Test results

Our visit to Austin went very well. We left on Sunday afternoon, around naptime, and that definitely was the right decision. Maggie slept most of the way. Thankfully it’s an easy and fairly short drive – no stops needed. She was MORE than ready to get out of the car when we arrived at the hotel, but we were just a little bit early. So we decided to drive around and find the doctor’s office, so that we wouldn’t have to worry about that the following morning.

The testing didn’t last as long as we had anticipated, so that was great. Maggie was a real trooper and cooperated really well through all the tests. Of course, it didn’t hurt that blood work wasn’t involved They performed quite a few different hearing tests – to test all the different parts of the ears and it was determined that she does have some shallow hearing loss. This hearing loss does not affect her ability to hear audible voices. (darn…so I guess she’s really just not listening to me!) It’s where the processing of sounds takes place and therefore explains her heightened sensitivity to sounds and her reactions to such.

They also performed some balance tests. This revealed that her vestibular system (again related to the ears) her nervous system and immune system are basically shot. Her nervous system is very inflamed and her body does not produce the neurotransmitters needed to have her brain process properly.

So, while her brain is healthy (no actual brain damage), she is unable to process anything in the right way. Major issues with brain chemistry – as if all the wires are either disconnected and/or sending the wrong signals. Hence, being on the austistic spectrum/sensory integration disorder. This would account for a lot of her behavior and inability to handle her emotions.

These doctors feel very strongly about biomedicine – doing things as naturally as possible – and believe that our brains can recover and heal themselves…with time. Lots of time.

We are starting Maggie on a natural protocol that will help her body create the neurotransmitters that her brain needs, as well as some medication to reduce all the inflammation in her nervous systems so that the brain can function properly. It is not a quick fix – this is not just to help with symptoms – but to truly help her brain recover.

Most of this was caused in-utero and therefore “genetic”. So unfortunately, she has the physical issues as well as experiencing the trauma in her early life. We are hopeful, though, that with the healing of the brain, we will see a huge change in her behaviors and in her ability to lead as normal of a life as possible.

We are thankful for guidance that we have received from Maggie’s therapists and in seeing this doctor in Austin. People come in from all over the US and around the world to see him, because he is one of the few doctors in the world that handles these kids in this way.

Thanks so much for your prayers and your encouragement along our journey. We are so blessed to have each of you in our lives and consider it pure joy to call you our friends and prayer warriors. Maggie is a fighter…and we know that God has incredible plans for our sweet girl.