Murky Waters

Well, what a title. I have not been posting because for the whole month of March, I feel like I have been kind of looking through a dirty window. Many areas of my life have needed attention on top of the ongoing quest for my son's well-being. And nothing has been very clear until now.

I feel April is going to be a fresh new start.

So, we might be getting somewhere now. I got a call from our new DAN's office. The blood work was in and it showed a very low Vitamin D. It was 17. My doctor said it should be somewhere between 50-70. Liberty also had abnormalities on his labs. Lots of them. Apparently, a picture is emerging because the doc said we will review all of the lab results at our next appointment, which will occur just as soon as we get the stool sample and the urine OAT test back.

I botched the urine sample and had to do it over again. Imagine getting mixed up and putting the urine specimen in a stool sample vial! Like I don't have much on my mind. So, sue me. Geez Louise. The company sent me another kit....with only one vial so I would not get confused again. Thanks, Great Plains!

Oh yeah, the stool sample? The one you have to take for three days in a row, the one you have to take your child off of the important supplements for and cringe while he regresses? After all was said and done and I breathed a sigh of relief, my husband forgot to take it straight away to FedEx and it sat in the truck. Thank God it was a cool day and the windows were down. The company said it was "probably" okay, but they could not guarantee anything. We both cried. It was not his fault. He had so many things to do, including taking care of some things for my family members. He has a lot on his mind, too. So, I might have to redo that one, but I hope not.

Looking at the labs, the picture that is emerging is viral, which is no surprise. There are lots of indications of inflammation, again no surprise, but at least we have something definitive of where we stand today anyway, and it's very good to know.

Oh---I heard such good things about Enhansa, a highly absorbable type of curcumin, that I ordered it. I had no idea it is anti-fungal, anti-viral, and anti-inflammatory. Age of Autism had an article about it when it first came on the market. Our DAN doctor at the time told me he thought it was highly overrated so I didn't try it. I just see too many people having great results NOT to try it now. The regular curcumin I did see some good results with, but it is so MESSY, everything turns orange, and everything, including us, is starting to look jaundiced.

I have stopped chelation, put everything on hold until we get some of the labs cleared up. When we return to chelation, I will probably choose the Cutler protocol. The new DAN likes IV because it bypasses the gut completely, but...I don't know. The jury is still out on that one.

My son also probably needs iron and more zinc (he's mouthing everything still and has forever it seems). The Vitamin A is still low. High lymphocytes, low neutrophils. I read if you have neutropenia your body can't fight Candida. I read lots of things. I talk to lots of people on autism sites and blogs and personal email. The research, the space it takes up in my mind. Oy! Enough already.

Meanwhile, in spite of the incredible challenges going on with my little son, he is doing amazingly well in school. He is eating double what he was eating. He is initiating things by himself. Over Spring break, which was his best ever, I found him going to the potty all by himself. That was for most of the break, on some days, he had lots of accidents. Nothing is consistent and you know what? I believe it is because of his changing chemistry. Because of the X factor we have yet to name or know how it works.

But, there is something going on and we are getting there. We are going to find out what it is, I just know it. The picture is starting to become clear after two years on this dusty old trail. And, my new DAN was right. He looked at Lib and wanted to order a Vitamin D right away. I read that Vitamin D is an anti-inflammatory, actually a hormone, not a vitamin.

It's been a long, long road.

If I focus on what was lost because of this, I could melt into a pool of tears. But, it's not what is important or relevant anymore. We just have to go on from here. This is Lib's story and it's part of ours. I can choose to go kicking and screaming and fearing, or decide to live through this with some hope of grace, with courage and determination, and with the idea that, eventually, we are going to help this child.

Of that, I am sure.

Oh --- it's beach weather here. THIS is what will keep us all S A N E while we do this thing:

Gotta
Love
Those Emerald Green
Gulf Stream
Waters

and sugar white sand....."Mother, mother, ocean, I have heard you call...."