As a mom you know you would go to any lengths to keep your child safe, help them heal from sickness, and make sure they stay healthy and strong. But what happens when you have an unheard-of diagnosis for your baby? What happens when you realize that your child may need more support than you thought was humanly possible?
Well…you draw on that God-given, whole lot of momma love, kick-sickness-in-the-butt determination and learn, learn, and learn some more. You figure out what your child needs and you go for it!
I am delighted to introduce Christine Ayton, homeopath and guest blogger today. Christine knows firsthand what it is like to dig deep into the mother-love reserves with its loss of sleep, worry, and commitment. Here is her story. May you be inspired to know more about homeopathy and how you too can help support your child’s health and healing.
Today I am celebrating with Christine her completion of the Council for Homeopathic Certification, which allows her to use the designation CCH after her name. Here is a very personal post that she wrote in 2014 for the PoH weekly newsletter. Her wisdom and personal experience is as relevant today as it was in 2014…maybe even more so.
Christine is also qualified as a nutritionist so when you see her, you get solid nutritional advice along with the homeopathy to help support healing.
Congrats Christine!
* * * *
Hello, my name is Christine Ayton and I am a classically trained homeopath. My journey to discovering homeopathy has been a long one. I am pleased to share with you why I decided to become a homeopath. I would also like to thank Donna for this opportunity.
I am a mother of three special needs children. My oldest son was born with numerous birth abnormalities. My second-oldest child, a boy, and my youngest child, a girl, were both diagnosed with ADHD. They were born 22 months and 20 months apart. Needless to say we had a very busy house with three children all under the age of six.
Now they are all adults. But for many years life flew by at a tremendous speed. It was all hands on deck for the survival of the fittest.
The Beginning
My first child was born in 1992 with many birth abnormalities. At the time of his birth, this group of anomalies was never seen before. The genetics department thought his abnormalities might represent a new multiple congenital anomaly syndrome.
My son was born without the tibia bone in his right leg (tibial hemimelia), no knee or ankle cartilage, an extra toe on his left foot (polydactyly) and only 4 toes on his right foot, a bi-laterial (both sides) cleft lip and palate, and two holes in his heart (a ventricular septal defect or VSD). Thus entered the new world of medical terminology, doctors, specialists, and therapists into our life. These were all nice medical words, but as a mother, my only concern was what to do and what this meant for my son.
More Diagnoses
We were told they could find no cause for why my son had so many birth abnormalities. I have my own opinion on that now, but that is another story. Due to his cleft, my son has never been able to swallow, since birth. You see, the cleft can affect everything midline in the body, so he continues to receive all of his nutrition through a tube that has been inserted surgically into his stomach, called a G-tube. When he swallows, the flap that is supposed to close (the epiglottis) to stop food and liquid from entering the airway, does not close properly. He also does not cough when food has “gone down the wrong tube,” so he also has a diagnosis of being a silent aspirator. Silent aspiration is when food or liquids trickle into his lungs and there are no signs, like a cough, to alert us that food has entered his airway. This increases the risk of lung infections, with which we used to be very familiar. He would also bring up his food and was further diagnosed to have gastro esophageal reflux. This too is a risk because when food or liquid comes up, it also goes back down and can then trickle into the lungs. So his first six weeks of life we spent in the hospital learning how to care for him so that we could bring him home.
Hospital Visits and Surgeries
We returned to the hospital many times over the years. Preparing for surgeries became a normal part of life. The surgeries involved cleft repairs, G-tube insertion, tightening the top of his stomach to reduce reflux (a fundoplication), and a leg amputation with an extra big toe removal. These trips were often exhausting. Each hospital visit my husband and I made sure one of us were always there. But the days were long and the nights were tiring. Looking back now I wonder how we survived all those sleepless nights.
Being a silent aspirator since birth with a small air way required regular suctioning to clear saliva and mucus. Frequent upper respiratory infections (URI’s) also required hospitalization for acute bronchitis or pneumonia. I recall a few frantic trips to the emergency room holding an oxygen mask on my son’s face to keep him from turning blue. I am truly thankful that phase of our journey has passed.
Our One-in-a-Million Child
Day surgeries to replace the tubes in his ears or the tube in his stomach kept us busy, but he still suffered from recurrent ear infections. His developmental years were affected by all the surgeries. Daily doses of antibiotics and inhalant medications were part of his life. Ventolin, eardrops, and chest physiotherapy were also daily requirements. Recurring yeast and bacterial infections plagued his small body. We lived with oxygen tanks, a ventilator, and a suction machine set up in our home. My husband even built him his very own croup tent so we could pump oxygen into his tent while he slept. All this equipment was required to clear his secretions and mucus plugs that would frequently hamper his ability to breathe. We had no use for baby bottles and soothers. To ensure his survival we learned how to use oxygen equipment and monitors, suction machines, ventilation machines, feeding pumps and perform chest physiotherapy.
Yet, he remained full of happiness and love and will always be our “one in a million.”
The Specialists
There have been literally hundreds (well over 700) appointments with physicians, surgeons, physiotherapists, speech therapists, psychologists, occupational therapists, orthodontists, prosthetists, orthotists, cardiologists, ENT specialists, Immunologists, respiratory specialists, dietitians, etc., etc.
Of all these appointments, a few remain etched in my memory.
We began teaching our son how to use sign language. This is a form of communication used by deaf people. We thought this would help because we knew he would have speech impairment due to the cleft. But after numerous ear infections, we also learned that he was deaf in one ear and had only partial hearing in the other ear. During an appointment with the ear, nose, and throat (ENT) Specialist he informed me that my son would never be able to wear inner hearing aids, due to his recurring ear infections. He was wearing a bone conductor hearing aid that fit over the top of his head but sound was not good as an inner hearing aid would provide. He said that all that could be done for his ear infections would be to keep him comfortable (because they are very painful). My heart sank. Without hearing aids, he would not hear the world around him properly and antibiotics would continue.
The Mom Specialist: Time to Kick Sickness in the Butt!
I knew then that there had to be something else, which is when my search began. This journey led me to the world of Naturopathic nutrients and supplements. Using these I was able to observe the benefits of natural healing. Today we still use green tea, oil of oregano, zinc, Echinacea, vitamin c, essential oils, kefir, and many more natural products. I read, researched, and never stopped looking for a solution. With dietary changes and nutrients, his ear infections decreased and his retching disappeared. Inside of two years, he was fit with an inner ear hearing aid. This changed how much he was able to hear the world around him. He has now been free of ear infections for several years.
But he was still plagued with frequent chest and sinus infections due to his weak immune system. So intermittent antibiotics continued with more tests to try and determine why he had such a weak immune system. The immunologist recommended more vaccines, which we did. This did not improve his health and few antibodies were found in his system. Inhale medications became stronger and daily antibiotics were used. The Immunologist ran more tests without finding a reason for his low immune system. Eventually, he recommended that we consider monthly immunoglobin (blood transfusion) treatments. This was to try and increase our son’s white blood cell count. We declined this frightening recommendation.
I read more, searched more, and prayed more. We tried sensory development, glyconutrients, iridology, chiropractic care, aromatherapy, blood analysis, juicing, and learned the value of eating natural foods. Amazingly, my son’s white blood cell count increased. His blood work showed his white blood cell count was now normal and has remained so. His Pediatrician was fabulous; she was honest and told me she had not trained in alternative medicine. She supported me and told me, “Keep doing what you are doing.” Well, I have and my son remains healthy.
Mom Love – Finding a Son’s Voice with Homeopathy
Still, his speech and thoughts remained limited. It was almost like his thoughts were locked inside his mind. He was unable to release what he was thinking or feeling. His sentences were seldom more than three words long and that was a struggle for him to release those few words. So now I needed to find something to unlock my son’s voice. I was feeling encouraged with the wonderful results we had achieved so far. His immune system was now stronger than it had ever been. The question I had was what else was out there, how could I help him open up a way to communicate? That is when I discovered Homeopathy.
Today, after having turned to Homeopathic treatment, my son now has a voice. We have many discussions about how he is feeling and what he is thinking. It was always very hard for me not knowing what he was thinking so I love these discussions. For me, there is a lot of joy in knowing what he is thinking. Being able to communicate with my son is wonderful. Observing his transformation to clear and uncluttered thoughts is amazing.
Now I use homeopathic remedies for all my children, my husband, myself, my family, and my friends, as well as everyone who comes to me for treatment. I have observed depression fade, hyperactivity decrease, migraine headaches disappear, sciatica pain resolve, learning abilities increase, warts turn black and fall off, old injuries heal, and so much more. My journey has led me to a new understanding as to what health truly is: how we perceive health and what possibilities are achievable if people are willing to try.
Love and Gratitude – Sharing the Learning
For many years I have read and studied. I worked with each one of my children, searching for strategies and nutrients that would help them. I have achieved solid understanding by witnessing change and observing results. Now I have a renewed sense of passion. I feel I have found the missing link. Changes have required patience. The journey has allowed me to learn a lot about medical conditions as well as ADHD. My entire family has experienced the benefits of homeopathic treatment. I am filled with love and gratitude for my journey and the healing it has brought to my family and myself.
My husband is a pillar of strength and we are blessed with three beautiful, unique, and gifted children. My desire to serve them, and serve them well, continues. Now, I feel more equipped and better able to do just that. Homeopathy has been a life changing experience that is so deep it is hard to express in words. My desire is to share this knowledge and help others. I want people to know the benefits of good nutrition and homeopathy because the results can be life changing.
I provide homeopathic care to clients at Renewal Homeopathy and Wellness. You can reach me at 403-202-8507. www.renewal.clinic
Christine Ayton formally trained with the Western College of Homeopathic Medicine, and informally, her background with helping her son has qualified her as Dr. Mom.
Christine provides homeopathic care to her clients within her home office, at the clients place of residence, or via Skype appointments, which is something to consider if you have special needs that make travelling a challenge.
Christine has also studied holistic nutrition at the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition and loves guiding clients in the benefits of a whole food food diet which is very complementary to Homeopathy.
Thank you, Christine!
Yours in health and healing,
Donna
