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Joshua at 6 years, running at the beach |
Still the woman smiled and nodded. Am I getting through, Catherine wondered - she probably just thinks I'm crazy too! Have you tried Dr. Krop?
the woman asked. Wait a minute - maybe she does understand! Dr. Krop had been known as the father
of Clinical Ecology in Toronto. Catherine had even taken her oldest son to him when Jason was six, and that was where she had learned so much about rotation diets and food families. But Catherine had heard that he had moved far away.
No,
said the woman, just to Meadowvale, a small town just outside of Toronto - you could take a bus there.
Like Dr. van Hooganhuize, Dr. Krop used neutralizing drops and further he provided an easier method of testing. Using a Vega machine, rather than the tedious one-at-a-time drops under the tongue. Yes, this woman knew about Candida. Yes, she knew of others having as much difficulties with foods as Joshua. Yes, she really did understand! Did Catherine want Dr. Krop's phone number?
Yes, yes, of course she did!
Healing the Planet : One Patient at a Time |
Catherine was so excited to find Dr. Krop was still around and waited anxiously the months it took for the first appointment. Filling out the long questionnaire - Catherine found little that pertained to a two and a half-year-old child. But she did her best. Catherine explained to Dr. Krop Joshua's history - adding how his appearance belied his true condition. After 9 months of high-caloric food, Joshua had finally put on weight again and was up to 27 lbs. At the moment he was in a good period, and his symptoms were minimal to the casual observer. Dr. Krop agreed with her - looking at Josh, although he was small for his age, you would never believe there was anything wrong with him. As each visit ended, Catherine became convinced that even Dr. Krop did not believe just how bad it really was, either.
Dr. Krop had Joshua tested with the Vega machine for foods, chemicals, molds and insects, grass, trees and weeds. In his first test of foods, they tested 75 foods. Joshua had reacted to 74 of these! Joshua proceeded to react to all the chemicals, molds, insects, trees, grasses and weeds. He received neutralizing drops - eight bottles - for all.
Dr. Krop further felt that, since Catherine was still breast-feeding Joshua - she must be tested as well. Catherine also reacted to almost all the foods tested, along with the chemicals, molds insects, trees, grasses and weeds. Although both Catherine and Joshua's tests came back negative for Candida - Dr. Krop felt sure they both had it. He prescribed Nystatin powder for both of them. He further prescribed Evening Primrose Oil and extra Vitamin C, plus a good multi-vitamin and mineral compound.
Having by this time read Dr. Sherry Rodger's book Ecological Illness: Allergic to the 20th Century
, Catherine decided to introduce the Nystatin powder very slowly into her diet. Joshua refused to take it at all. But even once she was up to full dose, Catherine never noticed any difference while she was taking the Nystatin.
She took the Evening Primrose Oil, and when Joshua refused this as well - she decided to open the capsule and rub the oil directly on his skin. She felt it would be just as easily absorbed, and would help his eczema as well. Joshua screamed when she tried to wipe on the oil the second time. By the third time, he fought so strongly Catherine had to give up. Then she noticed that Joshua was breaking out in a rash - which eventually covered his whole body.
An Alternative Approach to Allergies |
He became feverous, hovering around 104 degrees F. Catherine mentally searched through his diet and hers for the last day or so - where had she slipped up?
Of course, the Evening Primrose Oil! But even though she had stopped using it on Joshua, his symptoms continued - and now he was vomiting. Then Catherine realized that between nursings, Joshua's vomiting and fever would drop, and he would start to brighten up, even playing a bit.
But, within a half-hour of nursing Joshua's fever would spike up again, he would vomit several times and feel generally miserable. Catherine had continued with her Evening Primrose Oil, and Joshua was continuing to receive it through her breast-milk. Once Catherine discontinued taking this, Joshua's symptoms gradually disappeared.
Catherine had discovered Joshua got green, foul-smelling diarrhea when she took any sort of iron supplement, when he was quite young. So it took her a great deal of time and research to locate a allergy-free multi-vitamin and mineral compound containing the amounts Dr. Krop wished her to take, yet without any iron. Finally locating Ultra-Freeda multi-vitamins, Catherine found Joshua still got loose, green bowel movements. But she discovered if she also took 1000mg. Of Vitamin C along with it, Joshua seemed to tolerate it better.
Catherine listened carefully to overheard conversations, while waiting in Dr. Krop's waiting room. She was heartened to hear other patients success stories, and hoped she would soon be able to include Joshua and herself along with them.
Catherine read all the literature she could find on Environmental Illness, joined distant organizations to receive their newsletters, attended Allergy and Environmental Health Association meetings. She borrowed books from the library - allergy cookbooks and informational. Catherine had the constant support of her best friend, Ann, who also had children with complex allergies. They traded recipes, resources, ideas, opinions, good days and bad. Without Ann's listening ear and ready shoulder to cry on, Catherine wondered how she would have survived?
Joshua's next down period became frightening to Catherine. He was breaking out all over in patches of eczema, sleeping less than a few hours at night, whining and crying almost continually, having temper tantrums and complaining bitterly of the pains in his legs. But the worst was he was choking, coughing after eating every single food Catherine gave him.
Dr. Krop suggested Joshua take two capsules of Nalcrom before every meal. Catherine told the doctor she had read that Nalcrom was a milk-based medication, but Dr. Krop could find no mention of this in the Physicians Desk Reference. He suggested Catherine give Joshua just one capsule at first, to test his tolerance.
Catherine broke a capsule and mixed it in Joshua's water. Eating his meal, Joshua coughed and choked, wheezing on and off for over an hour. At his next meal, Catherine gave him another capsule dissolved in water. The coughing and choking were worse, and again Joshua wheezed on and off for an hour. Catherine debated about calling Dr. Krop, but this Nalcrom really wasn't working. In fact, it was only making Joshua worse. When Dr. Krop's nurse said, Yes, you must stop giving it to Joshua!
- Catherine asked what else she could do? The nurse said there was nothing left to try, but she would speak to Dr. Krop and call back if he had any ideas. The nurse never called back.
Healing the Planet : One Patient at a Time |
Catherine continued her desperate search for new foods to try. Joshua reacted to all the Super grains - teff, quinoa, spelt and amaranth. When Catherine came across a catalogue a woman had put together after dealing with extensive allergies in her own three children, she thought for sure she had found something Joshua could eat. From the Special Foods catalogue, Catherine ordered all the pastas to try. They were made from 100% organic flour - cassava, malanga, millet, lotus root, lentils, quinoa, amaranth or rye and spring water. Joshua refused to eat any of them.
Bringing the special pastas into Dr. Krop's office for testing, she found Joshua tested intolerant to almost all of them. Catherine further brought in wild rice, stevia tea (a sweetener), raspberry leave tea, chestnut flour, aquameil, macadamia nuts, walnuts, filberts, brazil nuts and almonds; canola oil, olive oil and gargum. Plus seven kinds of water - both filtered tap water and bottled. Joshua tested reactive to them all.
A nutritional hair analysis revealed Joshua was extremely low in copper and zinc, along with several other minerals. In fact, his zinc level was only 44 (normal levels are between 160-258).
Dr. Krop suggested testing some of the vitamins on the Vega machine - but Joshua tested reactive to all the vitamins they tested.
But Dr. Krop felt Joshua's zinc level was simply too low to ignore, and suggested trying the supplements anyhow. The minute the zinc tablet touched Joshua's tongue, he started screaming in pain. Vomiting over and over, until every trace of the vitamin was out of his system.
Catherine decided to take all the vitamins Joshua need, grateful that, even at three and a half years she was still nursing him. She hoped the vitamins would pass through her breast-milk in a safer form for Joshua. She also got him spring water homeopathic drops designed to reduce the high stress to his internal organs (by all his intolerance) and boost his assimilation of the few vitamins he did absorb.
In trying to clean up Joshua's home environment, Catherine tore up the wall-to-wall carpeting in her dining room and living room. Replaced her floor-to-ceiling living drapes with all-cotton curtains Catherine made from bed sheets. Stripped Joshua's sleeping area to just his bed and dresser. Replaced his poly-foam pillow with an all-cotton one.
She replaced all her cleaners, hand soap, laundry detergent, bleach, dish and floor cleaners with Nature Clean organic cleaning products. She put a chlorine filter on the showerhead and banned all personal care products from her home, which really upset her teenage older sons!
Catherine purchased a dehumidifier for her moldy basement, and ran it continually. But she found Dr. Krop's instructions for an air cleaner, air conditioner, water filtration system and all-cotton bed and bedding presently beyond her means. So far nothing had made any difference to Joshua's food intolerance.
Is This Your Child? |
Dr. Krop found that Joshua did not improve on his neutralizing drops, and came to the same conclusion as Dr. van Hooganhuize - Joshua was allergic to the chemical composition of foods, not just the foods themselves. He felt that Joshua would never get better in his present home, and feared for his future. The townhouse parking lot was at Catherine's doorstep, there was mold throughout the poorly built townhouse with a leaking roof. It was within close proximity to heavy traffic and a major highway. The nearness to the major Hydro right-of-way and the gas heating system. (The gas heating turned out to be one of Joshua's worst allergens!) Dr. Krop felt Catherine's only alternative was to move to a better, and safer environment.
But Catherine and her children paid a subsidized rent in a private townhouse development, and she could not afford to move just anywhere. When Catherine called the subsidy office and asked about getting a transfer, she was told she would never be offered another house - just an apartment.
Catherine felt that would only make matters worse - with all the cooking food smells, chemical cleaners used and the constant pest control spraying necessary in apartment buildings. On top of this would be dealing with other people's perfumes and soaps on the elevator and the limited access to the out-of-doors and fresh air.
Catherine wondered if Joshua wouldn't be best off in a redesigned, custom-built single home with completely filtered air-conditioned air, built-in water-filtration system, the house made from ecologically-safe building materials, paints, ceramics and woods. A safer heating system - far away from major pollutants. All-cotton beds and bedding, safer wood furniture and all-cotton clothing.
But Catherine feared it was all a pipe dream. At present, it was all she could do to afford the constant doctor's bills for testing and all the vitamins she was taking in hopes that some would pass through her breast milk to Joshua.
For all that Catherine had tried for Joshua over his few short years, she could see no difference at all in his tolerance levels. She often wonders if Joshua will be able to live very long once he no longer has the natural immunities and antibodies, superior nutrition and easily assimilated vitamins and digestive enzymes found in breast-milk. Catherine looks to that day with dread . . .
EPILOGUE:
Joshua at 10 years, in his baseball uniform |
Joshua continued to live mostly on breast-milk for several years, eating only a small amount of solid food a day till he was nearly five years old. He continued to rapidly lose
his foods, even though they were rotated to avoid too much exposure, and Catherine was constantly ordering new and unusual foods from around the world for him to try. There were many days that Catherine seriously wondered how long this little boy would be able to live!?
His short life has been a constant roller-coaster, the above article just a small representation of the struggles and difficulties they have experienced with various doctors and alternative health practitioners and Joshua's health problems. There eventually came a time Catherine thought she would have to get him a wheelchair, because Joshua became too weak to walk any distance. Catherine knew she would no longer be able to carry him once he outgrew the stroller, which Joshua used up until he was 5 years old. Joshua hovered betwwen 30-35 pounds until he was almost eight years old.
They have gradually, over the years, been able to provide him with some of the things Dr. Krop had suggested would help to increase his chances. When Joshua was four and a half years old, they were fortunate to be able to move into an electrically heated, semi-detached home with ceramic and hardwood floors in a quiet suburban neighborhood. They purchased a Tibbits air-cleaner and bought him an untreated all-cotton futon. Replaced all his clothing and bedding with cotton. A special sign hanging on their front door warns visitors:
My health depends on you.
Please do not enter if you have used:
perfume, make-up, cologne, hair spray,
deodorant soap, or have been near smoking,
oil, petrochemicals, pesticides, herbicides,
fertilizers, paints, thinners or other toxic
materials. I am a person sensitive to chemicals.
Slowly, Joshua seems to improve. Going back to visit family who still lived in the same gas-heated townhouse development that Joshua had been born and raised in, left him violently ill for days after. Catherine sometimes wonders if they had been living on top of a toxic waste
dump. There seemed to be a higher than normal incidence of illness, cancer, miscarriage, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, Epstein Barr Syndrome and extreme allergies in her townhouse neighbours. Joshua's present home has been like a miracle cure. Watching this fragile little boy blossom and finally start to grow just overwhelms Catherine's heart.
Today, Joshua is a fairly healthy young man of 10 years of age, who lives a protected and precarious lifestyle still. His weight remains at or below the third percentile. He has gone on to begin having anaphylactic reactions to even the smells of apples or many chemicals, as well as if he should eat food colorings and flavorings, along with his extreme food allergies. He has always been home-schooled and is limited in the places and friends' homes he can safely visit. Life is still a constant struggle to maintain his health.
Watching Joshua at play outside as a speed-demon
on his bike and roller blades, or playing street hockey with his friends - happily enjoying as normal a life as possible considering his health problems - is a miracle enough for Catherine! She has to believe the good start she was able to give him, made the difference in his health today.
[ Joshua's Story - The Child Who Could Not Eat! - Part 1] [ Part 2 ] [ Part 3 ] [ Part 4 ] [ Oh Gosh! They Are Debating About Me!! ]
Send questions, comments, and suggestions to: catherine@borntolove.com
Born to Love articles are written by Catherine McDiarmid-Watt
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Last updated - April 5, 2024
