The stomach flu has been in our house for 5 days now. I must say that the past 5 days have been a nightmare. We all have been miserable. Puking, pooping, aching, fever.....you name it we have it!!! Any kind of illness with Hayden freaks me out! He is imunosuppresed it hits him a lot harder than a "normal" child.
When he is sick we get out of our normal routine and this hits Hayden hard. We are also unable (due to him vomiting them up) to give him the many vitamins, supplements, probiotics, and enzymes that he so desperately needs. Today he tantrumed for 90 minutes after his nap. I can't even tell you the mix of emotions I feel when he is like this. This is what are lives USE to be like every day with him. He would tantrum all day long. I don't know how I stayed calm and dealt with it on a daily basis. It breaks my heart to see him like this. I know that there is mass ciaos going on in his body and there is nothing that I can do to help him. He is hurting and I can't fix it. :(
So far today he has kept down the vitamins that I have given him. I am hopeful that I can get the rest down. I am expecting bad behavior from Hayden for the next 5-7 days. I just wish I can snap my fingers and we can get back to normal from the plague rocking our routine.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Sunday, December 19, 2010
What causes Autism?
I often get asked why I think Hayden has autism or what caused it. This is such a complex question that does not have a simple answer. So here is my answer. Keep in mind this is my opinion on why MY son has autism.
When I first became pregnant with Hayden I prayed to God frequently to just let me have this baby. We suffered a miscarriage 6 months prior to getting pregnant with Hayden. I told God that I didn't care what the gender was and if the baby was not healthy I was okay with that. I told him that we would love and cherish whatever kind of child he wanted to bless us with.
When I pregnant with Hayden I ate anything and everything!! I craved chicken McNuggets like it was nobodies business. As much as I don't want to admit this there were days that I ate McDonalds twice a day. I thought it was fine I took my vitamins, I ate my fruits and veggies, and I stayed away from everything that pregnant women are not suppose to consume. This was before I valued nutrition and quality of food.
Hayden was born by a very emergent c-section due to a prolapsed umbilical cord. The dr did my c-section in his "street" clothes and a pair of sterile gloves. From the time that Hayden's umbilical cord prolapsed and the time he was ripped from my abdomen was 6 minutes!! I was pumped full of antibiotics after his delivery. Hayden then received those antibiotics via my breast milk. Thus destroying the help full bacteria that was forming in his little body. I still get chills when I think of Hayden's delivery. He scared the crap out of me and everyone else for that matter. At my follow up post op appointment. My OB compared my c-section to civil war style surgery.
The next mistake I made was feeding Hayden solids too soon. I started feeding him rice cereal at 4 months. He was not ready for it, he had no interest in it and he sure did not need those empty calories. Why the heck did I do that? I did NOT make this mistake with my daughter. His poor little gut was not ready for it and I had no clue the misery I was going to cause him and continue to cause him via the crap that I fed him.
At six months of age Hayden got "sick" for the first time. He was also cutting his first teeth (he got 4 at once). His poor little cheeks broke out horribly. Our dr said this was caused by teething and that it will go away on its on. When Hayden was examined by the dr he said that Hayden's throat was "raw" and put him on antibiotics. Looking back the cheeks and the "raw" throat was Hayden's first allergic reaction. We started feeding him strawberry baby food around that time and come to find out strawberries are one of the many things he is allergic to. His poor little cheeks did not clear up until the age of 9 months and that was with steroid cream.
Hayden remained "healthy" until about 13 months of age and that is when his health started to go downhill. This is also when we started giving him cow's milk. Casein is a HUGE allergy for Hayden. I firmly believe that food allergies have contributed to my son's autism. Not only has it cause inflammation in his little gut, but has caused major inflammation in is neurological system.
Hayden continued to be sickly until the age of 28 months. He was on antibiotics 6 more times and most of those times they were not needed. He had an acute asthma attack at 15 months and was in the PICU for 2 days. Hayden was put on some massive steroids at this time.
I also believe that vaccinations have contributed to Hayden's autism. His poor little body did not know what to do with all those toxins that entered his body. I thought I was "smart" about vaccinations. I did massive research about them and came up with an alternative vaccination schedule for Hayden. Oh, how I had no clue!! A day after Hayden received his 18 month vaccinations was the day that my little boy went silent. (well with the exception of temper tantrums......we hear those pretty much all day long) I did not hear his sweet voice again until he was 28 months old.
The number one factor that I think has contributed to Hayden's autism is genetics!! We have since found out that Hayden has several genetic disorders. The first effecting his bodies ability to break down and process amino acids which has caused my poor little guy to be severely vitamin deficient. The second genetic mutation that he has effects his ability to detox toxins from his body and products of oxidative stress. The third and final mutation also prevents Hayden's body from ridding itself of oxidative stress and impairs the function of his mitochondria.
So the short answer is environment, vaccination, nutrition, and genetics have caused my sons autism.
When I first became pregnant with Hayden I prayed to God frequently to just let me have this baby. We suffered a miscarriage 6 months prior to getting pregnant with Hayden. I told God that I didn't care what the gender was and if the baby was not healthy I was okay with that. I told him that we would love and cherish whatever kind of child he wanted to bless us with.
When I pregnant with Hayden I ate anything and everything!! I craved chicken McNuggets like it was nobodies business. As much as I don't want to admit this there were days that I ate McDonalds twice a day. I thought it was fine I took my vitamins, I ate my fruits and veggies, and I stayed away from everything that pregnant women are not suppose to consume. This was before I valued nutrition and quality of food.
Hayden was born by a very emergent c-section due to a prolapsed umbilical cord. The dr did my c-section in his "street" clothes and a pair of sterile gloves. From the time that Hayden's umbilical cord prolapsed and the time he was ripped from my abdomen was 6 minutes!! I was pumped full of antibiotics after his delivery. Hayden then received those antibiotics via my breast milk. Thus destroying the help full bacteria that was forming in his little body. I still get chills when I think of Hayden's delivery. He scared the crap out of me and everyone else for that matter. At my follow up post op appointment. My OB compared my c-section to civil war style surgery.
The next mistake I made was feeding Hayden solids too soon. I started feeding him rice cereal at 4 months. He was not ready for it, he had no interest in it and he sure did not need those empty calories. Why the heck did I do that? I did NOT make this mistake with my daughter. His poor little gut was not ready for it and I had no clue the misery I was going to cause him and continue to cause him via the crap that I fed him.
At six months of age Hayden got "sick" for the first time. He was also cutting his first teeth (he got 4 at once). His poor little cheeks broke out horribly. Our dr said this was caused by teething and that it will go away on its on. When Hayden was examined by the dr he said that Hayden's throat was "raw" and put him on antibiotics. Looking back the cheeks and the "raw" throat was Hayden's first allergic reaction. We started feeding him strawberry baby food around that time and come to find out strawberries are one of the many things he is allergic to. His poor little cheeks did not clear up until the age of 9 months and that was with steroid cream.
Hayden remained "healthy" until about 13 months of age and that is when his health started to go downhill. This is also when we started giving him cow's milk. Casein is a HUGE allergy for Hayden. I firmly believe that food allergies have contributed to my son's autism. Not only has it cause inflammation in his little gut, but has caused major inflammation in is neurological system.
Hayden continued to be sickly until the age of 28 months. He was on antibiotics 6 more times and most of those times they were not needed. He had an acute asthma attack at 15 months and was in the PICU for 2 days. Hayden was put on some massive steroids at this time.
I also believe that vaccinations have contributed to Hayden's autism. His poor little body did not know what to do with all those toxins that entered his body. I thought I was "smart" about vaccinations. I did massive research about them and came up with an alternative vaccination schedule for Hayden. Oh, how I had no clue!! A day after Hayden received his 18 month vaccinations was the day that my little boy went silent. (well with the exception of temper tantrums......we hear those pretty much all day long) I did not hear his sweet voice again until he was 28 months old.
The number one factor that I think has contributed to Hayden's autism is genetics!! We have since found out that Hayden has several genetic disorders. The first effecting his bodies ability to break down and process amino acids which has caused my poor little guy to be severely vitamin deficient. The second genetic mutation that he has effects his ability to detox toxins from his body and products of oxidative stress. The third and final mutation also prevents Hayden's body from ridding itself of oxidative stress and impairs the function of his mitochondria.
So the short answer is environment, vaccination, nutrition, and genetics have caused my sons autism.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
What's in a name?
For many months I have been telling myself that I need to start a blog. I want to have documentation of the every day events that take place in my world. One day I want my children to reflect on my thoughts and feeling on all of their amazing milestones and every day antics. Let me tell you we have some crazy antics at our home ;) I also want to help others that are effected by autism.
I have an amazing three year old named Hayden. At the tender age of three has overcome so much. More than most people endure in a lifetime. Hayden has autism. At the age of 18 months Hayden was non-verbal, no eye contact, tantrum all day long, and could not handle any kind of change in his environment. He was non-responsive to us or anyone for that matter. He was very much "the lights are one but nobody was home". Notice the word WAS. Our lives have changed so much since than.
Ruby Kay is our sweet, sassy little girl. She is 15 months old and is a easy going little girl. That is until you tell her no and she will stomp her little feet and pout that little lip. She adores her big brother and has the rest of us wrapped around her little finger.
Brandon is my partner in crime. We have been married for 8 years and have had a lot of great times and some not so great times. We have grown up together and oh how our lives have changed since we started dating in 1998. Brandon is an amazing man and I am truly blessed to have him as a partner. He is a rock and with one look at his face I know exactly what he is thinking. We are disfunctionaly functional.
Then comes Winston Jay our 8 year old weenie dog. He was once our main focus. He was our first "child" and is treated better than most children. He is a great dog that deserves more than what he gets these days. Winston spends his days hiding from the kids and hoping that we remember to feed him and let him out to potty.
So why the name "Pieces of Us"? Autism is like a puzzle. There are so many components to it.....puzzle pieces if you may. With the expertise of Dr.Stacie Macari we our slowly (but surely) putting Hayden's puzzle together and helping him reach his full potential. We our doing this 100% through biomedical treatment.
I have an amazing three year old named Hayden. At the tender age of three has overcome so much. More than most people endure in a lifetime. Hayden has autism. At the age of 18 months Hayden was non-verbal, no eye contact, tantrum all day long, and could not handle any kind of change in his environment. He was non-responsive to us or anyone for that matter. He was very much "the lights are one but nobody was home". Notice the word WAS. Our lives have changed so much since than.
Ruby Kay is our sweet, sassy little girl. She is 15 months old and is a easy going little girl. That is until you tell her no and she will stomp her little feet and pout that little lip. She adores her big brother and has the rest of us wrapped around her little finger.
Brandon is my partner in crime. We have been married for 8 years and have had a lot of great times and some not so great times. We have grown up together and oh how our lives have changed since we started dating in 1998. Brandon is an amazing man and I am truly blessed to have him as a partner. He is a rock and with one look at his face I know exactly what he is thinking. We are disfunctionaly functional.
Then comes Winston Jay our 8 year old weenie dog. He was once our main focus. He was our first "child" and is treated better than most children. He is a great dog that deserves more than what he gets these days. Winston spends his days hiding from the kids and hoping that we remember to feed him and let him out to potty.
So why the name "Pieces of Us"? Autism is like a puzzle. There are so many components to it.....puzzle pieces if you may. With the expertise of Dr.Stacie Macari we our slowly (but surely) putting Hayden's puzzle together and helping him reach his full potential. We our doing this 100% through biomedical treatment.
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