We're Here!

Sorry for the overdue update, I've not been able to keep a connection long enough to post. So much to tell...Our trip was a definate adventure, but I'll get to that later. I want to start off with all the great things that have happened in just the first two days here.

Abbie's recovery is all about voltage - remembering that normal bodies function at around 22 milivolts. A couple weeks ago we measured her at home and she was up to 11, an improvement over the 2 she'd been at two weeks before. Well, we arrived in Dallas on Monday afternoon, and both Dr. Collins and Dr. Tennant worked on Abbie quite a bit Monday evening. We went to the clinic Tuesday morning, and when Abbie's voltages were checked we got two pieces of very good news. First, her overall body voltage was up to 30! This was an amazing jump. The test that gave us that number also measures 12 specific meridians in the body. You can think of meridians like copper wiring in your house, they wire certain organ systems together just like your wire connects several appliances. Dr. Tennant brought in the test results with 3 meridians circled. These three meridians had voltages that reached into the healing range of 50-70 millivolts. I was happy about that, but didn't grasp the import until he said, "These are the three meridians that the brain is on. There is certainly healing going on in her brain right now." I was stunned. The hope so long deferred is becoming a reality!

Abbie and I then went for our first hyperbaric dive in the clinic. I enjoyed the soft-sided chamber because it allowed us to lay down and snuggle together, and because the oxygen was delivered through a cannula, I didn't have to struggle to hold a mask on her for an hour. Coming to Dallas I felt that HBOT would be one of the primary benefits, and was already trying to figure out a way to continue once we return to Honolulu. As we talked that evening, however, Dr. Tennant explained that if we can keep Abbie's overall body voltage in the normal range (above 20 millivolts) she won't need HBOT. Wow! That would be a load off my shoulders -- one more blessing.

I guess I should explain who Dr. Collins is. He and Dr. Tennant have been working together for the past few years in developing a specialized light diode, which is what they are using to treat people in the clinic. Like Dr. Tennant, Dr. Collins is extremely brilliant and it has been our good fortune to be here concurrent to his visit (he lives in Columbia, SC). He has been very helpful in giving us concrete steps to begin Abbie's journey back. For example, the first night he saw her he noted that she didn't have much of a sucking reflex. He said that we had to get that back before we tried to move further down the road -- Abbie's needs to meet the developmental milestones in order again. So we started working hard on that while she was receiving Light treatments, and by the next day she was sucking hard on my finger. His insistence on the importance of the milestones makes me think that we will go back to the neurodevelopmentalist, whose specialty is creating programs to meet milestones in order.

Dr. Collins also made a couple interesting observations. Just last week Matthew asked me why Abbie's face looks so different now. I told him it is because her muscles aren't working quite right yet, so it makes her face look chubby. Dr. Collins thinks her face looks "steriodal" -- puffy like someone taking steriods. This is due to her having excess cortisol in her system because her body is still in "alarm mode". He noted this on his initial examination of her -- her body still is splayed out, arms to the side, back a little arched. Our goal is to get her out of alarm mode and back into a fetal position, so she can relax and heal. We spent yesterday collecting saliva to send off for a hormone test so we can see exactly where she's at. Dr. Tennant has found recently that dealing with hormones is critical to recovery.

Yesterday we awoke to SNOW! I couldn't believe it! We also awoke to find that Abbie and I felt terrible. She was subdued and somewhat cranky towards dinner time, while I had a horrible headache and felt like the room was spinning. We measured her voltage after dinner and found it to be an incredible 42! Dr. Tennant said that explained why she felt so bad -- someone with that much voltage is bound to have a headache. I asked him how we could support her through this and he told me that when he has adult patients hit levels like this and they need to be functional for work he actually has them drink a caffeine-free Coke to bring the voltage down a bit. So, it seems that Miss Abbie is taking off like a rocket ship, which is exactly how she arrived in this world the first time, so it seems fitting. Dr. Collins explained that I feel so awful for two reasons: I have been treating Abbie so I get enough of the frequencies to stimulate my body to begin dumping toxins etc, but I don't get the full range to help my body do this work. Also, I am very tied to Abbie, and her journey affects me physically. He has found that in every child he's treated, there is always one parent who is physically tied to the child and helps/hinders/experiences the process with the child. As I thought about it later I realized that I've always known this, and recalled writing about how Abbie and I were like E.T. and Elliot, whose heart rhythms were in synch at the end of the movie.

I have learned so much more from getting to spend time with Drs. Tennant and Collins, but I feel like I should stop rambling for now, and tell you more in the next update.

Our trip here was an adventure. We flew from Honolulu to Seattle, where we were met at the gate by my long-time friend Wendy and her friend Stan. His "United Crew" credentials had allowed them past security as standby travelers. What an effort to make for a ten minute visit at 5am!! We then took off for Denver. Abbie did very well on both flights, although I am so glad we had coordinated oxgyen. She required 4 liters to Seattle and 3 liters to Denver. As we were landing in Denver, I thought "This trip is going so well..." Ohhh, the danger of thinking that thought!

We waited on the plane for the wheelchair to be brought up. It finally arrived -- in pieces. Despite being covered with "Do NOT Disassemble signs", the ground crew in Seattle had done just so. Fearing that may happen at some point, we had also gate-checked a stroller. Unfortunately, it had been lost. The captain, seeing our predicament, went down to check the belly of the plane himself in the snowing, 3 degree weather. No luck. I told him we would have to let it catch up with us because we had a tight connection to DFW. He got a funny look on his face and picked up the jetway phone. After a moment he quietly replaced the receiver and slowly turned to me, hating to say these words, "I'm sorry, they just closed DFW for the day because of ice." So, we had a broken wheelchair, no stroller, and no flight. Wow.

We ended up at an empty gate area across the way and I set off to find how to get a new flight booked. I found the end of a 400 person line, and realized I couldn't leave Abbie and Debbie that long. So, I returned to them, and figured that I could at least start trying to coordinate oxygen, because I'd learned it sometimes requires a 24-hour notice. I called the United Medical Desk to begin this process, and the sweet woman on the other end of our line saved the day. She asked "Is no one from United there helping you??" Ummmmm - no. She then told me about the "Special Services Room" for handicapped passengers. I found a skycap to direct us there, and behind a silver Star-Trek door lay an oasis. Power outlets for Abbie's pulse-oximeter and suction machine, and even better, an agent to rebook our flight. An angel named Jan spent two hours on the phone and got us booked in first class seats for the next day. She also gave us $70 worth of meal vouchers. I spied a twin mattress leaned up against a wall and asked we could use it. When they said "OK" we began to set up camp. We ended up just staying overnight at the airport rather than trying to find wheelchair transportation (impossible) and claiming all our checked baggage. Abbie did wonderfully, and it was not bad at all. Debbie was a real hero in this whole ordeal, basically going with no sleep for three days. But, in the end we got the wheelchair back together, got to Dallas, and are pinching ourselves that we are actually here. Miracles happen, and Abbie is one of them!

Will keep you posted as we go. God has been so good to us, and has sustained us throughout Abbie's journey. But, this year feels like the gates of Heaven opening and blessings unnumbered streaming down upon us.