Warning signs I did not see

Looking back now there were so many signs to Liam having vision problems. He does not fit in the typical mold, but whats new.

Liam was a transitional kindergartner in 2012-2013.  He had a great teacher and learned a lot. Because he was a TK I did not push academics with him. I knew he was going to repeat so I did not see the need to push him. At the end of the year I got his report card and it showed that he still missed some letters in the alphabet and was not blending words. I was a little surprised, because the teacher he had is incredible. I decided to work with him over the summer so that he would have a jump start. After a month and half I let it go, because it wasn't clicking. He still knew some high frequency words from school, but would guess a lot. For example if he saw the word "Tree" he would say it was "the". At the time I did not know that he was just seeing the T and the E. So to him it was "the". This is a tracking issue. It was hard on my husband to understand him having a tracking issue. He said to me "this kid can catch and hit a ball, he does not have a tracking issue". I had to explain to him that there are different kinds of tracking issues.

When he was little like 3 years old we took him to his first 3-D movie, because his sister begged to go. Liam wore the glasses for a total of 2 minutes and cried. He kept saying "no glasses". I just thought he was too little and it scared him. When he was around 5 years we took him to another one and he did not cry, but refused to wear the glasses. When the Vision Test revealed he had a hard time seeing 3-D, I had an AHA moment. Liam does not like the Toy Story ride at Disneyland. He does not like to wear the 3-D glasses during the ride. It was starting to all make sense now.


When he started Kindergarten this year he was coming home with headaches. I thought it was because of the medication he was on for U.C. Then he started saying he could not see little words. The day that changed everything was when the kids and I were at the skating rink with our friend Jenny and her girls. I started to tell her about Liam's headaches and him saying he can't see little words. She asked if she could take him into the party room at the rink and test his tracking. I said "sure". One thing I noticed outside the window was that he told her he could not see the chart she was holding up. She kept bringing it closer to him until he could see it. Then she had him do an exercise and he did just okay. Then she asked him to follow her finger with just his eyes until she touched his nose. He lost track of her finger.Then she asked him to follow her finger while she made it go in a big circle. Again he loss track of it. We talked for a bit while the kids skated.  I said " I should just call and have him evaluated". At the time I just thought this kid needs glasses. Jenny on the other hand thought this kid needs VT. I took everyone home and we were sitting in her drive way and I said" Its 4:30 do you think the office is open?' Jenny said "were calling right now to find out". I made the appointment right then and there and that's when our journey started.

After we got the results of Liam's VT testing, Dr. Griffith put down some suggestions of activities to have Liam start. She wanted us to encourage   building blocks, puzzles, and similar highly spatial/visual manipulatives. When I read that on the report I was shocked, because those were activities I have never been able to get him to do. Again another AHA moment. 

Where I shop

Many people ask me in daily conversations where I do my shopping. Many said it would be helpful if I posted on my blog, so here it is:

Costco: 

Monthly shopping- 

• Frozen Organic Chicken Breasts
• Fresh Organic Chicken thighs and drumsticks
• Organic Ground Beef (Costco told me it was grass fed)
• Grass Fed Organic Steak
• Sometimes they will carry frozen ground turkey. I always checking to see if they have brought it back. If not then I buy ground turkey from Foster Farms.
• Organic brown eggs- 3 of there 18 count 
• Organic fruit (this is seasonal)
• Coconut sugar
• Coconut oil
• Avocado oil
• Chia seeds
• Annie's fruit snacks
• Fruit leathers
• Frozen fruit for smoothies
• Nitrate free salami
• Organic vegetables:  salad mix
• Nitrate free Hot dogs
• Dark Chocolate Chips
• Lara Bars
• Honeyville Almond Meal...They finally are selling it and I don't have to get online anymore
• Organic Olive Oil

Trader Joes:

Weekly Shopping Depending on my weekly menu-

• Nitrate free bacon- but mostly I get this at Target now
• Nitrate free Hot dogs if Costco is out
• Olive oil potato chips (treat for my kids on occasion)
• Coconut milk
• Almond Milk
• Coconut yogurt
• Raw organic nuts (cashews, almonds, pistachios, pecans, sunflower seeds)
• Organic Romaine
• Organic salad mixes (kale, spinach, leafy greens)
• Organic Carrots, Celery, Broccoli, Cauliflower,Sugar Snap Peas, Green Beans, Asparagus, Onions, Garlic, Avocado ,Tomatoes, Zucchini, Cucumber, Bell Peppers etc....
• Bananas
• Spaghetti Squash
• Artichokes
• Organic Fruit (Apples, Grapes, Pears, Plums, Peaches, Nectarines, Strawberries, Black Berries,   Raspberries, Kiwi, Pineapple etc...)
• Chicken breakfast sausage
• Italian Sausage
• Organic Marinara
• Pasta noodles- gluten free treat for my kiddos
• Frozen Fruit
• Lara Bars
• Kind Bars
• Organic Ketchup
• Organic Mustard
• Artichoke Hearts in a jar
• Hummus
• Olive oil
• Sunflower Oil
• Grape Seed Oil
• TJ's barbecue sauce because it does not have corn in it
• Odds and ends depending on week like spices and such.

Target:

• Hormel Nitrate Free Turkey and Ham
• Applegate products: Bacon and Salami and Hot Dogs- its nitrate free and uncured
• Van's Gluten Free Waffles- in frozen section if we are having a cheat
• Fruit Leathers
• Kind and Luna Bars- in health food section near the protein powders

Almond Flour:

I order it in bulk for all my baking at Honeyville. The link is below

Honeyville http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/

Vision Therapy

In a few weeks I will be documenting Liam's Vision Therapy. We had him tested a few weeks ago and got all the results. He started his therapy Thursday September 19th, 2013. I need some time to process this new journey in our lives. As soon as I do I will share it with everyone. Wish us luck!

9 months on Apriso

Yesterday we went to Liam's GI doctor for a check up. It has been 9 months since Liam started taking Apriso. Lots of things have changed. We no longer have to break the capsule apart and get him to swallow the medicine in one big gulp with juice. He has learned how to swallow the pills. He has also not had any huge flare ups. He has had the occasional stomach pains followed with a day or two of diarrhea but then he gets back to normal. We are learning that certain foods will cause him great pain. He cannot eat any french fries from restaurants. Its not the potato that is the problem but the oil they fry it in. I often will bring fruit and some veggies with us when we go out to eat. We order him a protein like hamburger without the bun, grilled chicken, ribs, or steak to go along with the food I brought.

He has developed a dry cough. Its going on 4 months, but she said we need to just ride it out. I asked if it could be a side effect from the Apriso. She at first said " no I do not believe its from the medicine". But then later said "well I suppose anything can happen from taking a medicine everyday, but its a low percentage." I wonder if it could be a sign of Acid Reflux, but the benefits out way the cough. It also could just be something new he is dealing with since people with Autoimmune diseases often deal with more than just the initial disease itself. So for now we will ride it out and hope his body fights it.

She was very happy with his weight gain and growth. She said he has finally caught up from all the weight he loss over the years. He has also had a huge growth spurt. This says that he is absorbing nutrients and is becoming healthy. Fingers cross this just continues.

We are going to run a few labs and make sure everything looks good. Our goal is for continual good health and flare up free. If we can maintain he will go in for a scope during the Summer of 2014. This made Mike and I very happy. We have a follow up appointment in 3-4 months as long as he continues to do well on the Apriso. So far this mama is happy that her boy is doing so well.

Typical School Lunch

This post isn't just what Liam eats, but what we eat as a family for lunch. Liam has a hard time digesting raw vegetables so for him we modify. I will give examples of when we modify.

Protein:

• Turkey roll up: Turkey (nitrate free) rolled up with pickles, cucumber or  cherry tomatoes for Liam Savy my daughter will put mayo and mustard on the turkey then roll up either a pickle, bell pepper, cucumber, or avocado.  Sometimes for Savy we wrap the meat in Lettuce. Liam cannot eat any lettuce so he stick with just the meat

• Nitrate free Salami
• Nitrate free Ham
• Nitrate free Bacon
• Chicken legs
• Homemade Chicken Fingers
• Salad with veggies and left over meat (Savy eats this but Liam can't have salad)
• Steak pieces left over from dinner
• Hummus with carrots, cucumber, bell pepper, mushrooms, sugar snap peas, broccoli, and cauliflower. If you notice she is not a fan of tomatoes. Liam does not eat Hummus. He doesn't like it. I often wonder if it upsets his tummy since he has never liked it.
• Jerky

Fruit:

summer/spring

•  watermelon
•  strawberries
•  nectarines
•  peaches
•  grapes
• pineapple 
• pears
• plums
• kiwis
• berries

Fall / Winter :

• apple slices
• orange slices
• frozen or fresh pineapple
• grapes if good
• kiwi
• Packaged Dole mandarins or pineapple in a container that is in its own juices. I don't buy the ones with syrup in them.  

Veggies:

• Carrots- Liam can eat two baby carrots
• Cucumber slices- Liam can eat as long as no skin
• Snap Peas- Liam can eat a couple raw but I blanch them so he can have more
• Small Bell Peppers or Sliced- Liam does okay with these as long as its not a lot
• Cherry Tomatoes- Liam loves these
• Pickles
• Celery- Liam cannot eat Celery

Extras:

• Fruit leathers
• Bunny snacks
• Applesauce Pouches
• Fruit and Veggie Pouches
• Dried Cranberries
• Raisins
• Trail Mix: Raw almonds, cashews, sunflowers, and pistachios 
• Bars: Homemade, KIND, and LARA 
• Kettle in Olive Oil Potato Chips
• Dried Fruit
• Plantains
• Coconut Yogurt
• Jello

If you need more ideas ask away. 

Vote for Liam! If he gets the most votes he will win a free container of this sorbet.

Liam's Chocolate Nutter Butter Swirl

Vote:

---

Name:	Katie Bennett
Location:	United States
Base:	Sorbetto
Flavor:	Chocolate
Mixin 1:	Fudge Swirls
Mixin 2:	Reeses Peanut Butter Cups
Mixin 3:	Reeses Pieces

Inspiration:

My sweetest person is my 5 year old son Liam. He has several health issues and can't eat many sweets. He loves Sorbet and chocolate. I made this flavor for him because we have never come across a chocolate flavor sorbet. What a treat this would be for him!

Click on link below!!!

http://contest.ecreamery.com/index.php/contest/entry/137869997268

Chiropractic care and U.C.

I am a huge believer in chiropractic care. Not just for me, but for my whole family. We have the best Chiropractor in the world. She takes such good care of my family. I love that she doesn't hurt us and that she will be honest if we are not out of alignment. A couple of years ago my husbands back was killing him. He went in to see Kristy and she said "buddy you are completely fine, you just need to exercise and get those muscles moving and stronger". His response was "do I at least get 5 minutes from your massager?" Her response was "nope". That to me speaks volumes on if you have a good Chiropractor or not.  I have been to a few before finding Kristy who would adjust me no matter what and did not care if their patients were addicted to adjustments. Kristy is the first one to turn people down. I love her honestly and professionalism.

I got off a bit topic for a moment, now back to the reason for this post. I have been taking Liam to Kristy well before he was diagnosed with U.C. He was colicky and had constipation problems when he was a baby. She was the only one who could give him relief. At first it freaked me out at the thought of anyone twisting my kid up like a pretzel and cracking him. I talked to Kristy in great lengths. She explained everything to me and was so gentle with him. He never cried, but in fact got super giddy after his adjustment. He would have anywhere from an hour to a day and eventually weeks of  relief. Eventually he outgrew his colick and the  problems went away.

When he was diagnosed with UC we asked her is she could help him. She said "I think it's worth a shot, don't you?" So once again we started seeing her and 99 percent of the time, he was all twisted in his lower spine. After an adjustment his diarrhea would not go away, but it definitely would lessen. His tummy aches would get better too.  I am all for doing whatever to make him just feel slightly better even if it's only for a day or two. Recently I found a great article. Its a good read, so feel free to check it out.

http://totalhealthsystems.com/do-you-have-ulcerative-colitis-or-any-other-form-of-inflammatory-bowel-disease-–-we-can-help-dr-rose-minkiewicz-dc-staff-chiropractic-physician-at-total-health-systems-of-macomb-county/