Staying rooted

This Saturday that just passed we held our monthly respite care. The few hours we watch special needs children at our church allows parents to go and take care of things they couldn't normally do with their children, or just to go home and get a few hours rest. However they see fit to spend their time is not our concern, we just want to provide them with the break they may desperately be in need of. I serve as a Buddy to our VIP's. Even though I have a child with special needs, it has become my passion to help those who don't have the luxury of leaving their child with older siblings while they need to run errands. However, Jordan does attend because it gives him an opportunity to get out and do activities and have biblical lessons taught to him that he wouldn't otherwise get.

Bible study and Buddy Break, our respite care, are two ways I can gauge just what's going on with Jordan and his behaviors. If Jordan does not do anything drastic at school, I don't receive word, which is okay now because I'd rather not get any note than a note sharing something that can be handled by his teachers. Ever since Jordan has come to Buddy break, which will be 2 years in September, he hasn't been the easiest of children to watch over. He likes to run, throw things or knock over chairs. He's always had a special diet, but wanted the snacks provided to the other VIP's during snack time. Most times I had to be called to get him in line so his buddy could continue on with their lesson or whatever they were partaking in. But this Saturday, was very different.

As many of you know, Jordan has been on the Nemechek protocol since October. This regimen doesn't call for special diets, but simply a prebiotic, cooking with extra virgin olive oil that meets California regulations, and fish oil (EPA/DHA). When he started it I noticed minor, positive changes in his cognitive level. However, his behaviors were still the same, sometimes even worse. I couldn't understand why this was happening when his levels of propionic acid should have been decreasing and making him calm. However, I stuck with the protocol because of the gains I did see, plus because Jordan didn't become like this overnight, I couldn't expect that things would get better overnight either. As I waited patiently to find the reason behind why this protocol wasn't changing his behaviors from negative to positive, it came to me 6 months later. Jordan was still sensitive to the fish oil. A skin allergen test from years ago proved that he was allergic to peanuts, egg and shellfish. Meaning he should stay away from seafood altogether. However, since the age of 5 he has been on some kind of cod liver oil. It didn't affect him when he was younger, or maybe it did, just not the way it affects him now. I removed the fish oil and implemented a vegan version. They were in capsule form, but he was able to swallow them with no problem after 1 day.

One week after starting Jordan on the vegan oils, I introduced magnesium to him because his physical symptoms showed he was deficient in it. During research I found that a blood test will not let you know if you are deficient in magnesium because only 1% of it is in the blood and 99% are in the cells. Jordan having small spams for years and also the fact that he was still sensitive to a lot of foods like the avocado that I had to remove, the fish oils and salty snacks was enough for me to realize we was still magnesium deficient. Magnesium is needed to keep DAO levels regular so there won't be a problem with allergies. It worked for a short time, but he quickly became erratic again after school when needing to get on the bus. I thought it may have something to do with the magnesium because I had already removed the oil for a reason that escapes me now. Probably due to his behavior as well. I chose not to remove the magnesium right away, but wait until I truly figured out if it was an issue at all. When I looked over the protocols FB page, I found a lot of people used Magnesium Calm. When I researched that product, I found they came in different flavors. I like to stay away from flavors with Jordan and come to find out the brand he was taking contained two citrus flavorings. I bought the Magnesium Calm original and the Jordan I see now is amazing.

Like I mentioned earlier, I like to see how Jordan is progressing during respite care and Bible study. This past Saturday at Buddy Break he was the best he has ever been. He sat and colored, which is what he usually does so no change there. But when it came to snack time, he ate he food while the other children had their chips and fruit snacks, without asking for some. He turned to pay attention to the TV for lesson and worked on his craft. After all was said and done, he finally asked for a bag of chips. Because of him being well behaved, I conceded and allowed him to have one. He ate them and did not ask for a second bag, but threw his trash away and continued on calmly the rest of the few minutes left. I was pleasantly surprised. I'm not going to say it hasn't affected him somewhat in the days after, but the reactions I see are minor compared to what I used to see when he had something he shouldn't have. It may take some time for him to be able to have something other than what is required on the GAPS diet, but I don't have any doubt that he will never be able to. We just have to go slow and steady.

Standing firm in my beliefs is what has gotten us to where we are today. I am a strong believer in God's word. Not only about the healing of any sickness and disease, but even in the small things.  Colossians 2:6-7 says "As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving." We can't give up hope on things because they don't happen right when we want it to. That is the mentality of the world. But Christians are not called to think as the world thinks. Therefore, if something doesn't make sense, like keeping Jordan on the magnesium until I can figure out if it was the problem or not, I will continue to wait to hear what God says instead of doing what my flesh wants to do. If I continue to do that, I will get the right answer every time.