WELCOME TO CLINTON'S CAUSE
I was born October 28th, 2005. Mommy and Daddy were so excited to have me, because I was a boy!!! I was administered the Hep B shot at birth as well as Vitamin K. They had to give me oxygen at birth as I had fluid in my lungs. Mommy and Daddy were worried at first, but the nurses said this is pretty common.
When they got me home I screamed non stop!! The most I would sleep was 45 minutes at a time and that was only if I was held. Mommy kept asking the doctor's what was wrong with me and they kept reassuring her that it was just colic and that I would grow out of it. I had fever pretty frequently and I always spit up every time I burped. I had tummy problems and was always either constipated or had diarrhea. They changed my formula several times and I just didn't get any better.
At two months old I went in and had my check up and again they told Mommy and Daddy that I was fine and were quite impressed with me, despite my parent's concerns. They gave me my shots - DTap, Hep B #2, IPV, and Prevnar. I still cried my little heart out and had digestion problems with the formula. I had constant gas. At 5 months old I had my DTaP 2, Hep B #3, IPV 2, and Prevnar 2. At this visit Mommy had asked the doctor about Thimerisol and she told us not to worry about it. Mommy and Daddy had heard of some buzz about kids getting ADHD and AUTISM as a result of getting vaccines. The doctor said there is no way that these reports are accurate and brushed them off stating that she wouldn't give anything to my son that would harm him. So, with reluctance Mommy did what she thought was best and had them give them to me. I started growing and after that visit Mommy made up her mind because of my behavior that she wasn't going to let them put that STUFF in me anymore.
By 6 months of age I was smiling and trying to sit up and I started resting a little bit better. I didn't really sit up though. Instead I kind of wobbled over. I ate my solid foods with a fork and a spoon by 9 months of age. Mommy and Daddy started feeling better about me. That only lasted a short while though. I never got up on all fours and crawled. Instead I did this army crawl. I never walked around a table, in fact I never walked - I RAN!! I said Mama and Dada one or two times. Then the regression began.
By 18 months old I had stopped using my fork and spoon, I would just sit and isolate in the corner, I quit playing with my parents, I didn't like being held or hugged on, I wouldn't respond to my name being called, I never smiled, I would violently bang my head against the wall in the middle of the night when I would wake up from night tremors. There were lots of nights I would have vomit all over my bed, or be covered up in diarrhea. I was really heavy and swollen. When I was two Mommy and Daddy felt as though I was "lost".
They started hearing buzz about this GFCF diet and Biomedical Intervention. After hearing several stories of other parents who had been going through the same thing they really got concerned, because there was apparently a link between vaccines and Autism. There just wasn't much information out there that was consistent. They tried to put me 0n a gluten free diet for awhile, but didn't see very good results so they quit. This was because they really hadn't researched it that well at this point.
Everyone in our family and all of our friends just kept saying "He'll grow out of it", "You're overreacting", but they knew that they weren't overreacting. However, we just started living life and held on to the hope that maybe I would grow out of it.
When I was 3 and a half Mommy and Daddy said enough is enough. They took me to a new doctor for a well child visit. The doctor criticized Mommy for not having me up to date on my shots. He didn't examine me or give us a questionaire or do any testing at all. He watched me for 25 minutes and said to Mommy, "Your son has classic autism." "You'll need to register him with a program like Headstart and also with the Department of Mental Health and I'll see you again in a couple a months." He also stated,"Your son will never go to a normal school, he'll never have relationships, he'll probably end up institutionalized." Mommy had a really bad panic attack, because she had finally received the diagnosis that she least wanted to hear. The doctor was very cold and didn't offer any comforting at all. After a few hours of prayer she immediately got on the phone and the internet and started looking into Autism, trying to find as much information out as she possibly could. She realized very quickly that there was so much information in so many different places and so many different treatments available that she needed to slow down and take in as much as she could in little spurts. Mommy decided that she wanted to look into taking me to a different pediatrician to get yet another opinion. Never is a word my mom and dad don't like very much.
We started back on the diet, however this time we did GFCF which is Gluten and Casein free. Within 1 week I was starting to talk a few words. Prior to that I was completely non verbal. I would just speak gibberish. That gave my parents a lot of hope that maybe there was some connection with the diet and my symptoms. They would spend many nights up all night online looking up anything to do with my condition. They still do!! We don't have a lot of money, so the thought of all of these treatments became very overwhelming, because they were hearing of all of these kids "recovering" from Autism, however it was costing thousands of dollars. They would just sit there and cry watching these stories of these kids like me and they still do that too. They wanted me to have the same opportunity and that brings us to now!
My parents started calling DAN(Defeat Autism Now) doctors to see who would take our insurance and soon realized that most of these doctors don't deal with insurance, and the ones who would take insurance wouldn't take Medicaid, because they were apparently not getting paid. This was so discouraging. To know that there was help out there, but because of money I wouldn't have the same opportunity.
They decided that they would do whatever it took to get me the help I needed.
Mommy started talking to a friend of hers who is a massage therapist. She does a treatment called Cranial Sacral Therapy. She is teaching Mommy and Daddy how to do it. It helps me sleep at night. We quit looking for a DAN doctor for awhile, because it started becoming very discouraging to continue to hear that they don't take insurance or that they required some absurd amount of money to put me on a waiting list.
After the arrival of my new baby brother in June of 2009, they took him to a new pediatrician for his newborn visit and discussed this with her. She was very inquisitive and skeptical of the testing and treatment that they were talking to her about. She explained that she had not been trained in that and that she thought that most of the tests were redundant. She told them she would like to see me in her office though for a better look. They did make an appointment. But they felt as though another brick wall was hit. My mom couldn't understand her statement of not being trained in this??? What do you mean not trained in this? All we needed was a CBC (Complete Blood Count), Antibody Tither Test, Mercury Urine Porphrine Test and an EEG. They also needed to have an allergy panel ran on me to see what foods I was allergic to. To my mom and dad none of these tests seemed "alternative" or odd. We just figured that a pediatrician with certification from the AAP (American Association of Pediatrics) would be on board with this. WRONG WAY WRONG!!!
A few weeks later after much prayer again, my mom and dad started looking again and found a DAN doctor who was willing to submit to my insurance. He is about 3 hours away from my house, but they were willing to travel anywhere to get help. The insurance company came back and said that they would cover 1 doctor visit and 1 nutritionist visit and then a few weeks later we got a call and they said they would actually cover 4 doctor's visits and 12 visits with the nutritionist. They are not going to cover the supplements I will need. These supplements are really expensive and my diet alone averages $1400.00 a month, because the whole family has to be on it or else I will start craving the gluten. You can read about my visits with my doctor's and nutritionist on my blog :)
In July, my Mom and Dad entered for a Generation Rescue Family Grant and we received it. This was such an amazing day. This will cover 90 days of supplements and 2 visits with a DAN doctor. There were 250 families selected and we were one of them. The other news is that when I went to the new pediatrician's office for my well visit with her, she who once said that the tests were redundant, said that she had been researching this a little more in depth and has offered to give us some of the 36 tests that are required as part of the DAN protocol, however she is not a trained DAN doctor. My DAN doctor said that he would try to work with her in getting some more of the tests I need.
She got me the EEG, the CBC, Lead Screening, The Allergy Panel. The EEG technician stated that it was normal, however after reviewing the data on our own it doesn't appear to be normal. The CBC came back off and my Lead Panel came back as having signifigant levels of lead. My allergy panel was lost and never found. We had requested a mercury test and other metal tests from her and were denied. Those were the "redundant" tests she spoke of. We aren't sure why my pediatrician felt the way she did, but it doesn't matter we didn't get angry we just started something different that was put in our laps to try.
So, today we are kind of on a different path... We are now all about health and wellness. The Lord has led us to a different way of life. We see a new doctor. He has really helped my family heal, not just me. When I spoke earlier of the journey being spiritual, it really is. Our bodies are all built with an innate intelligence to heal from within. God said that we are fearfully and wonderfully made... He is right!!!
We are just taking the hope of my recovery one day at a time and letting God do his work in our lives. We just keep praying, knowing that the good Lord above will continue provide our needs as he has already. We have built this website to raise awareness of Autism, and to give people the opportunity to watch my recovery from start to finish. Please feel free to browse around and contact us if you have any questions. My Mom and Dad love to talk about this stuff!!!
When they got me home I screamed non stop!! The most I would sleep was 45 minutes at a time and that was only if I was held. Mommy kept asking the doctor's what was wrong with me and they kept reassuring her that it was just colic and that I would grow out of it. I had fever pretty frequently and I always spit up every time I burped. I had tummy problems and was always either constipated or had diarrhea. They changed my formula several times and I just didn't get any better.
At two months old I went in and had my check up and again they told Mommy and Daddy that I was fine and were quite impressed with me, despite my parent's concerns. They gave me my shots - DTap, Hep B #2, IPV, and Prevnar. I still cried my little heart out and had digestion problems with the formula. I had constant gas. At 5 months old I had my DTaP 2, Hep B #3, IPV 2, and Prevnar 2. At this visit Mommy had asked the doctor about Thimerisol and she told us not to worry about it. Mommy and Daddy had heard of some buzz about kids getting ADHD and AUTISM as a result of getting vaccines. The doctor said there is no way that these reports are accurate and brushed them off stating that she wouldn't give anything to my son that would harm him. So, with reluctance Mommy did what she thought was best and had them give them to me. I started growing and after that visit Mommy made up her mind because of my behavior that she wasn't going to let them put that STUFF in me anymore.
By 6 months of age I was smiling and trying to sit up and I started resting a little bit better. I didn't really sit up though. Instead I kind of wobbled over. I ate my solid foods with a fork and a spoon by 9 months of age. Mommy and Daddy started feeling better about me. That only lasted a short while though. I never got up on all fours and crawled. Instead I did this army crawl. I never walked around a table, in fact I never walked - I RAN!! I said Mama and Dada one or two times. Then the regression began.
By 18 months old I had stopped using my fork and spoon, I would just sit and isolate in the corner, I quit playing with my parents, I didn't like being held or hugged on, I wouldn't respond to my name being called, I never smiled, I would violently bang my head against the wall in the middle of the night when I would wake up from night tremors. There were lots of nights I would have vomit all over my bed, or be covered up in diarrhea. I was really heavy and swollen. When I was two Mommy and Daddy felt as though I was "lost".
They started hearing buzz about this GFCF diet and Biomedical Intervention. After hearing several stories of other parents who had been going through the same thing they really got concerned, because there was apparently a link between vaccines and Autism. There just wasn't much information out there that was consistent. They tried to put me 0n a gluten free diet for awhile, but didn't see very good results so they quit. This was because they really hadn't researched it that well at this point.
Everyone in our family and all of our friends just kept saying "He'll grow out of it", "You're overreacting", but they knew that they weren't overreacting. However, we just started living life and held on to the hope that maybe I would grow out of it.
When I was 3 and a half Mommy and Daddy said enough is enough. They took me to a new doctor for a well child visit. The doctor criticized Mommy for not having me up to date on my shots. He didn't examine me or give us a questionaire or do any testing at all. He watched me for 25 minutes and said to Mommy, "Your son has classic autism." "You'll need to register him with a program like Headstart and also with the Department of Mental Health and I'll see you again in a couple a months." He also stated,"Your son will never go to a normal school, he'll never have relationships, he'll probably end up institutionalized." Mommy had a really bad panic attack, because she had finally received the diagnosis that she least wanted to hear. The doctor was very cold and didn't offer any comforting at all. After a few hours of prayer she immediately got on the phone and the internet and started looking into Autism, trying to find as much information out as she possibly could. She realized very quickly that there was so much information in so many different places and so many different treatments available that she needed to slow down and take in as much as she could in little spurts. Mommy decided that she wanted to look into taking me to a different pediatrician to get yet another opinion. Never is a word my mom and dad don't like very much.
We started back on the diet, however this time we did GFCF which is Gluten and Casein free. Within 1 week I was starting to talk a few words. Prior to that I was completely non verbal. I would just speak gibberish. That gave my parents a lot of hope that maybe there was some connection with the diet and my symptoms. They would spend many nights up all night online looking up anything to do with my condition. They still do!! We don't have a lot of money, so the thought of all of these treatments became very overwhelming, because they were hearing of all of these kids "recovering" from Autism, however it was costing thousands of dollars. They would just sit there and cry watching these stories of these kids like me and they still do that too. They wanted me to have the same opportunity and that brings us to now!
My parents started calling DAN(Defeat Autism Now) doctors to see who would take our insurance and soon realized that most of these doctors don't deal with insurance, and the ones who would take insurance wouldn't take Medicaid, because they were apparently not getting paid. This was so discouraging. To know that there was help out there, but because of money I wouldn't have the same opportunity.
They decided that they would do whatever it took to get me the help I needed.
Mommy started talking to a friend of hers who is a massage therapist. She does a treatment called Cranial Sacral Therapy. She is teaching Mommy and Daddy how to do it. It helps me sleep at night. We quit looking for a DAN doctor for awhile, because it started becoming very discouraging to continue to hear that they don't take insurance or that they required some absurd amount of money to put me on a waiting list.
After the arrival of my new baby brother in June of 2009, they took him to a new pediatrician for his newborn visit and discussed this with her. She was very inquisitive and skeptical of the testing and treatment that they were talking to her about. She explained that she had not been trained in that and that she thought that most of the tests were redundant. She told them she would like to see me in her office though for a better look. They did make an appointment. But they felt as though another brick wall was hit. My mom couldn't understand her statement of not being trained in this??? What do you mean not trained in this? All we needed was a CBC (Complete Blood Count), Antibody Tither Test, Mercury Urine Porphrine Test and an EEG. They also needed to have an allergy panel ran on me to see what foods I was allergic to. To my mom and dad none of these tests seemed "alternative" or odd. We just figured that a pediatrician with certification from the AAP (American Association of Pediatrics) would be on board with this. WRONG WAY WRONG!!!
A few weeks later after much prayer again, my mom and dad started looking again and found a DAN doctor who was willing to submit to my insurance. He is about 3 hours away from my house, but they were willing to travel anywhere to get help. The insurance company came back and said that they would cover 1 doctor visit and 1 nutritionist visit and then a few weeks later we got a call and they said they would actually cover 4 doctor's visits and 12 visits with the nutritionist. They are not going to cover the supplements I will need. These supplements are really expensive and my diet alone averages $1400.00 a month, because the whole family has to be on it or else I will start craving the gluten. You can read about my visits with my doctor's and nutritionist on my blog :)
In July, my Mom and Dad entered for a Generation Rescue Family Grant and we received it. This was such an amazing day. This will cover 90 days of supplements and 2 visits with a DAN doctor. There were 250 families selected and we were one of them. The other news is that when I went to the new pediatrician's office for my well visit with her, she who once said that the tests were redundant, said that she had been researching this a little more in depth and has offered to give us some of the 36 tests that are required as part of the DAN protocol, however she is not a trained DAN doctor. My DAN doctor said that he would try to work with her in getting some more of the tests I need.
She got me the EEG, the CBC, Lead Screening, The Allergy Panel. The EEG technician stated that it was normal, however after reviewing the data on our own it doesn't appear to be normal. The CBC came back off and my Lead Panel came back as having signifigant levels of lead. My allergy panel was lost and never found. We had requested a mercury test and other metal tests from her and were denied. Those were the "redundant" tests she spoke of. We aren't sure why my pediatrician felt the way she did, but it doesn't matter we didn't get angry we just started something different that was put in our laps to try.
So, today we are kind of on a different path... We are now all about health and wellness. The Lord has led us to a different way of life. We see a new doctor. He has really helped my family heal, not just me. When I spoke earlier of the journey being spiritual, it really is. Our bodies are all built with an innate intelligence to heal from within. God said that we are fearfully and wonderfully made... He is right!!!
We are just taking the hope of my recovery one day at a time and letting God do his work in our lives. We just keep praying, knowing that the good Lord above will continue provide our needs as he has already. We have built this website to raise awareness of Autism, and to give people the opportunity to watch my recovery from start to finish. Please feel free to browse around and contact us if you have any questions. My Mom and Dad love to talk about this stuff!!!