A Gift from Heaven
On
January 11, 1995 I received a gift from Heaven. A beautiful little angel
we named June Marie. I was 37 years old at the time of her birth and
had declined numerous medical tests normally offered to pregnant women
of my age. I intended to have my baby regardless of any test results
that may indicate a "problem" with the fetus.
June was born with spina bifida. An opening in the spine that develops
within a few weeks after conception. It was quite a surprise to everyone,
and June was immediately flown to U.C. Davis for closure of the open
spine and shunt surgery due to hydrocelplus. I began to learn about
the nerve damage and complications we may encounter as she grew.
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One of the most common problems associated with spina bifida is neurogenic
bowels and bladder. June required catherization to relieve her bladder
and experienced multiple urinary tract infections. She had extreme difficulty
in evacuating her bowels.
I knew she would require colonics in order
to maintain bowel health throughout her life, but where would I find
someone that would treat a small child?
For the first five years of her life, I worked within the medical guidelines
of antibiotics for the bladder, ditropan for muscle spasms of the bladder,
stool softeners, added fiber, and enemas for her bowels.
This system
proved to be ineffective and counter productive. After searching the
Internet, I found a web site called PIEMED. It discussed the use of
water hydrotherapy for colon cleansing in children at John Hopkins University
and Texas Children's Hospital, to name a few.
At this time June was
seen every few months at the spina bifida clinic at Stanford Children's
Hospital in Palo Alto, California. I discussed colon hydrotherapy with
her gastroenterologist, Dr. Kenneth Cox, but to no avail. He had never
heard of it.
Returning to the Internet for more resources, I found the name of a
web site that listed numerous colon hydrotherapists.
I called the source
of the list I-ACT and was referred to Gayle Bradshaw in San Jose, California.
She was selected as the referral because she had equipment by Mind Body,
called The Libbe, and she could possibly treat a child with this equipment.
I immediately called her, and to my delight, she was willing to see
June.
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In September, 2000 June received her first colonic with Gayle. It was
extremely beneficial, relieving her of excessive impactions. June had
3 colonics over a period of two days.
A few weeks later she again became
impacted, and I was unable to relieve any stool. After seven days without
evacuation, I went to my local doctor and requested a KUB (X-ray of
the abdomen). It revealed that June was FOS (this is used in medical
terminology - Full of Shit!).
My doctor's office said there was nothing
he could do and referred me back to Dr. Cox at Stanford Hospital. He
recommended magnesium citrate and fleet enemas. I desperately tried
this without success.
I called Gayle that evening. She informed me that she was leaving for
Mexico the next day, BUT she would leave a key with her daughter, Sharee,
to allow me to come down and use her equipment while she was out of
town. I was estatic.
The medical community could not help me, they were
not really listening to me regarding the use of colon hydrotherapy.
And now here I have this wonderful new friend that cares enough for
us to allow access to her equipment, even when she is unavailable.
I
went back to San Jose (we live in Redding, California - five hours north)
and spent 4 days using Gayle's equipment with Sharee's (an I-ACT certified
colon therapist and trained on The Libbe) help.
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June once again was relieved of extreme impactions, she has already
been diagnosed with Mega Colon, and the stool becomes too large to pass.
I went to Stanford Hospital and requested a KUB X-ray.
This time the
X-ray showed a significant reduction in stool. The doctors were amazed
at the difference these two x-rays showed in a matter of four days!
I once again advocated the use of colon hydrotherapy and a prescription
for home equipment.
I now had the attention of the doctors. We had avoided hospital admission
by the use of Gayle's equipment, and I had physical proof of its effectiveness.
Dr. Cox spoke with the gastroenterologists in Texas about using this
type of therapy for children like June.
In October of 2000, Dr. Kenneth
Cox, pediatric gastroenterologist at Stanford Hospital agreed to write
a prescription for home colonic equipment. In December I finally received
the written prescription.
June is on SSI and therefore receives her medical benefits through Medi-Cal.
California Children's Services handles this case for Medi-Cal. They
had never really received such a prescription, and really had no idea
how to process it.
There was no protocol in place, it was an order for
expensive equipment. I prepared myself to go to a fair hearing to convince
the state of the validity and essential nature of this therapy. However,
in February I received a phone call from my CCS case worker informing
me that they had approved my prescription.
June Marie, a 6-year old spina bifida girl, has set a precedent in the
State of California. The protocol for how children with neurogenic bowel
are treated at Stanford Hospital is being re-evaluated.
I am writing
this letter at 2:00am on March 9, having just returned home from Stanford
Hospital. Dr. Cox and his colleagues had a demonstration on the use
of colon hydrotherapy yesterday and June and I were there. I also received
my equipment and now have it in June's bedroom.
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My goal now is to mobilize Mom's all over the state of California to
educate their doctors in this most valued therapy. Many thanks to Gayle
Bradshaw and the help of Sharee. Without you, I would not have been
able to have this success.
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