On being a Biomed Mom

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I have always been the type to ask “why?”  I was a quiet, pensive child with two younger siblings that were louder and more outgoing than I was.  Being the oldest sister, I was also the caregiving type (much to my younger sisters dismay.)

When I was confirmed in the Presbyterian Church at age 16, I pestered the minister constantly with why and how questions during our confirmation classes.  Luckily, the minister was a progressive lady that was amused by my interest and questions.   She answered many of my questions with questions of her own.  I liked her very much.  The other kids didn’t have much time for the classes and wanted to simply get it over with to please their parents.  Not me.  When confirmation day came, I was coined “The one who asks questions” by the minister.

Sixteen years later, when my first-born child was diagnosed with autism, my natural instinct to ask questions kicked in.  There were so many questions.  How does a normal child go from making eye contact to ignoring you? Why is she always so sick?  Why does she have constant long-lasting meltdowns over seemingly nothing?  HOW did this happen?  I didn’t have much spare time but when I did, I stayed up late into the night reading pub med studies on autism.  On GI illness and autism.  On food and how it is related to autism.  On toxins and how they affect the brain.  And on vaccines and autism.  I talked to moms who were just as curious.  Then it happened.  I met a mom that had recovered her daughter and her son was well on his way to being recovered as well.  A real live mom that had done this on her own….despite what the doctors had told her.

That was it.  I had to learn more.  I recruited one fabulous autism mom and friend to join me in a trip to Boston for a conference where we immersed ourselves in Autism research and healing.  It was an eye opening experience.  There was science….real science behind the causes and the healing being done for these kids.  I was hooked.  I never looked back.

That’s the thing about becoming a biomed mom.  Once you are hooked, you become jaded.  You become hyper-aware. It is disconcerting.  It is disturbing.  It is downright appalling what is happening to our children.  It literally makes your heart ache for all the babies out there suffering because we have no laws that govern the chemicals being put in the air and land and water.  Because we allow more and more vaccines to be approved without appropriate efficacy and safety studies.  Because we continue to allow GMO foods to enter our grocery stores when GMOs clearly affect the gut flora which directly affects our immune system. 

Over the years, I have been much too busy to pay attention to anything except my family and their health.  Everything else has suffered.  My friendships have all but vanished.  My social life is null.  It has been almost a year since I have had a haircut for God’s sake.  I am too busy treating Marley’s very REAL medical problems.  She has food allergies.  She has Eosinaphilic Esophagitis.  She has chronic constipation problems. She has low glutathione, high oxidative stress, a MTHFR gene mutation, which affects the methylation cycle, low folinic acid, candida overgrowth and amino acids that are ALL over the charts.  She has high levels of lead confirmed with a chelation trial.  And if you think these are uncommon for a child with autism…think again.  All of her ailments have been discovered with very REAL lab work and medical tests that were deemed unnecessary by the pediatric developmental neurologist.  Add to this list, the syrinx in her spinal cord, her 2D vision and the brain damage in her right brain due to a bleed at birth and you have BIG mess to clean up.  (And this doesn’t even take into account my other two children and their health issues.)

So now you see why there is little time for anything other than understanding what is ailing my child and how to fix it.  Because not fixing it has never been an option.  Letting it just be autism and treating with a behavioral plan is not an option.  Because in truth, autism is really just a bunch of medical problems that are unaddressed.  Autism is toxicity.  Autism is a sick GI tract.  Autism is food sensitivities.  Autism is unbalanced Th1 & Th2.  Autism is low glutathione.  Autism is parasites.  Autism can even be thyroid dysfunction.  And Autism is other things that are waiting to be studied and discovered.  Autism is a complex illness and needs to be treated as such. 

Now I know better.  I know that Autism is NOT a psychological disorder, as many would have you believe.  It is an immunological, metabolic and neurological disorder.  And I will never stop asking questions.