A Deer In Headlights

The past several days have been filled with afternoons poolside & evenings at the park riding bikes, climbing rock walls and eating popsicles, even the dogs have been in on the fun! Yesterday my son overheard a woman talking about her daughter's life-threatening food allergies & he asked me if he could tell her about our energy healer. Before I could answer he opened my bag, grabbed Amy's business card and off he went. I knew what was most likely going to happen, but he was passionate and I let him approach. After watching the mom's face I knew it was time for me to jump in and help make sense of what she was hearing.

Needless to say she laughed in my face and asked me if our allergy doctor had approved of this treatment. I laughed right back and told her I did not even consult with my allergy doctor because I could careless what she thought. She went on to say how this seemed risky and would most likely backfire (all in front of my son). For the sake of her daughter I made every effort to assure her of the safety and how that in 8 years of treating children, Amy had never had a child go into anaphylaxis. She handed the card back and told me she would never consider this because her doctor would never approve. Are you serious lady? When did dr.'s start trumping educated parental decision making? At that point I knew I was dealing with someone who was closed to what I had to say. As I wished her the best and walked away Hayden grabbed my hand, squeezed it really hard and said, "I am so happy you are my mom."

I realize that what I am doing may seem a bit "out there", but as sure as I am typing this, I saw with my own two eyes my son lick dairy off of a toothpick yesterday & today without any reaction. Tomorrow we up the daily dose & by his birthday in November he will have a scoop of ice cream in a bowl. Something he has NEVER experienced! I pray that more families will open their hearts and minds to the possibility of this treatment for their children. To learn more about Amy check out her website at www.allergyart.com

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I ... I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." ~ Robert Frost

Amanda

How Crunchy Am I?

When I tell people that we are working with an "energy healer" I can almost hear the laugh they are trying so hard to suppress. Trust me, I felt the same way until just a few months ago. I do not consider myself granola crunchy. As a matter of fact I am quite mainstream. I color my greys, love wearing makeup and keeping up with the latest fashions. I do however cook organic, believe passionately about natural childbirth, breastfeeding, not vaccinating, and prefer our "medicine" to consist of a healthy diet, plenty of exercise, natural vitamin D from sunshine, and lots of laughter. I cannot remember the last time anyone in my family has been on antibiotics. But an energy healer, that was a stretch for me.

It took very little convincing after I spoke with 20+ families whose lives had been forever changed. No more label reading, epi-pens, rides in the ambulance. I heard stories of

"normal" existence where kids no longer feared food & were able to eat the pizza and cake at birthday parties. I wanted in & NOTHING was going to stand in my way. Except the good Dr's one year waiting list! I put our name in, did not tell a living, breathing soul and waited, very impatiently. Maybe I could pay her off to get bumped up? I called 4 months later after a scary visit to the ER and pleaded with her to let us start June 1st. She obliged and I was on the phone the next day signing a lease on an apartment that I had never seen. It did not matter that I would be going from 6,000 sq ft to 1,500 with 3 kids and 2 dogs. It did not matter that my husbands job is in Colorado and he could not go with us. It did not matter that I was living the high life in an outstanding community with friends who became family.

All that did matter were the possibilities for my son's future:

Eating in restaurants

Sharing his mom's napkin

Freedom to walk onto an airplane without concern of nuts being served

Going to a friend's without packing "safe" snacks

A first kiss without fear the person had eaten something that could kill him

Ability to travel the big wide world

Pursuing any career, regardless of travel requirements

And the list goes on & on & on

BTW, Hayden's allergies are eggs, dairy, wheat, sesame, peanuts and tree nuts. All of which are class 4, 5 or 6 allergen. His RAST scores (blood tests) have not budged in 9 years and we have been told he would have these allergies for the rest of his life and they were all in the anaphylactic category. "I DON'T THINK SO!!!!!!!!" (those were my exact words to his Dr when we last left her office) Since western medicine was offering no help I knew it was time to take a leap of faith into the alternative world of medicine. After all we had nothing to lose, only everything to gain.

Accepting her technique starts with opening one's mind. Her belief is that healing comes from desensitizing the body to the offending food. This is done on many levels, but starts with the unconscious mind. To address this we have been meditating every night before bed, posting mantras and goal charts in Hayden's room and "tapping" accupressure points on his body while repeating his mantra over & over. Our good Dr. continues to align his immune system weekly with her energy machine and magic water that supports what his body is needing. And it literally is water that she adds energy frequencies to. Introducing the food starts in minute doses and goes very slowly. I give him his serving daily at home and increase the dose every 48 hours. All I know is that my son is swallowing increasing amounts of egg without any reaction what-so-ever. That's all the proof I need!

Amanda

All In A Day's Work

If you want something done, just ask an overwhelmed mom. We have been blessed with the ability to do 15 things at once and not hurt anyone in the process (although sanity may be in question).

Today was another typical day for our over scheduled crazy busy family.

It started with peaceful, loving intentions to give the best of me to my children, after all, they deserve nothing less. As I am tugging covers back and opening blinds with children who are pleading to sleep longer I wonder how long I will remain sweet & patient?

Not long ~ I can't quite decide which event changed it all.

It must have been falling down the steps this morning on my way to the kitchen to make breakfast.

Or it could have been the dog poop I got on my finger when cleaning up the backyard.

Come to think of it, it was most likely the drive I made all the way to my kids school to realize I forgot the birth certificates on the kitchen counter.

Crazy day spent driving all over kingdom come, passing snacks in the car, jamming and singing along to Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber (lucky, lucky me ~ insert sarcastic tone) sitting in traffic that is not budging, talking to my GPS as it has, yet again failed me, trying to appreciate living in a town where the only type of parking is parallel parking and meters that continue to eat my quarters at rapid speed.

After we got through gymnastics, hockey, piano, an appointment with our energy healer & a trip to Whole Foods I drag myself & the groceries upstairs to realize it is 6:40 and dinner still has to be made.

As I begin cooking:

The dogs drop toys at my feet to play

I run upstairs to throw a load of laundry in

I compliment my daughter's new piano song she memorized

Yell to my stinky son to shower

Clap for my little one who is practicing full sentences

Make a much overdue customer service phone call

Empty & reload the dishwasher

Negotiate for later bed times

Look for lost doll shoes

Fix a ponytail

Apply a bandaid

Admire beautiful drawings with great detail

Answer a philosophical questions to my son who wonders why God allows so many children to never have the chance to be adopted

Remind my 7 y.o. that dancing to Rihanna songs in that fashion are not age appropriate

Air out a nasty, sweaty hockey bag so the gear is ready for the next use

Open mail and make tomorrow's to-do list

Whew, It's time to eat! Did I forget anything?

Yes, the most important part about today: Hayden who has a level 4 (RAST score of 25.0 -Very high level of allergen) to egg & has had anaphylactic responses to it requiring an epi-pen ate an even bigger dose today!!!!! We are thrilled and I intend to share details about his treatment in future blog posts.

Amanda

We travel east in search of healing

Our story is one of tenacity, hope and healing. My son, who is 9-years-old has never tasted many of the most common foods because they will kill him. We have lived in fear all of his life ~ but no longer. It is time for an uprising. Seven weeks ago I journeyed from Colorado to Massachusetts with all three of my children to work with an energy healer who has changed the lives of hundreds of people. We will be here for one year and when we return home, my son will be completely allergy free!

My intent for this blog is for our family and friends to stay updated about our progress. I pray that families in our situation find this blog & for the first time feel hopeful and know there truly is a cure for anaphylaxis.

Amanda