Evan's Road to Recovery

The power of celebrity can be an amazing force for good when it comes to directing the public's attention and the government's research dollars. The attention Christopher Reeves directed to spinal cord injury research very well may have saved Buffalo Bills player Kevin Everett's life last year. The Boomer Esiason Foundation, founded by the former NFL MVP and four time Pro-Bowl quarterback, has raised money for cystic fibrosis research since 1994. From Bono's campaign to end poverty to Angelina Jolie's work on behalf of refugee children as a UN Ambassador, the platform of celebrity helps causes get noticed.
This week US Magazine interviewed actor, comedian, author, and mother Jenny McCarthy about the road to recovery she and partner Jim Carey have been on with her 5 year old son, Evan. In the interview McCarthy recalls her emotions the first time she heard Evan laugh and the promise she made the first time he hugged her. Jenny McCarthy has been a staunch advocate for Green Our Vaccines and sought out John McCain recently to discuss their similar view on vaccination.
About that promise: In an earlier article written by McCarthy and Carey, the pair detailed the dietary changes and detoxification program they credit Evan's recovery to. An excerpt from CNN.com:
"We believe what helped Evan recover was starting a gluten-free, casein-free diet, vitamin supplementation, detox of metals, and anti-fungals for yeast overgrowth that plagued his intestines. Once Evan's neurological function was recovered through these medical treatments, speech therapy and applied behavior analysis helped him quickly learn the skills he could not learn while he was frozen in autism. After we implemented these therapies for one year, the state re-evaluated Evan for further services. They spent five minutes with Evan and said, 'What happened? We've never seen a recovery like this.'"
With five books under her belt detailing her experiences with pregancy through this recovery process, Jenny McCarthy has made a tremendous shift from a comedic actress whose charms were mainly noticed by men to a champion who has formed an iron-clad bond with an army of young mothers. I think there is little doubt she will proudly continue to carry that torch long after her days in the spotlight have gone.

You are what you eat

This month Pediatric Neurology published a study investigating the effect of nutritional therapy on quadriplegic children (spastic quadriplegia was specifically studied, as in the children with cerebral palsy). Soylu et. al's main findings were an increase in body size and, more importantly, a decrease in the number of lower respiratory tract infections in the study group over a 6 month period.
I remember the wrapper on my hot ham & cheese sandwich at Holling Heights Elementary School in Omaha telling me: "Eat to Live, Live to Eat." While I still doubt their premise (not the eat to live part, but the concept that I cannot go on if I do not eat a hot ham & cheese) I don't discount the "You are what you eat" mantra pushed by every elementary school health teacher. This study supports the adage terrifically. If the body doesn't get the right nutrients, especially in a neuro/immuno compromised situation, how can it function properly? The simple answer is that it can't. Unfortunately there are plenty of non-compromised individuals totally ignoring this, fueling their own propensity for infections. The instructions are simple- put good things in your body, and it makes good you. Put bad things in, it still makes you...
Reference:
Soylu, OB, Unalp, A, Uran, N, Dizdarer, G, Ozgonul, FO, Conku, A, Ataman, H, Oxturk, AA. (2008) "Effect of Nutritional Support in Children With Spastic Quadriplegia." Pediatric Neurology 39 (5) pp 330-334.