HBOT Day 4

Day 4 - 60 minutes - w/Bill

We still feel like we're seeing more talking immediately after HBOT. Today, we saw her being a bit sassy after she came out of the chamber. She was talking back and just being a little bit difficult. So, we gave her apple juice with Fish Oil(Nordic Naturals - liquid). After the first glass was finished she seemed to calm down. Now it's been almost an hour and a half post chamber and she seems more calm, still talkative but not as sassy.

xo

Melissa

HBOT...DAY 2 & 3

Day 2- 6/8 - 5PM for 50 minutes w/Bill

Recap of Day 2 w/ Bill yesterday - 50 minutes in the chamber

First, we didn't notice a difference with her sleeping the night after her first treatment and we didn't notice any sleep pattern changes last night after the second dive. We do feel like she was more talkative yesterday after her dive. She also seemed to be in a better mood and more alert. It was still difficult to get her in the chamber yesterday, there were a few tears, but better than day 1.

Day 3 -6/9 - 3:35PM for 55 minutes w/me

First, a huge success today...no tears!! She actually told me that we were going to get in the 'sub' (HBOT chamber) together today after I got up from my nap. When I got up, I asked her and she willingly climbed in there with me The best part is that she didn't freak out, didn't cry and made it with minimal ear discomfort for this dive. Then we made it for a full 55 minutes, victory! I don't feel like I saw any changes in her talking today, but to be fair she went and played with a friend in her room after the dive. Her appetite was the same but we did see a little arm flapping post dive. This could be just her or it could a post dive reaction. I know I've read that some children have symptoms like hyperactivity due to yeast or fungal die off. Tomorrow day 4 and then we can do 2 dives a day Saturday and Sunday. More updates will be coming...

xo

** VERY IMPORTANT**

You must be taking fish oils while doing HBOT treatments. I have been exhausted this week, mono like exhausted and couldn't figure out why. I called our doctor who said it is imperative that you take fish oils while diving. Why? Your body is detoxing and must have the fish oils to do its job. I took 6 of them today (high dose because of being so depleted) and already feel like myself again. Side note: Aleks was already on a high dose so she has been fine.

HBOT - Day 1...

The HBOT - Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy chamber is up and in our home. The chamber, concentrator and compressor are the three parts that deliver oxygen in a pressurized chamber. To better understand HBOT and why we're using it to help heal Aleks, here is a link to the Holland Center which is located here in MN. They are a FANTASTIC organization and a great place to start if you're new on the autism journey. They do a great job explaining HBOT and what it can do for our children.

Day 1 - June 6th - 5pm - Time in fully pressurized chamber- 45 min.

Post Dive Changes: Mood seemed better post dive/More talkative?

This is truly our first full session today using the HBOT chamber. The first time we actually tried the chamber we underestimated the pressure it puts on the ears. This scared Aleks and sent her into a panic. This time, we were prepared for the ear pressure and also for the panic of being in such a small space and the noise of the chamber.

I think both Bill and I also underestimated how difficult it would be to get our daughter into the HBOT unit. The chamber is seven feet long and once inflated just tall enough for her to sit up in and tall enough for me to sit up in, if I'm bent over. It's meant for laying down and is big enough for both of us to stretch out in. Aleks didn't mind crawling in with her blankie, Pillow pet and iPad, but she did mind when we zipped it up and started the concentrator and then the compressor. You could actually see the panic in her eyes. I saw it firsthand, because I was in there with her. In fact, one of us will be in there with her every single time we go in for a 'dive'.

The chamber pressurizes slowly and effects your ears a lot like flying. I would say it's a little more intense than flying but once it's fully pressurized you don't feel the ear pressure anymore. Today when we went in for our 'dive' I could see Aleks start to panic(pounding and screaming to let her out) and complain that the chamber was "freaking her out". We had given Aleks her first half stick of gum for her ears and also taken some juice in there for her so that she could swallow and allow her ears to pressurize. It wasn't easy keeping her calm and in there but after the first 10 minutes she did calm down and was able to watch a movie on the iPad. We actually got 45 minutes out of her before she had to go to the bathroom. All in all, success!

From here on out I'm going to update how long we went in and any changes we see with her behavior, speech, sleep or whatever the HBOT effects. Both Bill and I did notice that after the chamber she was in a great mood and seemed more talkative.

xo

Melissa

We're Going HBOT Baby!

It's not that I am so smart, it's that I stay with problems longer. ~Albert Einstein

If you're looking at this picture and asking yourself what in the world is that, say hello to HBOT. HBOT is otherwise known as Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. It's a therapy that delivers pure oxygen in a pressurized chamber. The HBOT was originally used to treat Olympic athletes who had injuries. It was found that the pure oxygen helped their bodies heal faster. Then it was found that HBOT also worked on stroke victims to help their brains heal...then the autism community found out about it. Like most biomedical treatments for autism, HBOT is not paid for by insurance and of course isn't cheap. What we do know is that thousands of parents swear that their children's symptoms, language and behavior changed for the better after doing a series of 'dives' in a HBOT chamber. Dives are the time that the child/parent go into the HBOT chamber and stays in their breathing pure oxygen.

For us, it hasn't seemed like the right time until now to try out HBOT. There were issues with other therapies, school and finding the time to travel back and forth every day for treatments. We decided to try something new this summer. With the help and advice from our DAN doctor, Dr. Spore, we are renting an HBOT chamber for a month this summer. We'll be able to do the dives at home. What finally made us decide to try it was the "what do we have to lose" idea. Money? As my girlfriend Julie said, "Money, you can always make more." True, so what's to lose from trying HBOT? We decided that now is the right time for us to try this. I'll be giving updates once we start on what we're seeing, what's it's like and whether we are seeing progress. HBOT helps increase blood flow to the brain and we know from research that the brain is able to heal itself. To me, this is really exciting and a natural way to help Aleks body and brain heal. We'll keep you posted! If you have any advice or questions, please let me know. I'll be more than happy to answer them in my future blogs.

Faith, Hope & HEALING ~ xo Melissa

Happy 6th Birthday to My Angel

My beautiful, little girl turned six on Sunday, March 27th. We are celebrating not only her turning six, but also that after 3 years she graduated from Occupational Therapy. We went from being at "therapy" (physical, occupational & speech) for four afternoons a week to now being there one time a week for speech therapy. We are so grateful to Kathy, Aleks' OT, for her hard work with Aleks. She truly pushed Aleks and didn't graduate her until she had repeatedly passed numerous tests for her age level.

One of the lessons I learned from this, is that you have to fight for what you know is right with your child. You are your child's best advocate. Aleks original OT was good for the first year, but was ready to graduate her after that year. We knew that she needed more OT and wasn't nearly ready to graduate. We fought to get her another therapist and after 2 wonderful years she graduated with the skills she needed all along.

Some days I am a quiet advocate, other days it seems like an endless fight. My biggest fear is that I'll miss something. That I'll miss a battle for her health and well being that I should have been aware of. Like so many other moms of kids with special needs I have a full plate with Aleks, work and life. I have to constantly remind myself to stay present and alert to her changing needs. I also write this aware that it's not just me. I am blessed to have a husband who is so active in her life and her healing. It's a team approach and I count on his observations and insights to what he sees that I may miss. My hope and prayer is that we will stay aware, observant and not slow down in our quest for her health and healing. xo Melissa

Losing a Tooth Can Be Scary

Losing a tooth can be really dramatic when you're on the spectrum. I never would have known that before my daughter Aleks came into my life. In fact, I thought the most important part about losing a tooth all had to do with the tooth fairy and how much money she left under the pillow. Two lost teeth later and one still loose tooth, I have an all new appreciation for what Aleks must have felt when she lost her first tooth.

Her loose tooth story begins like most kids. Aleks had a loose tooth, asked what would happen and was excited at the prospect of losing a tooth. The reality was very different. Aleks came home from school that day and said 'Mommy, my tooth is super loose.' She was eating her dinner when she yelled that her tooth just came out. She pulled it out of her mouth, looked at it and handed it to me. I told her how excited I was for her, which is when her tears started flowing. I thought maybe I acted too excited, was too loud or something along those lines. That wasn't it at all. She was upset because as she said, "Mommy, I lost part of my body." Wow, I had never looked at losing a tooth quite like that. She sat on my lap, we held her tooth and I let her cry. I then explained that it was okay to lose a tooth, it was a baby tooth and since she was becoming a big girl she needed a big tooth. We got out a mirror and I showed her the tooth that was coming to replace it. I also told her that everyone loses teeth and that she'll lose more but that there will be others to replace them. Finally, she was okay with losing her tooth. The night ended with her making me promise that the tooth fairy wouldn't take her tooth and that she could keep it. She said she was also scared of the tooth fairy coming in while she sleeping and that it scared her. Good point, that would scare me too!

xo

Melissa

Working On My Cookbook

I am so excited to finally be working on my cookbook! Having a child who is not only gluten free, but also casein, egg, soy, rice, corn and yeast free is really a challenge when it comes to baking. Every bakery and pre-made mix requires eggs or has rice flour in it, making it obsolete for us. Also, at the moment there is no place to buy a birthday cake, cupcake, cookie, cracker, etc. for my daughter. This is what lead me to start my cookbook, but is also having me toying with an even bigger undertaking. More to come on that later!

Anyway, the cookbook is in it's infantile stages but at least it's underway. I want to throw an idea out there. If there is a recipe you would like converted to gluten, dairy, egg free and you wouldn't mind my using it in my cookbook, please email it to me. I'll title it however you like in the cookbook if you allow me to use it. I've started doing this with my family's favorite recipes and I love knowing that Aleks is eating a variation of my mom's chocolate chip cookies. If you're interested just email me and send me the original recipe, what you'd want it called and I'll start working on converting it into one of my own recipes.

Also, I'll be co-hosting Twin Cities Live(ABC/Ch.5 @ 3pm) on Thursday October 28th and doing a gluten free cooking segment. I'll be featuring my gluten, casein, egg free cut out sugar cookie recipe. It's perfect for Halloween cookies!

God Bless-

Melissa