Sunday, September 22, 2013

How Chiropractic Care has Benefited Faith

One of the main reasons we sought chiropractic care for Faith was to help her with her startle reflex. Most people startle when they hear a loud, sudden noise but for Faith her startle can be debilitating. When she was younger if she startled often in a short amount of time, she would break down in tears.

Her startle made it difficult to do things like being in a school program and something like going to the movies was totally out for her. It was hard to watch her startling constantly during a church service when someone spoke into a microphone. Her whole body would tense up making it impossible for her muscles to relax.

Besides her startle, we were also having a tough time dealing with her emotions and behavior. She would have screaming fits that left me and Rob feeling helpless, not knowing what to do to help her. We thought as she got older, things would get better. But last year during school, her tantrums escalated and we chalked it up to pure exhaustion.

Her pediatrician even agreed she was just too fatigued and so he told us to try to do a couple of half-days of school instead of five full days. This seemed to work for a while. But then, there were mornings she was back to her old self, screaming and crying that she didn't want to go to school. It took all of our energy just to get her there. We tried everything we could to help her - from disciplining her to trying to talk to her and praying for her. Last January, those prayers were on their way to being answered.

We had connected with a mom whose little boy also had cerebral palsy at the Healing Rooms. Through her, we found out that ABM, an alternative type of therapy was coming to Bismarck. Also through her, we got the name of a chiropractor who she thought might be able to help Faith.
Faith and Dr. Steve
In researching what could be going on with Faith, I realized some of what I was reading about neuro-developmental challenges which includes sensory processing. She simply wasn't able to process all of the information and stimulation going through her nervous system. This left her feeling like a complete wreck and was also partially responsible for her severe startle.


Something intriguing I saw on Dr. Steve's website was two goals they had in dealing with children with neuro-developmental issues: "First, we seek to calm and balance the central nervous system.  Secondly, our program uses multiple approaches to 're-program' and 're-integrate' their disorganized nervous system."

Faith managed to make it through the rest of school last year and during the summer, we had a consult with Dr. Steve. She then began getting adjustments about three times a week. Rob and I also started going to his informational seminars and learned about sublaxation and how it affected our daughter.
Faith getting adjusted during one of her appointments
After receiving adjustments all summer long, Faith entered the fourth grade a new girl. There are no more morning tantrums, she looks forward to doing things out of the norm like going on field trips and she is able to go to school six hours a day, five days a week. The transformation has been nothing short of amazing. There is sign in Dr. Steve's office that says, "Expect Miracles" - we are true believers that miracles do happen!

We are so convinced that chiropractic care has benefited our daughter that we highly recommend any parent whose child has been labeled with ADHD, anxiety, sensory processing disorder, mood and behavior disorders, developmental delays and whose child even has special needs such as cerebral palsy.

I mentioned sublaxation earlier which can be a result of physical trauma like being born via c-section. Many kids with cerebral palsy are born prematurely and their birth often involves an emergency c-section. Click here to see a video of a baby being born via section. WARNING: if you are squeamish like my husband, you probably won't want to watch this! But it is interesting to see how they have to pull the baby out by the head and the negative effects that can have on the spine which in turn can affect the whole nervous system. 
chiropractic care has benefited Faith immensely
Just recently, we had a reexamination with Dr. Steve and I was able to check off the following:
  • Less temper tantrums
  • Less/no anxiety
  • Improved sleeping
  • Better able to handle stress
  • Better emotional control
  • Stronger immunity
  • More energy/vitality
  • Increased concentration
We still have a ways to go. Her startle has not disappeared but we notice she startles less often and when she does startle, it's only for a moment and she is able to relax soon after. We are hoping that one day she will have a normal startle reflex and that we will eventually be able to check off:
  • Improved digestion
  • Improved posture
  • Improved learning ability
  • Improved bowel function
We are very excited about all the gains Faith has made these past four months. Our only regret is that we didn't know about the benefits of chiropractic care sooner!

Sunday, September 8, 2013

A New Experience - The United Tribes International Powwow

We did something new as a family this weekend - we went to the United Tribes International Powwow. This year marks 44 years that the United Tribes Technical College here in Bismarck has hosted the huge event. Seventy tribes are represented at the event with over 1,500 dancers and drummers coming from all over the world to participate. The event draws over 20,000 spectators from Thursday through Sunday and the Bousfields were part of the crowd this year.
Over 1,500 dancers participate in the Powwow
It all started when Faith's class went to the event on a field trip. Unfortunately, it is hard to get a wheelchair to the arena where all the action takes place because there are no sidewalks and one has to push a chair through the grass which can be hard, especially when it is hot and humid outside with bees swarming everywhere. Her aid ending up not being able to get Faith to join her classmates at the arena. Faith was pretty upset about this and about her dad taking her home early. All she talked about was how she wanted to go back to the powwow. 

I had no idea what to expect because I had never attended the event before. It cost $12 per person to get into the event but a very gracious man allowed Faith to get in for free. Then there was the matter of finding a parking spot - it's worse than the 4th of July parade in Mandan!

On our third time circling through, I began to pray that a spot would open up for us. Wouldn't you know it, as we crossed an intersection, a car was just pulling out close to the arena. God even answers parking prayers!
Rob managed to get Faith in her chair to the main arena - a place she couldn't get to the day before
I can see why Faith's aid had a hard time getting her chair over the terrain but Rob was able to push her chair towards the grandstands and we found a pretty good spot that enabled to see everything. We got there just in time for the drumming/singing contest which was very cool. You can click on my video below to check it out. They then divided the dancers up into different age groups and categories for the dancing contest. The costumes the dancers wore were so beautiful and intricately made.

It was an awe-inspiring experience being in the midst of so many Native Americans who are so proud of their heritage and who have a desire to keep their traditions. And we got to experience it all because Faith's field trip didn't  pan out as she hoped. She was bound and determined that her chair was not going to keep her from missing out on the powwow and because of that, it was a great new experience for the three of us!
The Grand Entry
The singing contest was my favorite part
Absolutely amazing traditional costumes
Dancers ranged in ages under five to over 50
Click the play button to view video