High Fevers, no symptoms

Well Tália has been doing well - lots of physio, lots of stimulation and just generally having fun. She went to her first Halloween Party dressed as a skeleton with her swimming group. Bless her, she really does make an authentic and cute skeleton - will try to get some pictures.

Despite doing well though, last Saturday she came down with a very high temperature - we are talking around 40 - I tried to keep it down with Calpol but actually finally managed to curb the temperature by giving Talia a homeopathic flu remedy which instantly worked wonders. By Sunday afternoon, she looked herslf again and she has had a good week, albeit the first few days her muscle tone was slightly down. Now this is the weird bit, last night (exactly 1 week after the last episode), her fever shot up again. She looked bleary eyed and her body seemed to radiate heat. What on earth is going on? When she has these bouts I am sure that we are going to rush her to hospital but she seems to fall in and out of them so quickly. So fingers crossed that this time round the fever will disappear quickly.

The homeopathic remedies have really helped me through these bouts. She had one spoon of calpol last night but I soon started using Belladona and the homeopathic flu remedy. It seems to work faster. I have been doing some research on these remedies and am really more and more fascinated by how they take affect. Seeing is believing. I never would have had such faith in these remedies if I hadn't seen direct results. Unfortunately I am one of those people who needs to understand why something works. The book I have on homeopathic remedies is incredible. I have never seen such a detailed guide - it does not just give you a cure for a fever or sore throat but defines the different types first. For example under fevers, under Belladona, this appeared:
(Extract taken from Homeopathic Medicine for Children and Infants by Daba Ullman)



BELLADONA
When children have a sudden onset of high fever with flushed faces and reddened lips, this remedy is the first to consider. These children also tend to have hot heads and cold extremities. The skin is usually so hot, it radiates heat, (you can feel it by placing your hand a couple of inches away from the skin). The fever is a dry heat, without perspiration. The child tends to have a strong and bounding pulse. At night, the temperature gets its highest, making the child agitated, sometimes delirious, perhaps leading her to hallucinate.

The description above precisely describes Tália's symptoms. Tália's inability to convert food into energy always makes me concerned to give her medications. I do not known how strong her liver is - I do not really know what her body can tolerate. Where possible I will try to focus on diet and natural remedies to help her through difficult times. Of course medicine is necessary and sometimes she needs to have it. I just don't believe in extremes. I believe that both allopathic medicine and natural medicine have their place in society and that they should be complimentary to each other.

Gastroenteritis

Well, before carrying on with our America trip, I am blogging about an awful 48 hours. My family have all been attacked by a violent Gastro bug. Even Tali and Andrew. I so far have been ok but my stomach started growling today. I am determined to befine though. I need to be well.

Yesterday we almost had to rush Tali to hospital - she had not taken any solids in for 36 hours - thankfully though we managed to get some liquids into her. We decided to leave it until the morning. Thankfully she has had a little fruit and toast and sips of water. Lets pray that she keeps it down. The site of her wretching scares me so much. She looks so skinny.

This morning though she is moving and chatting more so fingers crossed.

Thank God for friends and family - my friend Susan whisked off our middle child yesterday as she was better so that I could tend to the rest of te family. Mum came round Friday but I had to keep her away yesterday as I didn't want her to catch the bug - too much risk as she is going to a village in Nepal with no medical resources. She left for the airport this morning but after spending so much time with us, I am worried about her on the plane.

Andthen there is Dad - how I do miss him: He was always here. Such a constant in my life. When there is any turbulence, his very clear logical, dependant personality, is something I miss so much. he was so mathematical, so practical. Sometimes it drove me mad but now I miss his consistency more than ever. If you ever wanted a weighed up situation, he was there.

Time has come to make another important decision - do I continue to send Tali to nursery? I really think that although she loves it, there is too much risk. I will try and organise my own activities and try to attend toddler groups and build up her strength and re-visit the nursery issue in September. In facct my sister-in-law gave me loads of ideas in the States and between these ideas, my stimulation room, swimming and getting mum to do yoga with her when possible, perhaps this could be a new exciting start. Lets really get her strong.

Diet and Nutrition is Key

I have decided to make a concerted effort and focus on Tália's diet. I cannot just sit and wait for results. I have spoken to many people who have had life-threatening disorders and the reason why many of them are here today are because they are both positive and also concentrate on their diets. I am by no means an extremist - U do not believe in strict dieting as I do not want to make Tália over-sensitive to certain products but I think the simple 5 portions of fruit and veg is a good starting point. I have also started to give her a natural multivitamin - the doctors said that whilst we don't know what she's lacking, there is no point in giving her anything...but alas I'm a bit of a rebel. My gut has been telling me to give her vitamins - so much illness is caused by deficiencies and a natural vitamin made from plant extracts wont hurt her. A nutritionist we know has also got me some probiotic powder for baby's to give Talia so I am also giving her this. Apart from this, I have been giving her oat milk for about 3 weeks and she seems to be improving. Perhaps it's my imagination but the combination of these things seem to be doing her nothing but good. Unfortunately, I am not a dietitian so much of what I do is based on what I read and gut and advice from those around me. I have also looked up information on super foods, antioxidants and omega 3's - slowly but surely we'll get there.

A friend of mine suffering from cancer told me that through her chemo she kept a very healthy diet and this is what has got her through and given her the energy to keep going. She is energetic and runs her own business - quite amazing really.