Indpendence Day

Well...it's 4th of July again...Independence Day... and I always like to ask myself the same question every year since Lily was diagnosed,"Is Lily more independent than she was a year ago?" It has been a difficult question to ask in the past because we didn't always like the answer...which was sometimes "no". But, I can proudly say that this year we can say "YES". Here are some accomplishments she has made in the past year:

• she is potty trained for the most part (communicating that she has to go is still an issue but we'll take it!)
• She is better at problem solving

• Greater social awareness and ability to interact

• Communicating more effectively - her speech is a little better but still a major obstacle

• Successfully integrated into a regular Kindergarten for almost 1/2 day most days...she had some days where it was a no go:-)
  

• Using a spoon and fork (I didn't think this was ever going to happen! It's sad to say that my almost 6 year old still needs to wear a bib most of the time:-) Maybe we'll even be able to eat in a public restaurant again...keep your fingers crossed!
  

• Sleeping through the night (Thank you God!)

• Answering our questions with one word answers about 50% of the time

We still have work to do but we are so proud of how far she has come. It's so cute to hear Braden say, "Mom, did you hear what Lily just said" when she does speak. He is in the same awe of her progress as we are and he is only seven! Every day we see a little more of her want and need to interact with Braden and with us.

I had a phone consultation with a nurse at True Health Medical Center yesterday and we are starting a new protocol tomorrow. Lily's stomach dysbiosis issues have been resolved. According to the nurse, we now need to address her viral issues (high levels of Epsteinn Barr virus) and mitochondrial dysfunction. One of the most important things I have learned about the Defeat Autism Now approach to treating autism is that they treat the co-morbid conditions that often go hand in hand with autism like mitochondrial dysfunction, metal toxicity, intestinal dysbiosis, infections, viruses, etc. As each of these co-morbid issues is resolved, some of the symptoms of autism seem to improve greatly or go away all together.

Lily will be starting Valtrex on Sunday to tackle the Epsteinn Barr Virus in her system. We have no idea where the heck it came from...this is usually a virus associated with mononucleosis...the nurse said that this virus is another sign of Lily's immune system dysfunction. She has trouble fighting off daily viral exposures that most of us are able to rid of easily. She made us aware that there will most likely be some reactions to the valtrex like fever, rashes, irribabilty....oh joy!!! We'll just have to keep on eye on our girl to make sure her reactions aren't too negative. Some of the positives we're hoping to see with this protocol are improved speech and just overall better functioning.

Wouldn't it be great if this was the "magic bullet" that makes her autism disappear!! Of course I had to ask Lily's nurse if they've seen any kids just "come out of autism" with Valtrex in their practice. I know that I've read about this happening with Stan Kurtz's son (read more about his story). She said that they haven't seen this type of recovery with Valtrex treatment alone. She's not a believer in the "magic bullet" theory and has seen kids recover (including her own son) with the treatment of many of their deficiencies simultaneously. We're not counting on it....but of course we would love it!!!

Here is what her regimen is going to look like for the next 3 months:

Morning
Step One: 1/2 capsule of the enzymes PRX and EDTA 30 minutes before she eats breakfast
Step Two: 1/2 capsule of Valtrex, 2 ml Diflucan, Fish oil, Pure Minerals, 1 drop of Vitamins D and K, and 1/2 tsp. Colostrum Gold and 1 1/4 capsule of MitoRescue

Evening
Probiotics Klaire Detox and VSL #3 (1 cap. of each), Glutathione Cream, 1/2 tsp. magnesium citrate, 25 mg 5htp, 1 cap. artichoke extract, 1/2 cap. valtrex and MB12 injection (every 3 days)

A new journey begins....and we're in for what will probably be another roller coaster ride!! I'm going to brush the dust off of my video camera and keep daily video records over the next few months. Hopefully I'll be able to figure out how to post these to my blog...we'll see!!