We have a diagnosis!

We have a diagnosis! 

(or, we could just call this post "The reason I haven't had a stroke yet")


On the suggestion of my friend Claire, we went to see a naturopath- Dee Baudoin, a Certified Natural Health Practitioner and Master Herbalist who holds a Doctorate of Naturopathy. She works at Health Matters on Kaliste Saloom Road in Lafayette as well as at an office in Birmingham, Alabama. I can't say enough about her. She's been wonderful to us and I highly recommend her to EVERYONE!!!!

http://www.healthmattersus.com/

She performed a biofeedback assessment scan that evaluates the body for physiological stressors. In this scan, Dee discovered that Hannah had a dangerous strain of Strep in her body. This kind of Strep is called "Group-A Streptococcal infection" and it all started as your run-of-the-mill strep throat back in October. Unfortunately, the antibiotic  that the walk-in clinic doctor prescribed didn't work (cue scary music), and the strep manifested in her organs. It traveled throughout her body and landed in her bladder. The bacterial overgrowth also spread into her ureter tubes, kidneys, colon, and gall bladder. It then colonized in her joints, causing the massive joint pain and inflammation. She was in excruciating pain!  Her kidneys were not functioning properly and Dee said if not corrected, she could have gone into kidney failure. 

Kidney failure!

And FIVE medical professionals with all their x-rays, blood work, bone marrow aspiration, AND two urinalysis, they couldn't find this? I'm baffled.

Even with this grim finding, Dee was confident that with her regimen that's she prescribed for Hannah, she would be healed of this bacteria within two months. 

My sick girl. Fever 103.7

We praised God for this report because everyone we came in contact with in the medical field could not find out what was wrong with her. But in one scan, Dee realized Hannah was on her way to full blown kidney failure!! And the bacteria had colonized first in her feet, then in her knees which caused her to have intense pain and misery, and then into her elbows, and the week we went to see Dee, her pain was in her neck. I shudder at the thought that it could have gone into her brain. 

When we got home and had this diagnosis, I got online and googled strep throat plus kidneys and found this interesting article. Hannah's name could have been inserted throughout this article.

http://www.oucom.ohiou.edu/communications/familymedicine/archives/2006/2948(FM).htm

And now, the treatment:

Dee prescribed four homeopathic medications (the drops in front). She also put Hannah on three homeopathic series (the ones in the boxes)- which are intense on her little system, and challenging to give to an eight year old because they're taken under the tongue (sublingually). She was also put on many different herbal supplements for her immune system, one was an anti-fungal, one was for muscle pain, and several others. 

Overnight Hannah went from never taking a single pill in her life to swallowing eighteen pills a DAY. It was extremely intense. And she was a champ.

But let me show you the difference 24 hours makes.... 

Today (4/15/14) marks the last day of treatment. She finished all her homeopathic series, and she's nearly done all her drops and herbs. She is so happy to have completed her treatment. And she wants to throw a "no more meds" party.

Ha. My girl. The party animal. Any excuse.

In addition to the natural herbs and supplements, we also started healing her little body with food. This sent me on a three month intense study of all things food and the fact that food is medicinal or destructive. I never knew.

MIND. BLOWN.

Dee instructed us to change our diet. And it was in this decision that I started pursuing healing Hannah through food. But I'll save that for another post. :)  Gotta keep you reading!

We continue to trust the Lord as He leads us in this process of getting Hannah healed and whole again. We believe that the prayers of so many people are the reason we were able to find out the answers as to why she's had fever for so long. 
Now this isn't saying that I didn't FREAK OUT last week when she started running fever.... we all thought "OH MY GOODNESS IT'S BACK!!!!!!"  But after I had a complete fit, I realized that although she's healed, she isn't immune to infection!! She will still get things that kids get. Eww.

And of course, as I am writing this entry, she woke up last night with both feet hurting at 1am, and immediately I lost several years off my life because sheer panic and terror kick in with thoughts of strep creeping back into her joints. Yeah, I didn't get much sleep. But we are praying it is just growing pains. If you know my kid, you know how extremely tall she is, and growing pains could explain the pain. But there is no pain as sad and heartbreaking as hearing your child crying in the middle of the night and there's nothing you can do to console her. I'm tired.

Pass the Xanax.