tetanus by itself.  I learned later that this is one of the few available that still contain thimerosal.  After Kaelyn received that shot, she had a huge immune response that lasted several days.  I remember her arm being hot and swelled.  She was supposed to be going to her Grandmama’s a few days after, and I almost didn’t let her go.  The swelling eventually went down, and we thought nothing more of it.  When I thought of this incident, I said, “Kaelyn, how old were you when you were bitten by the raccoon?”  “Six.”  “How old were you when I took you to the eye doctor?”  “I was six, but my finger (from the bite) was all healed up by then.”  It was after the tetanus shot that my girl began to have her trouble.

I might as well tell you that I am the source of all of the difficulty.  I had a baby tooth with no adult tooth behind it—it was the only cavity I ever had, and I was probably about ten at the time. I had chipped it on a popcorn kernel and it resulted in an infection.  When they discovered it at the dentist, they decided to fill it and put on a crown.  About the time that I was married to Jim—we were both 20-years-old, I really started having trouble with it.  The tooth would hurt, but we didn’t have a lot of money and I was determined not to have to do anything with it.  I chewed on the other side of my mouth and took ibuprofen off and on when it was painful.  Finally between Kaelyn and James I decided to have my wisdom teeth out, and to go ahead and get the crowned tooth out, also.  That was about four years later.  The baby tooth was hurting continuously with the pain going from my tooth up into my temple.  I thought if I had the tooth pulled that the pain would go away—I thought wrong.  It wasn’t as intense as it had been, but I still had to take pain reliever often to soothe the aching in my gums and head.

When James began to have his trouble I was determined to find out what had happened. I have written in my blog about immunizations, but I will copy and paste it here, just for the sake of having it all together.

I gave my first two children vaccinations without question.  I had heard of other families who had chosen not to do so, but I had a "medical background" and never thought to do otherwise.  There were four years difference between my second and third children, Kaelyn and James, and I began to hear a lot more about the "whether or not to immunize" debate.  About the time I was taking James for his 3 months, and then four months vaccines (which were not even a whole month between shots, by the way) I really became uneasy.  I attribute this to the Holy Spirit: I had never been concerned before, but now it was overwhelming.

At that four month check up, I voiced my apprehension to my pediatrician, whom I had used from my first child on.  He spent a good ten minutes with me giving me articles, telling me I was, "smarter than that," assuring me that my other kids had received them and were OK, etc.  I went against my sense of alarm and allowed the shots to be administered. 

Between these immunizations and the next ones due, I couldn't shake the feeling that something had gone seriously wrong at that visit.  I began to pray that the Lord would show my husband, Jim, if we should not get the next set, which included the MMR.  He answered in a great way.  Jim is not on Facebook anymore, but during this time he came across a friend from high school named Jennifer Hall, who is now Jennifer Young.  Jennifer had a YouTube of her little girl with pictures that clearly showed her regression immediately after the MMR vaccination.  After he saw this, Jim started hearing more about other children who had done the same.  He decided that we should not vaccinate James anymore.

When I began to research to try to find what had gone wrong with James’ health, I was so sure that aluminum must be the culprit, since it is still widely used in vaccinations today.  As I studied, though, I found that his course of illness from supplements down to food intolerances all pointed to mercury poisoning—but where did it come from?

It was at an autism support group meeting that I finally found my answer.  Dr. Gregory Hyde, an allergist from Nacogdoches, was speaking at the meeting that night, and I made sure that I could be there.  That night he spoke about many things, but one had the greatest impact on me.  He said, “You ladies are concerned about shots, and you should be, but what you don’t realize is, the amalgams in your mouth have probably caused the most of your problems.”  Dr. Hyde went on to tell of a conference that he had attended.  There they had asked for a show of hands for all who had amalgam fillings in their mouth, and gave each a piece of gum to chew.  After about a 15 minute break, they blew on a machine that recorded the amount of free mercury vapor, and he was amazed at the results.  Dr. Hyde related that most would have needed a hazmat team if reported properly.  The Lord used this to confirm to me the mercury source. 

I have since found that two-thirds of a mother’s metal burden is passed on to her child.  Most would relay this to their first born, but since I had the problem tooth removed before my third child, James, that is where the bulk of my metal load landed.  There are biological dentists that remove fillings with special precautions: I did not know this before.  They put up rubber dams and use special air filtration, patient masking, etc. to ensure that any metal vaporized is taken up and removed instead of just releasing into the patients’ systems.

Mercury poisoning can cause optic neuritis, and a wide array of many well-known diseases, three examples of such are fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s.  Most of these chronic diseases have gut health as a factor, and many with these types of illnesses are unable to breakdown numerous different foods including the gluten and casein proteins.  Schizophrenia and paranoia can be caused solely by inability to process these proteins in particular.  There was a time that I began having issues with these proteins, and didn’t realize the impact of it on my health until we changed our diet.

What I have learned:

Mercury poisoning looked the same as autism in two of my children.  I am thankful to tell you that today Ruth is walking and beginning to talk again.  After our setback, it didn’t happen until she was 17 months of age, but I praise God for it.  James is talking well and interacting well, unless he gets food that he does not need.  We are using many products to heal his gut and get it in working order, and we can see progress.  This is taking a while, but I have total confidence that he will be completely healed.  I am also using some different things for myself—I didn’t realize how sick I had been until I began to get better. 


We have learned many comparisons to be realized and applied in our Spiritual life:

People can look well and healthy on the outside, but be terribly ill inside.  (I call it survival of the sickest)  These kids (and grownups) many times don’t look “sick” on the outside, but have huge breakdowns in many body systems inside.  Many people we come into contact with every day look spiritually happy and well on the outside, which leaves us to conclude that they must be okay.  The reality is, unless they have Jesus as their Lord and Saviour, they are terribly sin sick and lost; they are in need of healing.

Conforming to “normal” behavior will not fix a problem. Sensory processing, obsessive/compulsive disorders all have very specific behavioral therapies available. There are websites too numerous to count that have people that are “so happy they have found others like themselves” that have odd habits or strange sensitivities. If there are biochemical problem/toxicity causing these behaviors, many times the outside does not have to be “fixed” if the inside is addressed. Just touching metal causes symptoms in most in our family, which I have been told by a doctor just indicates high toxicity.  We could spend our time and money trying to learn to avoid metal, or learning to change our behavior when we come into contact with it.  The best solution to me seems, though, to remove our metal burden on the inside. In like manner, our society spends lots of money trying to remove “symptoms” of sin—the best way to handle it is to allow the Lord to change from the inside out. 

Accepting “abnormal” is not a right response.  There are many folks that believe that it is wrong to try to help these autistic kids, that they should just be accepted as different. Trying to help a person that doesn’t know the Lord is oftentimes taken as offensive—they should be deemed as different and left alone.  Proverbs 11:21 states, “Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished…”  We are a people of acceptance today, which is in some ways wonderful—but oftentimes we accept things that God’s Word warns against. We could have left James to express himself differently and accepted him in his sickness.  It seems only right, though, to try and heal the physically ill, as well as the spiritually.

In our experience, treating one particular “disease” will not do.  As I mentioned before, several things go wrong—the whole body system is out-of-whack in the case of autism. Treating one disease leaves you vulnerable to other types of disease which will overwhelm you. Just the same, treating a sin will give rise to other sins. Spiritually, people are affected by many different devices, but all are really sick with the same thing: sin.  By your nature or nurture, you will react to different things in different ways, but the main point is you are sick. Treat a sin, another will take its place.  Treat a sinner, he is saved by God’s grace.

It hurts just as badly to “lose” one child as it does another.  I almost expected for Ruth to go through somewhat the same health issues as James, but when it happened it could not have hurt any deeper, and I did not sorrow any less.  I can only imagine the anguish our Heavenly Father feels over the loss of one soul.  He said that He was not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  Don’t think that you are of any less worth to our Lord.  When someone dies and goes to an eternal hell, it grieves Him more than anyone could comprehend.


Truths that have been reinforced:

Always stay within the leadership of your husband. I reflect sometimes and wonder if Eve would have had children before being tempted with the fruit, if she might have made a different decision.  Many times my children’s consequences from their actions have sobered and reminded me how extremely important it is to obey God!  Eve would have been safe if she would have followed the command not to eat from The Tree of Good and Evil.  Through this process I have not been perfect.  Sometimes Jim would say no about a therapy or about a direction of treatment, and I was kicking and screaming inside.  As always, though, being obedient to the authority God provided for me was my protection.  I could always see later why there was a, “no” or a. “wait” answer.

God’s love for us has been reinforced, and His ability to work in us both to, “will and to do of his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13)  When Jim was confronted with these kids that had regressed after their shots into autism, he looked at me from behind his desk one day and said this: “I wish there was some way through our church that we could help these kids and their families.”  At this point James was still small, I had no idea what was to come.  I agreed with him, but wondered in my heart how that could ever come about—we knew nothing of the needs of these families.  When I realized that James had indications of autism, I thought, “Jim!” I would blame him, not God.  But it was God’s desire placed in Jim’s heart, and our journey to learn.  I can now honestly say it has been a blessing.  Though I would not ever compare my son to the perfect Son, Jesus—praise God my son didn’t have to die for me, but his sufferings have certainly benefited us.  James’ health was gone in what seemed overnight, but the things we have learned through this are immeasurable.  I would have never understood what to do to keep Ruth safe from harm, or how to help her in time of trouble.  I would have thought that Kaelyn had just become difficult, rather than understanding she had some serious health problems to contend with.  I would have continued to go downhill and finally most likely gotten to a point where I was of little use to my family or my church.  Instead of bitterness toward God for James’ circumstances, I praise Him for revealing all that he has through it.  The sickness was there, we just had to see it and acknowledge it.  Now we use the things we are learning for His glory, and prayerfully to help ourselves and others.

If you don’t know Jesus as your Saviour, you need Him.  He’s the only cure for spiritual sin.  Physical health matters only for a little while, but spiritual health matters for eternity.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Answered Prayers

Not too long after praying for God to show us whether or not to immunize James with the MMR, the Lord answered in a great way.  Jim is not on Facebook anymore, but during this time he came across a friend from high school named Jennifer Hall, who is now Jennifer Young.  Jennifer had a YouTube of her little girl with pictures that clearly showed her regression immediately after the MMR vaccination.  After he saw this, Jim started hearing more about other children who had done the same.  He decided that we should not vaccinate James anymore.

Things went along well with James for the next few months, though, as I said in a previous post, as time went on we could tell his speech was not where it should be for his age.  He often switched his words: I have the cutest video of him on a rocking horse saying, "haw yee, haw yee," instead of, "yee haw!"  He also answered, "no," to any question we asked.  He couldn't make sounds for animals, and would name the animals wrongly if at all.  He would try to sing, but he couldn't get the words out.  I wanted badly to mark this up to slow development, but my gut was telling me otherwise.  As one of my favorite books on the subject says, "Mamas know."  (Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies: The Groundbreaking Program for the 4-A Disorders by Dr. Kenneth Bock)

I believe without a doubt that the answered prayer which led us to refrain from getting the MMR shot for James kept us from a totally regressed child.  I am so thankful for it!  I am indebted to Jennifer for her love of others to care enough to put together that YouTube.  It totally changed our course, I am sure. 

With regressive autism, there seems to be a particular event that is the, "straw that breaks the camel's back."  I'll tell you about our straw soon.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Unpeaceful, Uneasy Feeling

James' recovery process has taught me a lot of things that I needed to know.  I have always known that doctors are just people.  They are people that have studied hard and long in their field and who practice with different goals, just as in any profession.  Doctors have good days and bad days, are very experienced in some areas, and sometimes have little knowledge in others.  The doctors that I have come into contact with have been sincere people, and had a real concern for their patients.  But, just as any of us can be at any time, sometimes they are sincerely wrong.

I gave my first two children vaccinations without question.  I had heard of other families who had chosen not to do so, but I had a "medical background" and never thought to do otherwise.  There were four years difference between my second and third children, Kaelyn and James, and I began to hear a lot more about the "whether or not to immunize" debate.  About the time I was taking James for his 3 months, and then four months vaccines (which were not even a whole month between shots, by the way) I really became uneasy.  I attribute this to the Holy Spirit: I had never been concerned before, but now it was overwhelming.

At that four month check up, I voiced my apprehension to my pediatrician, whom I had used from my first child on.  He spent a good ten minutes with me giving me articles, telling me I was,"smarter than that," assuring me that my other kids had received them and were OK, etc.  I went against my sense of alarm and allowed the shots to be administered. 

Between these immunizations and the next ones due, I couldn't shake the feeling that something had gone seriously wrong at that visit.  I began to pray that the Lord would show my husband, Jim, if we should not get the next set, which included the MMR.  He answered in a great way...I'll tell you how in the next post.

Redefining Autism

A few weeks ago one of my sweet friends asked what I thought of the new "redefining" criteria for autism.  My first thought was that there are becoming too many: the government is having to spend too much money on services to help these kids, so they have to make some adjustments--mostly for their pocketbook, but also to cut down on public concern.  I happened across this article which confirmed my view, and I couldn't have written it better than Mr. Rob Errera. It's a small article, and definitely worth the time it takes to read it.  I especially love the concluding line.

http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/139420943_Autism_redefined__changing_goal_posts_doesn_t_change_the_game.html?page=all

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

The "A" Word

Autism is a really easy word to say, until a doctor (or you, yourself!) diagnoses your child. 

As I have said before, there were early clues in James' development as to where he was headed.  When James was between one-and-a-half and two years of age Jim and I began to realize that our little guy was hardly talking.  When he did speak, it was just a handful of words, and he didn't always use them appropriately.  I had a feeling that something was going on, so I researched metal detoxes on the internet.  I ordered one that had great studies and was published--others must have seen results with it, too.  The price has just about doubled since I bought it back then.  I didn't even put it together at the time, but as I used the detox, James slowly began to use more words.  My concerns started to diminish, and I put away the metal detox without much more thought about it. 

We were blessed to have been visited by a family at our church several years ago who had two beautiful boys; one was autistic.  The young man was constantly moving (and constantly smiling!) He spun his hands at times, which I've learned in my research with James is called "stimming".  (self-stimulatory behavior--refers to repetitive motions such as arm flapping, rocking, spinning, or repetition of words and phrases) That was a preview for me, a clue the Lord provided to tuck away in my memory for a later date.

It is so funny to think of the way definitions of words change and our attitudes toward them.  Autism used to be thought of as a disease caused by mothers! The "refrigerator mother" label was based on the assumption that autistic behaviors stem from the emotional frigidity of the children's mothers. As a result, mothers of some children on the autistic spectrum suffered from blame, guilt, and self-doubt from the 1950s throughout the 1970s and beyond.  Praise God that is not the case anymore, though there needs to be a heightened awareness of what autism really means, and what can be done to recover from it.

Some of this next information will seem like it is straight from a science fiction movie...though it's old hat around here by now. 

Thursday, January 5, 2012

No Harm In the Pot

I ran across this scripture a few nights ago--thought I'd share it and His application for me.

 2Ki 4:38 ¶ And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets.
 39 And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not.
 40 So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O thou man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof.
 41 But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot.


"No harm in the pot"...it makes me want to shout for joy!  The servant goes out, finds food, though he doesn't know exactly what it is (that's happened a lot here in the past few months!) and cooks it just as the man of God instructs.  He's done what he can and things seem to be going smoothly, until one of the eaters of the soup says, "there is death in the pot!"

Frequently, along this journey and through life in general, I’ve felt as if I had a hold on the Lord's will in a particular situation and complete peace about following His way.  I found, however, there were many times when things didn't turn out exactly (at all!) as I had planned. 

I love it when I relate to one of the Lord's examples!  I can imagine that servant pitifully saying, "I did just what you asked...I did the best I could." Or thinking, "I am embarrassed in front of all of these followers--they are going to think I didn't listen to you!"  Or pleading, "I never intended to harm anyone! They are accusing me...please defend me!" 

So many times things are going to "look bad"…not to enemies, but to loved ones that care the most for your well-being.  It will appear as if you have a complete disaster on your hands! Thankfully, the Lord shows us through His Word just what to do when these moments arise:

*Follow Him and His instruction, no matter what.

*Don't try to defend yourself, know you are in His will--let that be enough.

*When things go amiss, don't try to fix it--go back to Him and wait.

When the servant goes to Elisha with the problem, he answers, "Then bring meal." What? Was that some magical meal? No way! Solving the problem was all in going back to the source.  Over and over God uses strange circumstances to display His power.  He "...hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;" 1 Corinthians 1:27

You know what I noticed that was really exciting? The servant wasn't asked to throw out the pot! "Oh, great, the whole thing's poison, everyone will be sick and maybe even die.  I'll have to go out, see what else I can find, and start all over again!"  No, the man of God added something to the huge mess, turned it into a meal fit to eat, and healed the men of their maladies!  The greatest of all, he allowed the servant to be used for the intended purpose--each of those men saw a miracle that day.

I'll get back to James' story in the next blog.  I have seen many "mishaps" in his healing, but I've also marveled at the way the Lord has used it in spite of me, and all to reveal His glory.

May the Lord use you today!