James's Braces and Other News

James had a follow up with the orthodontist at the beginning of summer. Rewind to last year when James had a consult and the orthodontist said he would most likely not need anything for two years. So going into the follow up I expected to hear that we would be waiting another year to start the process. That was no the case though. Things had changed and he had some teeth growing in crooked and basically everything else he said was just a blur. Dr. Payne gave the timeline of everything and put in spacers that day to get ready for an expander to be placed. It was a busy few weeks and then at the end of the month he had the expander in and bottom braces put on.

Other News...

James has had stomach problems all of his life. He was such a colicky baby. Then it got better from ages 1-5. When he was 5 years old the stomach issues returned. A chiropractor in Orem treated him with a treatment called ASA.  It took away his problems which was a huge blessing because the twins were newborns and life was crazy!
Last summer the problems returned. We went back the the chiropractor and did some maintenance treatments with ASA and NAET treatments. We saw some improvement but then in April things got worse. May was bad and then in June it was the worst it has ever been. I didn't really understand what was happening at the time so we tried to keep up our summer activities. It was hard on him though. He needed to be near a bathroom a lot so our weekly hikes were brutal.  Getting to soccer practice has been tricky because the worst symptoms are in the mornings when he has practice. We went back to the chiropractor and he said James had a fungus. It made sense looking back. I think everyone in my family go a fungal infection over spring break from a pool at the condo we stayed in. I just think James didn't get over his infection. So he treated him and he started taking a probiotic. James started to get over the worst of it but still not back to normal. My sister Ali told me about a blood test that gives you results of all the foods you are sensitive to. I decided this is what James needed. We ordered it through my friend from high school who is now a dietician. We met with her a week after the blood draw to get the results. They were way worse than I expected. She explained that James has leaky gut and is sensitive to SOOOOO many foods! It's not that he's allergic but just sensitive. Here is the list: cinnamon, mustard, peppers, almonds, cashews, cauliflower, cow's milk, egg yolk, blue #2, yellow #5 olive, oregano, peanut, kidney beans, soybean, corn, and wheat.
Wow!!! Can you even figure out what to feed him that doesn't have gluten, dairy, corn, soy or eggs?! I mean when you read labels you soon figure out that one of those is in everything. It's really quite depressing and the few days after her meeting were quite hopeless. My family came through to lift us up since many of them have been gluten free for over a decade. I have two sisters who also have similar sensitivities and they also offered encouragement, advice, knowledge on where to buy ingredients and foods he can have. 
The dietician taught us about a food elimination program. He went off all these foods/ingredients on July 15th. He also had to avoid all dairy for the first ten days but now he can have cheese and yogurt. He will avoid the foods listed for 90 days. After that we will slowly add things back in except for the cinnamon, mustard, and peppers. He was extremely sensitive to those so he will have to wait 6 months to have those again. The goal in all of this is for his gut to heal and his immune response to stop reacting.
Tomorrow it will be two weeks down. Eleven more weeks to go. So far it has been hard. The grocery budget has tripled. For one loaf of bread it is $8!!! A half gallon or rice milk is $4!!!!
I am also getting very fluent at reading labels.

I love the show Chopped on Food Network. I feel like a Chopped champion because each meal I'm trying to make something nutritious, tasty and filling out of a few ingredients. Last Sunday we had pot roast. The beef broth I had wasn't gluten free so I just added water, salt, pepper and onions to the crock pot. To thicken the gravy I used arrowroot starch. It was interesting but it worked. To make mashed potatoes I used coconut oil instead of butter and rice milk instead of milk. They actually tasted normal.

I am always wondering how others without the gospel in their life live each day. I have said many prayers for help. It has been a difficult trial and also difficult to find answers of who can help James. He received a blessing before starting his new diet. It's hard being a kid and not getting to eat the things everyone eats. I didn't have to go through anything hard like this while growing up. Through it all I have felt the comfort and peace of the spirit. I have felt guidance and direction. I am so grateful for my membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.