The Culprit

Very random. We had a doc appt Monday of this week and I pleased his doc by rolling in with these tiny viles with lids each containing a different item that Colton had had, or I was hoping he could have. Dr Von Bergen was pleased b/c he has been asking me to bring items in in this manner as it makes testing easier for him. So I had about 20 items to test and what I was most curious about was all the ingredients for those darn Sugar Cookies I made over Christmas that caused all the trouble. The strangest thing was that it was White Rice Flour and Sweet Rice Flour that Cole ended up having sensitivities to. But then he tested him on just RICE and he was fine. He was even a little stumped but said there was probably some type of contamination in the processing of the flour. And when he says contamination, he means that another substance got into the flour that he has sensitivities to. So thats just a few more items to add to our growing list of no-nos. He also can't have Udi's Gluten Free White Bread or my homemade ketchup.
I also was wondering if his doctor would catch anything in his testing showing Colton was "off" this week. I noticed he was a bit distant over the weekend and we even had a lunch/event outing with a bunch of friends and all their kids and he just sat and read a book in the middle of all the kids...totally not like Colton. I knew immediately something was off but most people just chalk Colton up to being a bit different so they didnt' notice anything. I knew something was up. So as the Doc did his basic check of Colton he stopped short and said "wait, there is something off here, something effecting his brain". So he proceeded to test substance after substance on him and told me he was "stumped". Then he said "Colton, have you gone anywhere different in the past few days" and I immediately jumped in and said "THE SWIMMING POOL!....HE WENT SWIMMING FRIDAY NIGHT". His Doc grabbed a vile of chlorine and tested him and that was IT!!!! The high levels of chlorine in that pool caused him to have an imbalance of Iodine in his system. I need to do a little "GOOGLE RESEARCH" to see what that really means. But man, if its not one thing its something else. Guess I need to lock this poor kiddo in a padded room and call it a day! :)
As for school Cole is making it through. Grade wise he is doing OK with school work but admitted to me today that he knows sometimes he just "forgets" things. In him saying this I realize that he is becoming more and more aware of his shortcomings and differences. He realizes that his brain just loses thoughts, directions, etc. and it frustrates him. I so wish I could find that one supplement or cause of the forgetfullness.
He's been playing baskeball on a team with some boys from school and is happy being part of the team. He struggles a bit physically but wants so badly to perform well and just to be accepted by the other boys and to be treated like an equal, like a friend. The more the kids treat him kindly and include him, the more normal he responds. It's when others ignore him compeltely or shut him down/blow him off that he closes off and pieces of his confidence chip away. As a mother watching a child struggle socially can be harder than watching them hurt physically. I just want my boy to be happy, to be able to soak up everything life has to offer. If we can crack this shell and peel back the layers of damage he has had to endure with all these food sensitivites and imbalances, he has just got to come out more clear on the other end. At least that is what I pray for.

We Stumbled

My goal over the Christmas holidays was to cook, create and add to Colton’s recipe repertoire. So I spent quite a while researching recipes. Colton’s wish for the holidays was to be able to make real sugar cookies. So I searched and searched and found the pinnacle of Gluten Free cookie recipes. So I made a batch, substituting Xylitol for the sugar, and Cole loved them! Even John and Cassidy could not stay out of them. I mean they really were yummy. I think I made 2 full batches of these bad boys and the family ate them the entire holiday.

As the holiday ended and we were all a little bummed that our vacation was over, I was also noticing that Colton was getting very foggy. He was more glassy-eyed than normal and it was hard to get his attention. I knew something was up and that something we had given him had to be causing him to slip back to “the fog”. We had a doctor appt with Dr. Von Bergen right after the holiday and, as always, I brought in my grocery bag of new items for him to test Colton on. I threw one of the sugar cookies in just to make sure we were good to go, believing the whole time they were find. The first thing he did was to test the sugar cookie and he looked up and said “this is absolutely not good for him”. Cole whipped around and looked at me like “MOMMY!!!!” I felt horrible. In his mind I know what I’m doing with all this. But in reality I am learning as I go and unfortunately this sweet kid has had to endure the ups and downs of this diet based on what I give him; he in essence is my guinea pig. The frustrating part is that every ingredient in those cookies was Gluten Free. What this showcased was that even though a product says Gluten Free, it does NOT mean it will be safe for Colton. Every child with these kinds of sensitivities is different, like a thumbprint. So now prior to Colton eating anything, we will be taking it in to his doctor to be tested on him. This is the only way, at this early stage of his diet, to really know that what he is taking in and we keep him 100% safe from toxins going to his brain.

Along with those dang cookies, he also had some sugar free ice cream at a relative’s house & ate a meal at a local restaurant that had a “Gluten Free Menu”. After both of these he had negative side effects. I’m guessing the restaurant food most likely had cross-contaminants, and what I found out about the ice cream was that it was loaded with artificial colors, yellow 4 & yellow 8. He was foggy after the meal and had a full blown panic attack after the ice cream. He had never had anything like this and I was at a loss for what to do. It was honestly very scary and my heart broke for him. I called his doc immediately and he had me bring him in right then. He checked him quickly and told me he had a toxicity in his system from something he ate. I was so frustrated with myself that he suffered because of decisions I made. He does not deserve this. What I would give to trade places with him.