I'm a first born, rule follower. I have never had the desire to stand out. I wanted to please my parents, my teachers, my elders. I have always gone with the flow. So the switch to alternative medicine and green living has not been an easy one for me. I didn't do it to be different. I don't like to be different. It certainly wasn't remotely normal when we started down this path. I just had two sick kids and lots of specialists that wanted to prescribe many, many medications which weren't working. We needed a new plan but I was afraid to go against the doctors' recommendations. They made me feel like a bad mom for not doing things their way.
The specialist I now use for both my kids, a pediatrician (MD) who uses alternative methods to treat children with immune issues, explained alternative medicine to me in this way. God made the body. He gave us everything we needed to be healthy and whole. But we live in a broken world with toxins, diseases, and sickness. Yet the body gives us clues when things are not working correctly. Pain is an obvious signal. Allergies, eczema, and asthma are also clues that the immune system needs support. I use the clues the body is giving us to guide me in giving the body what it needs.
My mainstream doctor looked at allergies and wanted to do allergy shots. Eczema called for prescribed creams and asthma resulted in prescriptions for steroids, albuterol, and pulmicort. However, our specialist said, "These things are clues." He did allergy panels and we removed offending foods. He did blood work and prescribed supplements to treat the vitamin and mineral deficiencies he found. He encouraged me to keep their struggling bodies away from things that would burden them further like toxins and chemicals. And then the allergies, eczema, and asthma went away. Kids were MUCH happier. Skin became smooth right away. The asthma stopped right away. It took awhile, however, before foods that had to be removed could be reintroduced. A few allergies remain for one of my kids. But it is nothing like before. It seemed so logical, this alternative medicine, but people were very suspect and uncomfortable with it.
So I have been willing to be the weird one because it has brought so much health and healing for the kids. And, because I do not love debates or controversy, I've kept our medical views largely private. But it is a passion of mine to encourage the mom who is where I was. So scared and overwhelmed with mounting copays, tons of prescriptions, and sick kids not getting better even though you are doing what the doctor recommends. There may be a new idea here in the pages of this blog. May be you'll find some answers and options in unexpected places. Maybe alternative medicine isn't so crazy after all!
This blog is for you so if you have questions, ask them! If I don't know the answer, I'll try and put you in touch with someone that does. I'd love to learn with you!
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