Its been a week or so since my last post.

A lot has changed… there have been significant improvements, I believe.

Adahlia is doing well. She clicks her tongue to talk to us, opens drawers, enjoys games of chase, and takes the spoon from us to feed herself organic pureed veges and fruits and blends, and even hands the spoon back to us so we can give her more. She is attentive, inquisitive, and strong. Her inclination for music is as strong as ever – rocking her body to music, reading picture books together, feeding herself, taking baths and showers, and being outside in the backyard, are some of the things she really loves. She gets very excited to do any of them.

She is taking two doses of chinese herbs a day, usually, sometimes only one. I estimate she is getting about 1/3 of what we had intended to give her. But dosage is an interesting and much debated subject in chinese herbal medicine, and at least she is getting something. I’ve been able to give her some very good moxa treatments while she naps recently, using a higher quality moxa, and I believe she is responding to them.

Last Friday, I gave us both a bath in water mixed with a cup of bentonite clay. She was constipated the next day, and spent an uncomfortable day and night. Clearly, it was too much for her. So, the next morning, we took a warm bath in about a cup of magnesium sulfate (epsom salts), because magnesium draws water into the intestines. Happily, the situation resolved there, in the bathwater, and she was fine the rest of the day. I had intended to give her a bentonite bath twice a week, but it might be more like every 5-7 days. I will have to experiment to find the best dose – perhaps 1/2 cup of clay with 1/4 cup of epsom salts.

The bentonite should be able to pull out any toxins, pathogens, or heavy metals that might be in her system, the environmental toxicity or pathogen that I believe is causing the expression of the DBA gene. I am also taking bentonite internally at night every couple days, and am making sure to increase my water intake, as well as to take my prenatal and fishoil vitamins in the morning, just in case of any absorption issues.

Yesterday, or perhaps it was the day before, she had an absolutely fantastic poop. Poop is a big topic amongst natural medicine practitioners because it is one of the best indicators of the health of an animal. And yes, while I know that many “experts” say the poop of a breast-milk fed infant varies, her poop has historically not been healthy. Too liquidy. Too much mucus. Strangely colored (bright yellow, bright orange, even green). Much, much too stinky. Well, we’d noticed for a few days that her poop wasn’t stinky anymore. And then yesterday, it was not only practically odorless, but it was this fantastic smooth, creamy peanut butter consistency. Healthy poop! Hooray!!!!

Last Thursday, I saw Dr. Tom T, who does visceral manipulation. It was absolutely amazing. I felt so much better after his work on my kidneys and liver, after they were freed up and moving as they should. Today, we had a follow-up. He was very surprised, and said repeatedly, “you are a very healthy individual.” He was not expecting me to heal so much between the two visits, and sent me away today after our appointment saying I was good to go. (He had told me he anticipated 3-4 visits). The blood flow to my right kidney is better, my diaphragm moves more freely, my kidneys and liver now move with my breath (as they should – they were stuck), and in general, it just feels like there is more room for everything now that everything is in its proper place.

On Sunday I was able to receive a PHENOMENAL acupuncture treatment from my mentor, Dr. Brenda Hood. She is a truly amazing acupuncturist. At one point, it literally felt as though someone had placed those paddles used for restarting a heart on my right kidney – it nearly made me jump off the table. It was a very strong, very therapeutic treatment. For about two hours afterwards, I felt as though cured. I had tons of energy and zero pain. Then, I crashed, and needed a nap. Its okay — most animals in need of healing naturally sleep more — and this sort of burst of energy and/or extraordinary fatigue is a healing pattern I’ve seen in my own patients.

There is still some discomfort in my back and flanks, but that’s because structure is probably only part of the issue at play. The dregs of something still needs cleaned out, and I feel I need alot of rest and restoration on a very deep level. I also think I do better when we regularly drink a glass of juiced carrots, celery, beets and apples (a glass a day). I think it helps nourish or support my overall health, so more energy can go towards healing my kidneys.

Dr. T also took a look at Adahlia, and pronounced her very strong, very energetically sensitive, and very healthy. Like most who see her, he was very smitten. He found her to be a remarkable little person and was highly impressed, but also at a loss for her red blood cell issue. He simply couldnt see anything wrong with her from his perspective, and in fact, thought her amongst the healthiest, and brightest (in spirit) of children.

Perhaps, as I’ve improved so much in the past week, she is improving too. We are 2 weeks from her last transfusion tomorrow, and she looks alright. We are prepared for the start of her decline and a need to transfuse her, but we also feel that it is possible that she is better. Mentally, emotionally, socially, and energetically, she is great. She is very communicative, very affectionate, and not nearly as fearful. She recovers quickly from disappointments and has even displayed extraordinary patience. She is well coordinated, likes to play and be mischevious, and learns quickly. She clearly understands some basic words, like “water,” “milk,” “no,” “wait,” “come,” and “more.” When she wakes after a nap, she doesn’t always start to cry, sometimes she just calls out for me to come get her, and she doesnt cry in her sleep nearly as much. She breastfeeds much better than she ever did before. Its wonderful – absoluetly beautiful – and I am so happy we have it. And, while it is only the second time that she has ever had such a healthy poop, I find it very encouraging.

With all this good news, I must be honest in that yesterday was very difficult for me. I had a resurgence of pain in both kidneys and it was really disheartening. I felt SO good over the weekend and I am really wanting to be better, and have this whole ordeal behind us, that it was quite the blow. But perhaps I exerted myself too much, because I did feel so much better, and today, I took it easier – I napped with Adahlia and took a couple hours off from caring for her, and let Joe help me more.

In sum, our journey isn’t over but we are doing much better, and we are actually quite healthy aside from our strange disease, and we are very, very determined to heal. Luckily, we are in the right city to do it, and I happen to have the education, resources, and skills necessary for healing mysterious illness. As appointments with other professionals wane, my own treatments of Adahlia and myself continue. We are getting better – its just a couple steps forward, and one step back. We just have to keep at it.

Thank you so much for your continued support. Thank you for your laughter, your prayers, your love, and light!