In December 2007, Hunter’s baby brother Tristan was born. Having a new baby totally disrupted the routine of his life. He was so confused having a new baby. He started to have huge tantrum/meltdowns. He would thrash and kick and scream for hours. He was terrifying to deal with. He did not sleep more than 2-3 hours at a time. He had limited functional language skills. He scripted most things. He was able to ask for food, drink or bed, but his ability to interact appropriately was minimal. He was always sick with stomach aches, ear infections sore throats and colds. He had been on an antibiotic almost every month since birth. He had played in poop and smeared it all over his room countless times. We didn’t understand what was wrong. He was never well. We had major concerns and had him evaluated for developmental delays. Hunter was diagnosed with PDD/NOS in August of 2008.
We started his recovery with basic biomedical: multivitamins, cod liver oil, probiotic, b12 injections, gluten/casein free diet, and speech and OT. He progressed nicely. He interacted more, parallel play started and he enjoyed school. We continued to try to socialize with him with typical peers. We were glad that we did some research and found a DAN doctor for him. We found that he was getting a “morphine-like” by product of gluten and casein in his blood, so we did gluten and casein free. We also found that he was allergic to chocolate, eggs, feathered animals and potatoes, so those foods were removed, also. He continued to become “less locked in his own world.”
He was still very delayed with gross motor, fine-motor and social skills. He spent 3 years in preschool to catch up. He went to a wonderful preschool and enjoyed it very much. Unfortunately, he did not have any birth to 3 services, so there was much to catch up on.
In December of 2010, we switched Pediatricians. Hunter was sick all the time with headaches, sinus infections, sore throats, strep throat, and ear infections. He had extreme RAGE and OCD and was so afraid to sleep alone that he slept with me and my husband. I knew he had PANDAS but no immunologist or infectious disease doctor knew what it was or would believe it existed.
After seeing our new doctor, she consulted ENT for tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy.
He had the surgery and came home. I really hated to have surgery. However, his tonsils were black and hard as rocks! It was an awful recovery. Pain medications did NOT help. So, I went out and bought a small bottle of homeopathic belladonna 30c. After 3 sleepless, crying nights, my son slept. I felt like I was on to something. That was when my eyes were open that homeopathy was something I had to investigate and I just knew in my heart it was going to change our lives. I quickly got a referral and we consulted a brand new homeopath that was just getting started in her practice, Angelica Lemke, ND.
I kept a journal after he started his constitutional remedy. Ten days after, I emailed his teachers. He had did a 180 at school! They wanted to know what happened. This child had missed 2 whole months of school that year, due to mono and unexplained febrile issues. He couldn’t concentrate and had issues with all fine motor. He had emotional outbursts at school, too. He was happy and focused. I knew I was on to something. I was eager to make an appointment for our younger son who was slipping into a PANDAS rut.
After four years of homeopathy, Hunter was mainstreamed with no aide. He made friends easily and was very much loved by all. After starting a new school, he had a rapid decline in health and cognition due to a toxic environment. We pulled him to home school and he is healing by leaps and bounds. He went from extreme syncope, severe allergic reactions, dysautonomia back to swimming and playing outside with our friends this summer. It has been a blessing in disguise home schooling him. He is really becoming the individual he wants to be and his body is finally healing and continues to everyday. He loves to learn about science, animals and natural healing methods. He is gentle old soul that is kind, compassionate and eager to help others. Homeopathy has given us life back, once again.