Our Story: Asthma & Food Sensitivities, Part 1
My name is Lindsey McClellan. Our asthma journey began in 2010 when my son, Jon David, was 18 months old. We had gone to visit my in-laws in Delaware for Christmas. Jon David had a really bad cold, which we later found out was RSV, that was making it very hard for him to breathe. He slept on my chest in a rocking chair that night because I was terrified he'd stop breathing if I laid him down. Early the next morning, I knew we needed to see a doctor. We went to an urgent care facility, but they refused to see patients under 2 years of age. We called my mother-in-law's doctor, but they refused to see us since we would not be a long-term patient. Our last resort was the emergency room. This was the first of many future visits. After a chest X-ray and ruling out pneumonia we were sent home with an Albuterol inhaler and Orapred (oral prednisone) to help Jon David get over what they determined to be RSV.
Over the next four and a half years we spent countless hours at doctor offices, made a minimum of two trips to the emergency room each year, and worked with our pediatrician and a Pediatric Pulmonologist in an effort to help Jon David's asthma improve. I followed everything the doctor advised to the letter. I kept a journal of every conversation I had with the doctor and each time we needed to give Jon David rescue medication. I tracked the weather, time of year, time of day, activities, everything I could think of when he was having trouble with his asthma in an effort to figure out his triggers. My observations showed a few patterns. He had trouble when the temperature changed, when he had a cold, when the leaves fell on the ground, when he was playing "too hard," and when he was overly excited. We had nebulizers at school, in the car, and at home. There was always Albuterol in my purse because I never knew when he'd start his coughing attacks.
By the time he was six years old I was sick and tired of being sick and tired! I felt like our doctors were managing Jon David's symptoms, but never tried to figure out what was causing his asthma. I requested allergy testing for three years, but was told "his symptoms don't warrant allergy testing." I was spinning my wheels.
January 2015 was a turning point for my family. Jon David had a constant cough for three weeks. The first week we followed our Asthma Action Plan given to us by our Pulmonologist, but his cough didn't go away. Week two we called our pediatrician to see if there were any medications we could use, that wouldn't interfere with all of his prescriptions, that would help with his cough. His cough still didn't go away. Week three we took him to the pediatrician to have his lungs evaluated. Our doctor said his lungs are perfectly fine and she had no clue what was wrong. The following Monday I called our pulmonologist to see if there was anything more natural we could do to get Jon David's cough to go away. She had us come to her office immediately, told me "my kid needs medicine," and sent us home with a prescription that three years prior she said could collapse his lungs! That was the day I was determined to find a better, more natural way.
My research started with a post on Facebook asking what natural options were out there. The suggestions came back to investigate essential oils, herbs, and see a naturopathic doctor, so that's what I did! We started seeing Dr. Butchart, a Naturopathic doctor in Staunton, VA. I had no clue these types of doctors existed, but he was instrumental in our wellness journey. He told us Jon David had a dairy allergy just by looking at the dark circles under his eyes! We confirmed this with an IgG Food Sensitivity test. That visit gave me hope that our son's asthma would no longer control his life!
The results of our IgG test revealed that Jon David had a laundry list of food sensitivities! Frustrated does not begin to describe what I was feeling! If only they'd done the food tests earlier…I'm not even going there. Our first challenge was learning how to eat with all of these restrictions. I became an expert label reader. We began the GAPS Diet, which required me to learn how to cook all of our food from scratch. Prior to this my husband lovingly said the only things I knew how to make were scrambled eggs and spaghetti from a jar. Seriously, this was a huge learning curve for me. Now, I can modify any recipe to make it delicious and allergy-friendly, so I promise there is hope for you!
Skeptical doesn't fully describe my approach to essential oils. For two weeks I researched everything I could find on essential oils; what they were used for, how to apply them, how they worked, what the difference was between companies…you name it, I researched it. Finally, I reached out to a friend from church that used essential oils. She patiently answered my questions and shared her testimony. We had been spending $140 a month on prescriptions, so I figured it was worth a shot. I purchased my Young Living Premium Starter Kit in January 2015 fully expecting it not to work, but boy was I wrong! We started noticing changes in our health right away. It was truly amazing!
Herbal remedies and teas became a big part of our story as well. I began taking classes on herbalism to better understand the full potential of plants as medicine. Our favorite tea blends for Jon David are Breathe Tea and Family Friendly Cold and Flu Tea from Forrest Green Farm, with a little extra mullein, thyme, and local honey added in.
Please don't get me wrong! We are not "anti-doctor." I'm incredibly thankful for our doctors and medicines. They absolutely serve a place in our wellness plan. We still go to the doctor when we need them. I still have Albuterol in our house and in my purse in case of emergency. However, the doctors and medicine aren't our "first stop" anymore. The food we eat, oils we use, and herbal teas have empowered us to proactively support our bodies and keep them healthy instead of reactively running to the doctor to treat symptoms.
I will share part two of our journey next time.
