A week into Saccharum Officionale...

One thing that I like to note, as much to myself as to everyone reading, is that when our children our detoxifying, their skills take a noticeable hit.  I believe that when the toxins are moving out of their systems they are flying all over the place, causing havoc for the children.  After the toxins finally leave it is then interesting to see the skills return, and hopefully advance.  Dante has had terrible yeast die-off since early December.  That was my basis for comparison as he began taking this new remedy a little over a week ago and I must say:  the report is pretty good.

Report of this past week in Dante's World:

• The constant die-off symptoms have significantly gone down:  Dante has mainly had some minor pain after meals, except for...
• Two incidents which signal some die-off still occurring.  Basically a week into the remedy – he had a couple of relatively sudden “throwbacks”.  
• On Friday he had a bad hunger moment in which he threw himself back and the back of his head landed on the edge of a shelf at school.  That was not the best time for anyone around him at school, nor for me.  I went in when he was already pretty calm with the school nurse, offered him food and drink, and helped turn him around.  His teacher and aid then took him to his happy place, the swing, and he had a good day overall.  Only the big band-aid is left as a reminder of the ordeal!



Evidence of a throwback

• On Saturday afternoon he had a long tantrum that lasted over an hour when he was very angry and uncomfortable.  That is a clear difference between die-off and other pain, he gets visibly angry.  He got an Epsom bath and Motrin and it eventually subsided, but not before a throwback in which his cut bled again.   I noticed very loose BMs during these couple of days.  His BMs improved after that and he had no other bad die-off tantrums.

• As is usual when detoxifying, his appetite is HUGE and he is also peeing a lot.  I am giving him lots of electrolyte water with Welch’s grape juice and organic chicken broth in his meals to support him and hopefully prevent further throwbacks.
• His words and communication in general have continued in frequency and appropriateness.  One very cool thing is that on several occasions when it seems the pain has passed he looks at me happily and says, "All done!"
• His eye contact has been prolonged.  Months ago it was a risk to look him in the eyes because he would not tolerate it and would throw himself back!  
• I noticed very good fine motor dexterity on Saturday, the day he had the die-off. He needed no help stacking rings on his wood ring stacker.  We work with this periodically and usually I have to do everything hand-over-hand with him because his fine motor control is way off and he can not successfully put a ring on.  This dexterity was not as apparent today, however...
• The most exciting thing I have noticed is that when I take Dante to the bathroom he is peeing "on command"!  That was not something he would do unless he really had to go, but he has done it, even if he just has a little bit to pee.  He did it at least six times on Sunday so his control is improving!

These are my notes on a good day

Now for a couple of more detailed stories:

A little word:

A new little word appeared.  Dante went potty and when he was done he said to his babysitter, “Ya!”, meaning “All Done”.  What’s interesting is that the babysitter only speaks to him in Spanish and so he spoke to her in Spanish.  He has never said “Ya” to me but he has been saying “All done” very frequently and appropriately.  

On Saturday, as we played with the Starlight application and the letter “T”, I could swear he pronounced not only the sound for “T” but also the word “ten”, following what was said on the ipad.  

Signs of Defiance, Anyone?  
On Saturday his babysitter remarked that he was more connected, looking her in the eyes and communicating more effectively.  He wanted to touch a piece of art on the wall and she told him, “Dante, do not touch that.”  He answered, “Si” and kept touching it.  She insisted three times and he always looked at her, said “Si”, and continued to touch it.  So next she physically moved him to the sofa and told him again, "Dante, you do not touch that".  So he walked back to the object, touched it again, and said "Si!".  She had to laugh because he was not giving up.

Dante's universal sign
(it means 'Eat', 'Si', 'More', and 'I like it', take your pick!)

So despite the throwbacks, Dante is in a much better place than before he began the Sacc Off. We enjoyed all the changes observed this past week, and will continue to rejoice in his progress.


Good Night!