Second Regression

The first regression was after only a few days old.  The perfect baby boy who slept so well during the night and nursed like a champ was gone after the Hep B and replaced by a vomiting, colicky, sleep-deprived baby.  And that's over simplfying it.

From the referral to the Early Intervention Team in our state, I made it my personal mission to learn everything they had to offer and to work non-stop to help my son catch up to his missed milestones. 

Over the next few months, I would see a glimmer of speech development from time to time, but just when I thought speech was emerging, there was another ear infection, another round of antibiotics and/or another vaccination.

Once the diagnosis of Autism came, forget trying to get a doctor to treat any underlying illness!  He remained sick with fevers, vomiting and rashes and my pleas fell on apathetic ears.

I didn't learn about biomedical treatment and DAN! doctors (now MAPS) until Tristen was 9 years old.  We saw immediate improvements eliminating wheat and dairy and never looked back. 

We made slow progress using a variety of interventions such as supplements, chelation, yeast treatment, HBOT and chiropractic.

Within the last year, we saw even more gains, especially after a homeopathy trial, and we were close to single digits on his ATEC. At 17, we had a good prognosis for his future.

Unfortunately, just after New Years, things started to go downhill. 

Sometimes you have bad days, or a bad week, so in the Autism world, if he's a bit "off", I don't get too concerned right away.  I wait and watch to see if it progresses or if he comes out of it.

But weeks turned into months, and as I battled my own histamine related brain fog, all I could do was watch helplessly as my sweet 17 year old boy continued to spiral downwards.

I watched as he literally jumped out of bed this morning pacing and reciting movies in his head at 4:45 am.

During his homeschool spelling lesson, he became easily agitated, EVEN as I slowly spelled out each word for him, there was stomping  and frustration while he was on the verge of tears.  His usual drive for his homeschooling plan has diminished, as he can barely keep his mind from wandering back to Star Wars.

Despite the Epsom salt baths and a slathering of oils from head to toe, he spends most of his day pacing and twirling and running and sliding from one end of the house to the other, reciting Star Wars episodes he has memorized.

I couldn't believe how difficult it was for him to even watch a TV show he picked out, because every 10 to 20 seconds he had to pause it to pace back and forth while reciting Star Wars.

Sometimes I just get in my car to drive to hear the silence.

I'm losing him.  I'm losing him all over again.  All the years of sacrifice and regimens for nothing.  We are back to that same 9 year old boy, who doesn't answer questions or hear his name when it's called. 

Three weeks ago, he spoke in front of the church congregation, and needed minimal help reading his paper.  Yesterday, he went into fight or flight mode and nearly ran off crying.

So what do you do when you have to start over, from square one, and you are still in so much debt from previous treatments, you don't have a clue how you are going to start, if you can even figure it out?

I have about a hundred dollar a month budget to treat myself and my two boys.

Did I tell you about Tanner?

Tanner was diagnosed at 12 with sensory processing order, anxiety and school diagnosed Asperger's.  He can be difficult, especially when it comes to leaving the house.  He has become much more argumentative lately, which I chalked up to his 15 year old self.  Feeling sick and miserable all the time, his combative tone is often more than I can bare.

A couple of weeks ago, he is talking to me and his head twitched to the side and he grabbed it and said "Ow!".  He preceded to tell me he gets frequent shooting pains in his head that causes his head to twitch.

Last Wednesday night, there was finally an activity at church he was excited about.  The boys had bottles of Diet Coke and Mentos to make explosions.  I watched candidly from inside the building....mostly to see how Tristen was handling the activity.  I was absolutely shocked to see Tanner bouncing on his tip toes and shaking his hands at the wrists.  Quickly getting out my phone to video, I managed to see it two more times...the same movements some of my autistic students would make when they were super excited.  I'd NEVER seen Tanner do this before.

During reading today, he could barely read because he was stuttering so badly.

So what is my next step?  Do I quit the supplements I've been taking to combat histamine intolerance and Mast Cell Activation....basically essential for me to barely function so I can heal my kids?  Of course!  Except, if I do that, I won't be well enough or competent enough to heal them.

Is it worth it to do genetic testing on us all?  If it is, how long before I can save up to have it done?

How can I afford payments to get us all back to a "real" doctor and the travel expenses of getting there and back?

Is this really about Mast Cell Activation for us all?  Or is it more like PANDAS/PANS?

Do I forget about all of that and just go homeopathic?

I need help....and I HATE asking for help....

But I can't continue to watch my family's health decline.  This is their future.  And it means everything to me to recover them from the illness keeping them from reaching their full potential.

If you have a service or a supplement that you believe would help my family, I would love to hear from you.  You can email me at Meadow.Davidson@gmail.com

If you are so inclined to make a monetary donation, see the PayPal button on the left of this page.

As we start again on this healing journey, I will be blogging about our progress here and at greenbeangirl34.blogspot.com