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| Jordan and Grandpa |
So, we’ve been casein free since Jordan was 4 weeks old, but just
went gluten free 2 weeks ago. We started his cranial sacral treatment at
the same time, so I can’t say for sure which has made the difference,
or they are both helping (my guess is they are both helping). And, guess
what? Astounding things are happening!
In 3 weeks Jordan went from being in the 25th percentile on his
height to being in the 50th percentile! Whoa!! (I think that growth is
due to the cranial sacral work.) He went down in his weight – from the
10th to the 5th percentile. But, he did have the flu for an entire week
and didn’t eat or nurse for 4-5 days. He lost all the weight I had
worked for months to get on him. He was so skinny and scrawny BUT, in the last two weeks, since going gluten free, he looks like he
has put back on all that weight and more. His belly looks pleasantly
plump now instead of bloated!
And for the really great news: one month ago he couldn’t say Mama or
Dada. On Christmas Day, I walked by him and said “Hi, Jordan”. He looked
right at me and without hesitation replayed, “Hi, Mommy”!!!!! He had
never put two words together before! The next day, my husband and I were
in the kitchen and the boys were playing in the living room, Jordan
starts wailing (a hurt-type of cry). I look in to see our older son near him
and ask, “What happened?” no answer. Jordan toddles over to me for
comfort. I look at our older son and again ask, “What happened?” And from
Jordan I hear, “I fell down.” Astounded, I ask him, “Are you okay?” and
he replies, “Uh-huh”. WOW!! His first sentence! Not only that, it’s the
first time he’s ever said the words “I” or “fell” or “uh-huh”. In fact,
it’s the first time he has ever referred to himself, and he used a
pronoun! Also, it’s the first time he’s answered a question with an
affirmative answer. WOW!
The next day (or night – actually), we are in the car traveling to
Alabama. And I hear giggles from the backseat – and, no, my mind is not
playing tricks on me – I glance in the rearview mirror to see the boys
playing a hand game with each other (the only playing together they’ve
ever done is “chase” consisting of Jordan chasing his older brother through the
house, or big brother giving Jordan a wagon ride outside). They’ve never
played a reciprocal game together before!! And then their hand game
turned into another game! At one a.m. we told them it was time to go to
sleep, but they were having so much fun together, we just couldn’t
enforce it and let them play together until two a.m., when we finally
stopped them and made them settle down and sleep!!!
I sat in the front seat teary-eyed for hours, counting my amazing
blessings, overflowing with the joy of enjoying my children, knowing
that Jordan is going to be just fine. A long road ahead, but it sure is
nice to be getting to see more of his true personality and not the one
altered by alleriges and health issues that we’ve been seeing all his life.
Why Gluten and Casein Free? Well, the reason for casein (dairy
protein) is two-fold. The first is easy – he’s allergic to it. The
second, (and there are two different theories on this, but this is one
of them) and the reason we need to avoid gluten too, is that his body
doesn’t break down the proteins properly or completely, resulting in
partial proteins, called peptides, going into his blood and therefore,
into his brain where it has an opiate effect. So, when he eats these,
it’s like being on an LSD drug. Is it any wonder his speech was so
delayed? And, long-term exposure can cause permanent brain damage. He is
so young, it’s unlikely that there has been any permanent damage.
So, that’s our great news. The last month has contained so many
amazing advancements I can’t even remember them all, let alone write
them all down. And, we haven’t even started treatment through
the autism/allergy specialist yet. We are still awaiting test results,
so the treatment plan isn’t formed yet. That will come next week. Praise
the Lord! Thank you for praying and caring!
He swung high! (He used to go crazy swinging even an inch or two was absolutely terrifying to him - sensory issues).
...not anymore!
And for dinner...GF free range turkey hot dogs, chips, carrots and smores! In a very rare event (like the first time in his life) we broke the diet rules. We used gluten-free, dairy-free, (and relatively free of toxins) "graham" crackers and chocolate bars, but couldn't find decent marshmallows here (we've found them in the past in MI), so I let him break the rules and eat normal marshmallows, blue food coloring, horrible chemicals and all. Believe me, this will only happen once or twice a year, for camping purposes only, when I don't remember to order others ahead of time...until his body has completely healed! And he did fine, no noticeable effects, but we won't make a habit of it. I know the cumulative effects, and we aren't going there!
