I am totally amazed by Desiree Jennings, the Redskins Cheerleader, who got "dystonia, a rare neurological condition with no cure brought on by infections, brain trauma or, as is believed in her case, reaction to medication". In this case the medication was the seasonal flu shot she received at her local Safeway grocery store. Desiree was plagued with tremors, seziures and stuttering, and could not walk forward more than a few steps without stumbling and falling.

Now, Desiree has been almost cured of this incurable disease. She started seeing Dr. Rashid Buttar of the Center for Advanced Medicine and Clinical Research. Dr. Buttar has detoxified her body and now Desiree can talk again, without having seziures.

Watch her here. And check up on her progress and her story here.

This is kind of a surprise to me, but a good surprise.


Symposium Raises Awareness Of Specialists And Pediatricians About GI Disorders In Autism And Identifies Critical Areas For Further Study

As many of you know I was on a bit of a hiatus while Matthew attended AIT in Virginia. We went to McLean Speech and Language run by Susan Glaub to get his Berard AIT. Susan was trained by Guy Berard himself.

On our first day there Matthew sat and listened to Reggae music that was digitally altered to stimulate his auditory sense and help start it to respond appropriately. It is a half hour session twice a day and after about 15 minutes into the session they have really gotten his auditory system overloaded. So we would start to see behaviors such as hand flapping and his other favorite stim, writing in the air, appear. Susie said this is very normal since they were purposefully overstimulating his system and these are the ways Matthew chooses to cope with feeling over stimulated. We saw other behaviors emerge as the ten day program went along; things such as anger, excitability and emotional sensitivity. But we also started to see cognitive gains that had not been there before. They were subtle to the casual observer, but to those of us that know Matthew best, these were blaring sign posts. Matthew started to express himself in more complex sentences and he seemed to understand more abstract thought. At one point he told his dad that the reason Dad moved the chair Nico was sitting in was because Nico could not see the TV from his current spot and this way he would be able to. Normally Matthew would have simply asked Larry, repeatedly, why he was moving the chair.

We are still struggling with certain problems that are holding him back from being labeled "fully recovered", but this little boy has made such amazing strides that Larry and I both believe he will make a full recovery soon. We know that AIT has helped him, and the really cool thing about AIT, is that the benefits are not fully noticed for at least 6 to 12 months. He will continue to heal in that time frame and just get better and better.

Once the holidays are over and the new year is here we are going to try HBOT with the hopes that it will both kill yeast and heal the inflammation in his brain. If we could simply stop his two preferred stims he would appear completely normal. There may be residual issue that we will have to address, but these two things should get him to the point where he is virtually indistinguishable from "normal" children.

Last night I wanted to try something different and decided to make shrimp tacos instead of our usual picata type shrimp. I decided to fry the shrimp and use corn tortillas and a spicy mayonnaise, hoping for the best. Well, they turned out delicious, at least to Larry and I. The boys weren't so sure about them, but Matthew did eat all of his even if he was just trying to get strawberry sorbet as a dessert.

The Recipe:
enough shrimp for 3 shrimp per taco
flour blend (recipe below)
cumin
chili powder
salt
egg
lime juice
corn tortillas
mayonnaise
taco sauce
Tabasco sauce
Oil for frying
vegan cheese
GFCF "sour cream" if desired
cilanto (optional)

Clean and shell shrimp, including removing the tails.

In a shallow bowl mix eggs for an egg wash. In a separate bowl mix flour, cumin, chili powder and salt to taste. Dip shrimp in flour mixture, then into egg mixture and then back into flour mixture to get a nice even coating.

Heat oil in frying pan and fry shrimp in small batches until golden brown and cooked though, but not over cooked. Set aside to drain on a plate covered in paper towels or brown bags. Sprinkle with a small amount of lime juice - do not use much or they will get soggy.

Warm tortillas in microwave oven by placing them on a plate and covering with a damp towel and microwaving for 20 - 25 seconds.

Mix mayonnaise, additional cumin, additional chili powder, lime juice, taco sauce and Tabasco sauce to make a zesty mayonnaise. This is all to taste so add sparingly and taste often.

Lay tortillas flat, spread with a little mayonnaise mixture, add about 3 shrimp, vegan cheese, GFCF "sour cream" and cilantro. Fold tortilla and eat!

The Winner of the Pearl Paradise Pearl Bracelet is:
littledeadmommy said... 41 @ October 16, 2009 1:24 AM

I tweeted the giveaway. http://twitter.com/littledeadmommy/status/4909203684

littledeadmommy@gmail.com

An online friend of mine is adopting two children from Rowanda. Here is what she has to say and how you can help:

We've been given a wonderful fundraising opportunity from Just Love Coffee. This is a company started by a man named Rob Webb. Rob has adopted from Ethiopia (the birthplace of coffee!), and from that experience, he has started Just Love Coffee to help orphans in Ethiopia and families adopting children all over the world. The coffee's are all fair trade and they have some delicious flavors - including a Rwandan coffee!

When you purchase Just Love Coffee through our link, you will be helping to build a school for older children in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and helping to bring our children home! We receive $5 from every bag of coffee purchased. 100% of the money we receive from this fundraiser will go directly towards our adoption expenses.

FYI - Shipping for 1 bag or 2 bags cost the same!

So head over to their Just Love Coffee site and order a bag (or 10!) and help them out. And remember that Coffee is a great gift for the holidays, especially Christmas!

This is amazing and crazy, and just so, so wrong. If I had a girl there is no way I would get her vaccinated with Gardakill. Oops Gardasil.

Gardasil Researcher Drops A Bombshell - The Philadelphia Bulletin Archives