other things...

Checked off MommyBear's "To-Do" list:

*forget to give NBear one dose of glutathione lotion AND Probiotics, and regret it for the rest of the trip :(
*share NBear's biomedical treatment with a stranger at Disneyland (You know, Jenny McCarthy's book?) - Smile and get even more excited when she mentions that she too is a teacher, and shares a concern for parents who are afraid to exit the world of denial!
*give NBear a few AFP tablets - we know she may be exposed to foods with a certain amount of gluten in them
*try to maintain composure when the kids tear the hotel room apart
*be creative when writing a comment card for the hotel

photo shoot

After many grueling hours of hair and makeup, background lighting adjustments, and the pain of choosing the perfect location, it has all come down to this.

Presenting, NBear's biomeds arsenal in all their photogenic glory:

(the newest member to this group is the 200mg of ZEN bottle - Dr. Mielke called these pills "calming amino acids" :) Have they worked? Our answer is yes. NBear hasn't quite achieved her ULTRA ZEN state as of yet, but we'll take it! I wonder if they'll work for me.....

Pictured above is the "needs refrigeration" group. These supermodels were hard to deal with, considering they were extremely picky about superficial details like harsh light, and the amount of time they wanted to spend out of their cool environment. They were definitely a hard bunch to please! (from top: ProbioGold *probiotic capsules*, Glutathione topical cream, and - this was the hardest one to book because of its popularity - B-12 shot.)

30-Second Meds

And now, let's put our hands together for America's favorite meds-mixer, Machel Vay!

*applause machine goes off*

Hello everyone, and welcome to another segment of 30-Second Meds, where a good dose, is never more than half a minute away! I'm your host, Machel Vay *beaming smile* - let's begin!

Alright you guys - this is sooo easy, even a man can do it while watching his favorite football game. See-ree-ously! I'm going to need a Nu-Thera tablet, a trace minerals tablet as well *opening bottles and grabbing a piece from each* - you can TOTALLY find all these ingredients at your nearest GNC or Whole Foods stores, by the way, although I was lucky enough to be able to purchase them through my daughter's DAN! doctor.

Hmmmm...oh yes, and let me grab this container of Magnesium powder, and this calcium powder while I'm at it. *balancing each one in the crook of her arm* Whoops - almost lost one there! Maybe I should put these down on the counter...just like that! Haha! Sorry, Giada - grabbed your line there, girl! You know I love ya!

*returning to the kitchen cupboard* No, I didn't forget ya, Mr. strawberry-flavored cod liver oil! Come to mama. Now - you want to get one that says "omega-3" on it - or is that on all of them? Who knows? It's good for you, and the strawberry flavor keeps the gag reflex down. Aaaaalways a Pa-LUS! Okay guys - we're almost ready to start, but keep in mind that there is a last ingredient we'll be needing, it'll have to wait to join the mix until the last second though, because it has to stay in the refrigerator 'til we need it.

'Kay - now you grab yourself a small dipping bowl - you know, like this one *holds small porcelain bowl up*, where you would put a dipping element like peanut sauce or ketchup. The neat thing about this recipe you guys, is that you don't even need to go in any particular order! How...great.....is....THAT!? You just get the right measurements, and BAM! Haha - stole that one from my good friend Emeril! YOU ROCK, MAN! But seriously - you just put everything into this bowl like so:

Open up the Nu-Thera and Trace Minerals tablets, and spill the contents into the bowl. Can everyone say Mmmm...mmm? That looks wonderful already! All powdery and just light and fluffy! Do you see how the light orange color of the Nu-Thera just complements the beige of the trace minerals? Wonderful. Okay, now we're going to need a quarter teaspoon EACH of the calcium and magnesium powders. *dropping those in the bowl* Wow. I mean, just - wow. Now the pure white hues - can you see it? Let's get a close-up right here, camera guy - are just brightening the whole thing up. Beautiful. I cannot wait!

Now it's time for Mr. CLO, or cod liver oil, you know I love those shortcuts - EVOO, remember? *laughing to herself* Let's get a medicine dropper for this baby and measure out 1 teaspoon, and just drizzle it onto our dry ingredient mix. There. Perfect.

Remember our mystery ingredient? *opening refrigerator* It's time for him to make his grand entrance - say hello to Pro-biotic! You'll need one tablet as well. It's really important *opening up tablet and spilling contents into the mix* to remember to save this for last because it really does need to stay cold - probiotics are live cultures, so when they're exposed to heat they don't survive. Think of yogurt, you know? These babies are great in helping with digestion, and just basic tummy health!

*mixing* All.....righty! Mix this baby up until all the chunks melt into the solution - it should start to turn orange, like you see here. Ooohhhh yes! Looks like we've got another winner here! Love it, love it, love it! Now, depending on your kid, use either a regular spoon, or a medicine dropper like we used for the CLO. I know my girl started with the dropper, but once she got used to the taste, she was ALL SPOON, baby. I'm so proud of her! I love you, NBEAR! *blowing kiss*

And there you have it, folks - meds in 30 secs! What'd I tell ya? I'm Machel Vay, and always remember - a great dose, is never more than half a minute away! See you next time - I've got to find NBear! ;)

*fade to black, and cut to commercial on making our vaccines safe*

The BIG "O"

Organic, or not organic - that is the question.

I must admit that when my sis-in-law had her first child (many years ago) and she was determined to allow only organic foods and triple-purified microbes to enter the kid's body, I was beyond hysterics. Hey - and so was hubby, so I'm not letting him off THIS hook! I remember the days she would be dressed in her nightgown, hair looking like a bird's unkempt nest, shoving down packs of organic veggies and fruit down the blender's throat...it was a sight to behold. The kitchen cupboards looked like something out of a science experiment: words like "probiotic", "chemical-free", "organic", "hemopathic"(?) and "no-hormone" appeared in every single food and household item that belonged to her family.

And now, I am the sight.

I never thought the legends were true - stories about an organic section in supermarkets like Safeway and Nob Hill. One other tale even made me shudder: it told of a magical place called Whole Foods - where it was not just a SECTION, but an ENTIRE store dedicated to this healthy way of life. You mean this place really existed? The first time I saw the words "Whole Foods" was in a caption underneath Angelina Jolie's picture in US magazine. Sure she had a basket in her hands, but for all I knew, she was snapped filming a scene for a new movie...called...."Skinny Girls Always Get the Hunks"...but - I digress.

My first trip to Whole Foods was inevitable, since embracing this new program for NBear. I swear, if anyone EVER looked like a fish out of water, it was me. It wasn't a scary experience - just overwhelming. Extremely overwhelming. As I navigated through the seemingly -endless aisles of "all things good for you", I was relieved to find the huge selection of GFCF items. I mean, HUGE. It made me feel like GFCF people were a new species, with my little one belonging to their list :( Let me also add that if you're in the mood for looking at meds and supplements from Aloe Vera juice to Gingko extract, well - you've found your mecca. (In addition, if you're into drinking colostrum - didn't look long enough to see if it was human or not - they sell that too! *turning green* White plastic bottle. Milk section. Salut!)

My run at the health store heaven was not without its share of interesting conversation:

Hubby: This is cereal?
Me: *eyeing he green box* Yup!
Hubby: Rice bran with Green Tea Matcha? What the heck?
Me: Hey - it's HEALTHY! Isn't that why you sent me there? You said she needs to eat healthy and organic foods.
Hubby: I know, I know...(*I think I heard him mouth "SHE, not US" somewhere in there*)
Me: AND - look what I found! *Holding up a bottle of Peach Kifer* Wasn't this what you looked up? It says here - "a great probiotic"! Let's try it. *ripping open the plastic rim around the top*
Hubby: *speechless, looking at the determination and zeal in my eyes*
Me: *taking my first swig* Wow....this...tastes...ummm.....thick. Really thick....and....wow.

WAIT! WE INTERRUPT THIS POST TO SHARE THIS IMPORTANT INFORMATION: NBEAR JUST WALKED UP TO ME, TOYS IN HAND AND SAID: "Mommy, you want to play toys with me?" YEEEE-----HAH! FIRST TIME EVER! I HAVE TO GO! :)

....by the way, the whole Kifer thing didn't work out. It's sitting on my refrigerator shelf. Probiotic or not, TASTE must always factor in, somehow, n'est pas?

LAST BIT: If you want to see a mini GNC, come on over. I'm sure all parents whose children are on this program will agree.

...and then, the starting pistol was fired...

My daughter has autism.

She is six - will be seven at the end of this month.

I do not want to start telling her story from the beginning, simply because she is not the same person she was when she was two, or three. The day of her fateful diagnosis, the times she would grunt and throw uncontrollable tantrums, and the devastating moment we realized she had stopped saying words - and would stop saying words for almost a year - are no longer relevant to the story that her life is telling now.

Cured? No - not at all. Far from it. This is not going to be a story of immediate rewards or lightning-speed miracles - though one may hope for them, of course ;) Instead, I hope (like many parents out there) to GIVE hope, and to open more eyes to what you may want to explore if your child has autism. (My newfound mantra is "Leave no stone unturned!")

This all sound familiar? It should. From the depths of my heart I thank Jenny McCarthy for writing "Louder than Words" and sharing her experiences with her son, Evan - and for the many friends who told me about the book's existence. (And to K, who bought it for me...do you realize how precious it is to us now?) See it here.
http://www.talkaboutcuringautism.org/jenny/

In the past few months, we (hubby and I) have done the following:
* visited Dr. Mielke - a DAN! doctor in Pleasanton

* watched NBear get blood drawn both at that lab and at Kaiser
* collected urine, hair, and the ever-favorite stool sample for her biomedical testing
* started her on an anti-fungal called Fluconazole (Diflucan)
* began her biomedical treatment with an arsenal of supplements, which include: Probiotics, Cod liver oil, Nu- Thera, (she's not on the SUPER Nu-Thera, as the link shows), Trace minerals, Magnesium powder, and Calcium powder. The last of which will be the infamous B-12 shots, which we'll have to administer pretty much like an epi-pen.

* started a journal to note any reactions or changes NBear experiences during her treatment

* said goodbye to a lot of our savings.....without caring ;)

......SIGH.....

My energy is drained right now. Time is 11:43 pm. I promise to continue as soon as I can.

The important thing for everyone to know right now is that we've awakened to the sound of the starting pistol.

Our marathon has begun.