Heather's Story of Recovery

I'm going to share something personal and painful with you in hopes that it spares you that same pain. The past two years have been a nightmare for me and my family. We almost lost our precious Heather to something we still don't fully understand. Fortunately, I can say "almost" because she is slowly becoming our Heather again. She is regaining all the things she lost to what the medical doctors called regression. I know beyond any doubt that her recovery is because of the work of Dixie Lawrence and Gabi Giacomin, who has worked with Dixie to create a personalized recovery plan for Heather. The plan began with Targeted Nutritional Intervention (TNI), detoxing the brain, and healing the gut.Before I explain what the darkest days were like, I want you to understand a little bit about who Heather was before the nightmare struck. When Heather was born, our family was instantly in love with her! We knew right away that we would love her no matter what challenges we faced, and we would face these challenges using everything available to us. Since public education for those who learn differently was not successful in our town, Heather attended private school. Even with education geared to her learning style, she struggled to learn to read. Heather has always been a fighter for what she wants, and she never gave up on learning. That drive paid off! As a young adult, Heather could read and write, and I mean read text as difficult as the Bible. She read fluently, with expression, and interjected her lively personality into her reading. She also made friends everywhere she went and had an outgoing personality. She's always loved to make other people laugh so I guess she is what you would call a born comedian. She also showed a talent early on for dancing and attended Zumba classes. In fact, she knew the routines so well that she led the class when the instructor was away for any reason. This is a picture of what life was like for Heather before she changed.Now I need to explain what it was like in those hopeless, dark days. I need you to understand this so that you can help your child if you are facing this reality or so that you can avoid any dark days ahead if you have not faced them already. Heather began by slowing down in every way imaginable. This means slowing down physically to the point where she could barely walk, slowing down mentally to the point where she no longer understood any spoken or written language, and what I would describe as sinking spiritually to the point where she had, for the first time in her life, given up on everything. She no longer made eye contact and had symptoms of autism including extreme sensory issues. At one point, she could no longer stand to wear any clothing at all! Can you imagine your 22-year-olddaughter screaming and crying when you try to have her put on underwear? Well, it was our reality. In the middle of winter, she could not even stand to cover herself with a blanket. We had to turn up the heat, close all the curtains so no one could see her, and hide away in our home. She became aggressive and wanted to hit or push us, and I had NEVER seen even a hint of aggression in my sweet Heather before this. Her dad and I felt helpless to give our child relief from her misery (and I believe she was miserable). Then one day, I made a desperate plea for help on Facebook (of all things). I never thought I would find actual help there, but I was wrong! God had a different plan. He had been listening to our pleas and was planning help for Heather. Now I believe He wants me to share that plan with you.From that post on Facebook, I learned of the Trisomy 21 Research Group and Dixie Lawrence. I honestly didn't know where to begin so I posted my cry for help on the group page. I want to tell you that I had so many replies that my head was spinning trying to read and understand each one. Then came a reply from Dixie! She said I needed to get Heather on the TNI protocol right away! She said it was imperative that I not waste time. I took a few days to read information and research on Dixie's website and pray about it with my husband. We decided that the research was sound, and that TNI's design was to help those with T21 have a healthy human body the way God intended. That day, we placed our first order. Our situation was so serious that Dixie had me add several additional supplements as Heather could handle them. Heather's first day of TNI was July 16, 2017. I continued to read posts made by other parents and by experts on the group, and on December 7, 2017, we changed her diet to dairy and gluten free. In March 2018, we had our first skype appointment with Gabi. She created a diet and supplement plan for Heather based upon her test results, and we have followed this plan carefully.So many things have changed in one year! Heather used to struggle with weight, easily gaining while eating very little food. At her heaviest, she weighed 189 pounds! This was with counting calories and exercising! Honestly, she eats much more food now than she did back then, but she weighs 135. She continues to slowly lose weight, and we plan to focus on getting her to her healthiest weight once she has had a bit more time to heal. Without effort, she is still losing extra pounds. Although some of her sensory seeking behaviors remain, such as rubbing her shirt on her face or a soft tissue or cloth on her arm, she now gets up in the morning and dresses herself! Yes, you read that right! She wants to wear clothes again! She is using her smart phone to Facetime her brother and text and call her family and friends! She is writing her thoughts and plans in her journal! Honestly! She said to me this morning, "I need a job!" I said, "Yes, sweetheart, you do!" I don't know if she may want to seek higher education or find a job once she is completely healed, but I do know she has a future brighter than I once hoped! We are not finished in our journey to healing, but I have my daughter back!If you have been reading about TNI and are SCARED to try it, PLEASE think about what you may have to fear if you don't do it! I know some of you have children or adults who have been diagnosed with autism or PANDAS/PANS. Traditional medicine alone cannot heal your child! Many of those treatments help temporarily but end up making your child even sicker. The truth is that there is no instant fix to such a complicated problem. It will take time and dedication on your part to stick to the protocol, but you will not regret it. When you have your child back, you will thank God that you did it! I am praying for each parent who reads this and each child who needs this treatment to understand that it is not dangerous but is logical and natural. I am praying that you can prevent what we went through and what our girl went through, but if you are already facing similar challenges, I pray that you have the courage, money, and support to try TNI. Find a doctor who will work with you and look at the whole child. Message Dixie and ask for her help. Have Gabi Giacomin help you over skype. God bless all of you as you face the joys and challenges that your precious child brings.