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Case study — Sam’s Case

May be of interest: Heilkunst and Autism (and other Behavioral Disorders).

Sam’s Case: Using Heilkunst in the Treatment of Chronic Disease

by Patty Smith–Verspoor.

The patient is a little man, born in February, 1993. His mother (a registered nurse) decided to seek homeopathic treatment on the advice of her chiropractor, whose family I had been treating for some time. Because they were very concerned about the negative effects of the medical intervention their son had already undergone, including drugs and vaccinations, they specifically requested that he be treated for these using a sequential causal approach to removing the traumas.

He has been treated for just over two years now. His improvement in the first year (indeed, the first few months) was already so significant that I thought it would be a good case to demonstrate how positive change can occur in a short period of time in a serious situation. It illustrates how just starting to remove the immediate traumas can already produce significant improvement in the case. Also, children’s cases are shorter, and easier to present in full!

Sam’s (not his real name) chief complaint was recurrent viral infections. He had chronic gastroesophageal reflux, which was worse in Spring, and severe asthma with strider. The reflux began when he was one year old, about the same time he was weaned and solid food was introduced. The physicians advised that he would outgrow it, so they didn’t treat it at that time. He then began projectile vomiting and was diagnosed with many food allergies.

He presented with asthma in the Fall of 1994, which initially was treated with Benadryl. He had used an epinephrine pen at that time because soon after his vaccination against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) at 18 months he developed breathing difficulties with “strider,” a high-pitched crowing sound of his airway closing off when trying to breathe. The strider began with a head cold. His breathing was so bad he developed sternal retraction. The first diagnosis was reactive airway with bronchial spasms, until they later diagnosed asthma. He was placed on Pediapred and oral Ventalin, and was also sent home with a Ventalin nebulizer. Benadryl was used as an emergency palliative at that time, and he responded well initially.

Three to four weeks later, however, he was back in the hospital, diagnosed with severe asthma. He had several more episodes with strider. If he so much as touched a food to which he was allergic he would vomit clear mucous and his airways would begin to close. He still suffered with reflux through to January 1995, causing chronic sinus infections from the force of the vomiting which in turn irritated his bronchials.

During a visit to a pediatric specialist he was tested for celiac disease and cystic fibrosis. He was given a barium swallow, plus a scope and biopsy of his duodenum to see what bacteria it contained. The results were positive for cystic fibrosis in every aspect except the sweat test. Ultimately they diagnosed severe and acute esophagitis. Zantac palliated his symptoms somewhat, by decreasing the acid burning so the reflux wouldn’t damage the esophagus as badly. Propulsid was given to empty his stomach more quickly so there would be less food in his stomach in case he had a reflux reaction.

In June 1994, he had undergone allergy testing. It was found he was highly allergic to rye grass. Spring mowing would cause him to produce so much mucous that he would vomit. Damp, wet nights were worse and they found he was also allergic to molds, milk, eggs and peanuts.

When I met him in late 1995, he had just spent an Autumn with recurrent viral infections, including one where he vomited bile for seven days. After that infection he was fine for one week. Then he developed the symptoms of a head cold which progressed into vomiting, then to reflux, then back to a head cold, and finally into his ears. He started getting symptoms of asthma in the second and third week. The pediatric specialists gave him Intal prophylactically to make him less sensitive to allergic triggers (Intal interferes with body’s response to allergies, blocking the histamine reaction) so his lung tissue wouldn’t become inflamed.

That helped him somewhat, although he had to carry a mild “puffer” if he went outside in the cold weather. He used that twice a day and the Ventalin puffer as needed. His weight went from 39.5 pounds to 32 pounds with the repeated episodes of vomiting, reflux and illnesses. His mother had suspected a sensitivity to soy, but the physicians told her that wouldn’t have any effect on his symptoms. She decided to take him off soy products anyway, and it helped slightly with the mucous and reflux. Rice milk was the only “dairy” he could tolerate, and he could have nothing containing eggs, dairy, or soy.

His mother was by now totally disillusioned with the allopathic merry-go-round in which she seemed to have become caught up, and she was distressed that things had gone so badly for so long. She said she knew, as a registered nurse, that her son wasn’t improving and at best was being palliated. She was afraid of what might lie ahead for him, with such a dramatic start to his life. At this point she decided to consult both a nutritionist and a homeopath. Sam could only eat pureed food and liquids, because of the severe reflux. He vomited meat, couldn’t eat any solid foods and his esophagitis was severe.

Timeline of Causes

I took his case at this point, focussing on the various shocks and traumas he had experienced. His brief timeline was fraught with complications:

Pre-Birth

His mother had been diagnosed with mononucleosis and was just recovering from that when she conceived. When she had experienced the mono symptoms she was prescribed Augmentin, which antidoted her birth control pills, resulting in the pregnancy. She was in the military reserves and was waiting to be called up for Operation Desert Storm, while starting work full-time as an ICU nurse. She experienced a great deal of stress waiting for the phone call to the Persian Gulf. Once she was aware of the pregnancy, she stopped all medications she had been taking, e.g., Seldane and Sudafed for allergies.

Labour and Delivery

Mom gained 48 pounds during pregnancy, was vomiting while in labour and having a difficult time because the baby’s head was transverse. After an epidural and an attempt to physically turn his head, they opted for a Cesarean section. The baby had a hematoma on his head, some problems with his cervical discs and his head was at a peculiar angle. His Apgar score was 9 out of a possible 10. He was circumcised while still in the hospital, and also received his first Hepatitis B vaccination.

Although totally breast-fed, he had a great deal of gas and was very colicky. When his mother drank cow’s milk, and the first time she tried a back-up bottle of a cow’s milk-based formula, his cheeks and scalp turned scarlet, then the skin crusted and oozed. She said, “It looked as though he had been scalded.” (She also said that it was like having a new child after she had eliminated the dairy from her and the baby’s diet.)

Sam felt better whenever the flatulence was expelled or after he had a bowel movement. He was a very happy baby generally who loved to be handled, rocked or carried. He enjoyed motion. He was sensitive to wind and would react by developing colic. His chiropractor, who also used some homeopathy, suggested a dose of Lycopodium 30C which worked wonderfully for the colic.

1 month, 3 weeks

HIB vaccination with no apparent reaction.

One week later, 2 months

DPTP, first vaccination, no apparent reaction.

He was getting up, pulling himself up and trying to walk at seven months, and he walked unaided at nine months. He weaned himself at 11 months.

18 months

MMR vaccination produced heat, redness and swelling at the injection site (in hindsight his mother now sees this as the beginning of his asthma symptoms).

19 months

Benadryl use began, environmental strider symptoms.

20 months

Mom away in Reserves for two weeks, but stayed in close communication.

21 months

Asthma and medications began. Pediapred when it was very bad, antibiotics and Ventalin. He was hospitalised with wheezing and had some symptoms of reflux.

23 months

Began repeated sinus infections, more antibiotics, Ventalin “around the clock.” Pediapred, oral Ventalin and a Ventalin nebulizer.

26 months

Tested for CF and celiac, prescribed Zantac and Propulsid, had scopes with conscious sedation (Versed). They said his upper small intestine was “friable” (bled easily) and had an overgrowth of bacteria, with three strains of respiratory bacteria including pseudomonas. Also subjected to a barium swallow and blood work.

31 months

Damp air caused his lungs to fill up again with wheezing. Vomiting and diarrhea began with a viral infection. Seven days of vomiting triggered the reflux once again, then the asthma symptoms followed as his lungs became irritated. He was hospitalised and subjected to testing. His pediatrician said he was not surprised because he saw these things all the time. He stated that “this will be his time,” that “they always come back on their anniversary date,” and that when a child reacts in a particular season, they will be sensitive always in that season.

Treatment of Traumas

Sam’s most recent trauma, and the one treated first sequentially, was at 31 months. He was given Arnica (for the physical trauma of the testing procedures), Staphysagria (for the “violation” of the invasive procedures) and Opium (for the acute anxiety) and Nux vomica (for the drugs) all in the 200C and 1M to be taken at bedtime on two consecutive nights. His mother was prepared for a possible healing reaction, so when it occurred she was able to deal with it without having unnecessary anxiety and without resorting to allopathic intervention. She reported: “In hindsight, he did have an elevated temperature, but no chills, headache, sore throat, pain or vomiting as he usually would. He continued taking fluids without difficulty and only complained about being hot. I don’t think he had the flu.”

“In the last three weeks his bowels changed from hard, clay-like dark stools in balls with a strong odour to soft, formed, light brown with a mild odour. He experienced a five-pound weight loss.”

His allergist asked to see him, but his mother said she was not in a rush to expose him to something that had given him an anaphlactic reaction in the past.

At his first follow-up, one month after his first set of remedies, his mother reported that he had a great deal of energy, his sleep was excellent and he woke feeling well. The caregivers at his pre-school said they had noticed a positive change in his personality, and that it seemed he was really very well. She reported that even as the healing reaction of diarrhea was occurring, it was as if he wasn’t really sick, that somehow it was happening “around” him without affecting him.

Three weeks after the remedy she was a bit concerned about his breathing and had him checked at the hospital. She says now that she knows it was a healing reaction and feels sure that she could confidently wait it out if it happened again. She has been reading Dr. Robert Mendelsohn’s book “How to Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of Your Doctor” which I recommend to all my patients. She told me recently that it made her sick, that she, a nurse, should have known better. It upset her how she was previously “all tied into the allopathic chaos” with her son. She reported that she and her husband, who wholeheartedly supports homeopathic treatment, found bottles of antibiotics in their refrigerator and together they threw them in the trash. She is now researching the whole issue of vaccination.

Second prescription: Cortisone, Penicilinum, Nux vomica 200C and 1M for the next event on his timeline, the medications prescribed at 23 months. The remedies were given as follows: The Cort/Nux-v/Penic 200C in the same evening at bedtime, and the same remedies in the 1M potency at bedtime the following evening.

Second follow-up (about a month later): Sam experienced a return of old symptoms with much coughing, and cleared a great deal of mucous from his lungs. His mother said she got chills just thinking about it, because it was exactly what he was doing in the Spring when he went through this part of his illness.

He had some diarrhea, and on my recommendation his mother palliated the worst of the coughing with a Spongia tosta-based cough syrup, which she said “worked wonderfully.” His cough resolved quickly and she reported he had grown and was cutting two new teeth.

His mother now mentioned that in the past, when he was on the Cortisone, he used to get a “black hairy tongue” (the nutritionist, who used the term, said it was the result of an overgrowth of bacteria). During this healing reaction the same symptom returned for three days, then “disappeared as fast as it had come.” She said he really relived what he had gone though in the Spring, but with less intensity and of a shorter duration.

His coughs were now productive, the mucous was brought up easily and he didn’t get sick. He hadn’t had a respiratory treatment in six weeks. At this time last year he was taking Ventalin around the clock every four hours and also was using Pediapred. Now he was able to play in the damp grass, or out in the cold weather, and run to the store down the street, with no reaction at all. In the past they would “neb” him before leaving the house and again when they got to the store or immediately on returning home. He also had some symptoms of reflux, but after they stopped the soy milk, they disappeared.

He now had wonderful energy and sleep, was content and happy, and looked better than he ever had. He was cutting his teeth and his mother said his bum was raw because of it, but on my recommendation began to use Calendula ointment (with lanolin) which helped. The nutritionist said on seeing him, “Look at him! His eyebrows are getting fuller, his hair is growing thicker and he has gained some weight.” She recommended amino acids. His mother reported on the progress she had seen: “What we went through for two years – I don’t remember life other than doctors and hospitals, at least going once a week for months, visiting specialists. No wonder we were so tired. I don’t remember that other life now.” They were looking forward to a vacation in the Bahamas!

Third prescription: MMR 200C/1M/10M

Follow-up (about one month later): Before he took the remedies, they visited the dentist. Sam had some decay at the gum line on his front teeth, as did his mom as a child. The dentist was abusive, accusing her of not brushing properly or of allowing him too many sweets. She knew it was part of his inherited weakness, but exacerbated by the destructivness of the constant vomiting.

He was doing very well. He had no signs of environmental allergies and was trying new foods now, where in the past he was fearful of reacting to them. His mother said he was comfortable, waved to everyone, was a real charmer, in short, a very happy kid.

His mother said she was so happy to have him medication free and chemical free. She thought back to the drugs he used to be on and how many kids are on so many drugs, and said it scared her. He was growing taller and needed new shoes.

After the MMR remedy he had no mucous production at all, but experienced some skin eruptions. He never complained and they healed quickly. He did have some buttermilk solids and produced some symptoms of reflux, but his mom said six months earlier it would have shut down his throat. He was eating “amazingly well,” trying many more new foods. His fear of trying new foods was gone as was the fear of esophagitis. He was putting muscle on his legs, and was on a “meat kick,” which his mother found interesting, as he never could eat meat in the past.

Fourth prescription: DPTP 200C/1M/10M

Follow-up (about six weeks later): He experienced some symptoms of reflux on the second and third nights following the remedy, and again three weeks later. His caregiver reported that he seemed to have some trouble swallowing, that he couldn’t seem to get food down his throat which lasted one day (Note: I had the same symptom when I took DPTP, and it lasted several days, and on reading the symptoms of each disease state I now relate it to the Diphtheria portion of this vaccination.)

He had had a slight fever one night, which was his first in many months during which he was lethargic and hot to touch and drank fluids. He felt fine once he vomited. His mother reported, “It is so amazing to watch him now with a fever and not treat it.” He slept on and off and wanted her nearby, and woke feeling fine in the morning.

He visited the dentist (a different one, a female, since his mother said she seemed to have better luck with women healthcare providers) and he behaved wonderfully. He was relaxed, loved his visit and even picked her a bouquet of flowers when he heard he was going to the new dentist. The dentist and her staff were charmed by his behaviour.

Next prescription: Hi(b) vaccination – Meningiotoxinum 200C/1M/10M. The remedy Meningiotoxinum is made from the vaccine material, which includes the B variant.

Follow-up (about one month later): He had been getting better with eggs, and even tried some food in the dairy category, which caused a reaction of hives but no vomiting. His mother said before homeopathic treatment he would have been almost anaphylactic, with strider and vomiting vast amounts of mucous, forcing them to use Benadryl. She said she was “thrilled” with the improvement. He tried some peanut butter and was fine. He began potty training himself after he took the remedy which she considers a milestone.

She said he had been sighing in the last few weeks, that he didn’t get angry but would pout. He no longer would fight and wasn’t aggressive like some of his friends. If angry he would sit down with a big huff, turn his back on the person with a deep sigh, think about it and ignore the person for a few minutes. Then he would rejoin the group.

Next prescription: Hepatitis B 200C/1M/10M and Nat-m/Staph/Opium/Lach 200C (for the emotional shock of the labour and delivery and the first Hepatitis B vaccination. It was decided to give the emotional remedies over a longer period of time to avoid any unnecessary healing reaction). The Hepatitis B remedy is the potentised form of the vaccination material, since we want to balance the trauma of the vaccination with not only the viral material, but also the carrying agents inherent in every vaccine, which are sometimes more reactive than the actual virus.

(The emotional remedies, Natrum mur, Staphysagria, Opium and Lachesis are used primarily based on the 25+ years of clinical experience of Dr. Jean Elmiger, and Rudi’s and mine as well. In his research, Dr. Elmiger found that while we all may vary greatly in our acute reactions to any shock or trauma, that once it recedes into the past the individualisation tends to dissolve. It was found that these remedies treat for the unresolved past shocks of an emotional nature.)

Follow-up (about six weeks later): His mother reported he is not pouting or rolling his shoulders and crumbling in emotional situations, he now is very verbal, will tell you what is bothering him and is willing to talk about it. He also had a week where he acted out with some aggressive behaviour of hitting and pinching, which didn’t fit in with his personality.

When he had some breathing symptoms they took him to their physician to have it checked out, as this (September) is the month where his respiratory symptoms traditionally would present.

The physician said he was fine, there was no infectious process, but he wrote them a prescription for Prednisone for good measure (which they never had filled). They gave him a few teaspoons of a Spongia-based cough syrup, the cough loosened, and when he coughs it clears on its own. His sinuses ran clear, and he had some sneezing. His mother’s intuitive feeling was that he was fine, and she didn’t call me during that time as she genuinely was not concerned.

We waited two weeks for the symptoms to clear before we went on to his next prescription: Arn/Nux-v/Nat-s/Hyper/Staph 200C/1M/10M, which was given for the very traumatic birth he experienced, which was a Cesarean with other interventions. Within one week he had gotten a rash behind his ears, which is where his allergic reactions would begin. He worked out a lot of restlessness, didn’t sleep well, and was very moody. He hit and threw things. His mother reported he was a very angry child.

Within two weeks his emotional reaction seemed to subside, but he had some breathing symptoms in the evenings. His parents kept the humidifier running in his bedroom, and palliated his symptoms with a saline solution. They used a few doses of Ipecac 12C when his coughing went into vomiting. They wondered how he might react to the mold in October, and he had a lot of mucous in his sinuses which wasn’t expelled when he sneezed, but his lungs stayed clear. He was challenged when his class visited a pumpkin patch in a light drizzle, but he ran around in the hay and enjoyed himself. His breathing was laboured at 2:30 the following morning, and his father gave him a Ventalin treatment, and is symptoms never got to the wheezing stage. They used the Ipecac to palliate his cough if he began to gag or vomit, which only happened a few times that month.

Within a few days his mother reported he was “great.” His mother said she had begun reading parenting books, that he is “all boy” and just wants to run, that he is curious but not obnoxious, and it worried her that she sees so many subdued and submissive children.

His next prescription (five weeks later) was: Folliculinum/Nux-v 200C/1M/10M with the emotional remedies, Nat-m/Staph/Op/Lach 200C/1M/10M two weeks later for the period of his pre-birth.

After the first week his mother reported he was wonderfully-behaved at home, but at pre-school was telling his caregivers they were stupid and he hated them all, and he was ripping toys from other children’s hands. His mother kept him home for a long Thanksgiving break, and on his return the caregivers couldn’t believe the shift in his behaviour, and he was back to normal again.

He was easily frustrated, and would wake crying during the night where he’d sleep well in the past. He cried for no apparent reason, and wanted to be held and consoled during those times. He normally loves to touch and be touched, but his mother reported that he was even more loving, very, very attached, that he was glued to her saying things like, “You know Mommy? I just love you, Mommy.”

His sinuses ran clear for about four days and he had a loose cough, but no symptoms of asthma or wheezing. His appetite was diminished at that time. His mother reported that in the same month the previous year he dropped 8 pounds in two and a half weeks, and all the doctors had thrown up their hands, not knowing what to do with him and his symptoms. None of the cleansing symptoms lasted more than four days, and his energy increased after that, and he was symptom-free the rest of the month.

We then began treating for the inherited predispositions (miasms), and about four weeks later he was given Psorinum 200C/1M/10M.

His mother reported that about four weeks afterward, if you looked at him wrong he would crumble, that once when they were playing animals she growled at him, and he began to cry. He had a return of the little rash behind his ears, which cleared soon after it appeared. He had no other symptoms or reactions to the Psorinum.

At the end of six weeks he began to cough and have some problems with reflux. He was getting frustrated easily, which caused him to lash out in anger. He was given Tuberculinum 200C/1M/10M over three nights.

He became what Paul Herscu describes in his book as “slaphappy.” He had asked for some address labels and his mother denied him. He turned around and slapped her in the face. He had never done this in the past. He punched another child at school when he touched a puzzle piece Sam was playing with. He threatened to spank his mother, he threatened to break his favourite toy. He had energy all day, and all night. He began torturing cats – chasing them and petting them roughly. The cats learned to run from him. These symptoms lasted about a week.

During the six weeks of the Tuberculinum he craved bacon and smoked meats. He also asked for eggs. His mother reported he looked good, was gaining weight with rosy cheeks and his lungs were excellent. His mother said he had “mea” on his thighs now – that they were amazed when they compared him with pictures from last January. She said he had loads of energy and his pre-school teachers jokingly asked if he could be calmed down. He became such a healthy, loving, cuddly and smoochy child that his mother said she’d be happy to stop treatment right there.

At the end of the six weeks he also decided he was no longer allergic to eggs. His mother, trusting his intuition and level of health, gave him a bit of egg white one day and he was fine. The next evening he had some scrambled egg and he was also fine. Then he had a cupcake baked with eggs. A week later, he celebrated his fourth birthday by sharing cupcakes with the children in his class for the first time in his life.

At the end of the six weeks he began to show a fear of dogs, and his mother reported he became hysterical over the puppy next door. He was afraid of a mask because, “ … it looked gooey.” He started talking about ghosts often, and was afraid of some lollipops because he said he saw eyelashes in them.

One day, while watching a television show about babies being born, he told his mother that this was “when the doctor reaches in and pulls you out,” and then put his hands around her chest. This was exactly how he haad been born, although he never knew it consciously.

He also had begun to ask if she remembered when he used to be big and fed his mother when she was a baby. He said that he had done things in the past, stating, “I used to do that one time when I was big before.” He has said he will do things when he is big again. His mother isn’t pursuing that line of questioning until she feels more comfortable with its implications.

He was given Medorrhinum 200C/1M/10M about seven weeks after the Tuberculinum.

The family had been on vacation in the Bahamas for a few weeks at the beginning of this remedy, and it went well. He was, however, worried about slimy things in the water, waterbugs, and would shriek if he saw them. He was not afraid of ladybugs or butterflies.

On returning from the Bahamas he had a few nights of restlessness and light wheezing, and his mother palliated with Arsenicum 30C.

About three to four weeks after the remedy his mother reported he was a bit hyperactive, but that it was, “ … nothing compared to his reaction to Tuberculinum.” He was very loving, and had begun to sleep on his stomach, which amazed his mother because he had never done that before.

He began eating tomatoes with no reaction, and he asked for lemonade. His lungs and stomach were great,his mother said.

About four weeks into the remedy he asked his mother if he could go on the porch and get some snow, while she was talking on the phone. It was later in the evening, dark, and there was a raging snowstorm and blowing snow. She told him he could. She heard the dishwasher close, then the front door closed. She hung up, and looked all over the house for him. When she was beginning to worry, she put on her coat to go outside when the phone rang.

It was the next-door neighbour, calling to let her know he was there. He had gone outside, collected his snow in a cup, then noticed their lights on. He had walked across the yard to their house, and saw his friends playing Nintendo through the window in the front door. The neighbour noticed him standing there, his nose pressed against the glass – wearing only a T-shirt and boots. She let him in. His mother took him home. He suffered no ill effects from his adventure.

Six weeks after the Medorrhinum he was given remedies for acute dental surgery to correct the damage from his teeth that the reflux of stomach acids had caused. He took Arnica 200C prior to surgery, and Arnica/Staph/Nux-v/Phos 200C and 1M following surgery. He sipped the remedies in water as needed for discomfort, beginning with the 200C potency immediately following surgery and going to the 1M potency the following day.

His mother had been worried about the anesthesia and the potential for it to trigger breathing symptoms, but it went very well and he was up and around eating when he returned home from the hospital. He was given the Carcinosin 200C/1M/10M to be taken two weeks following dental surgery.

Within a week of taking the Carcinosin Sam had a lot of mucous coming to the surface, especially a day after the lawn had been mowed. That night he brought up a lot of mucous with undigested food, which his mother palliated with Ipecac, one dose of 30C. However, she reported that when she looked more closely at his symptoms she realised it was a healing reaction, and was very comfortable letting it go. She described his breathing as “sort of” like asthma, but more like the bronchial strider, not tight like the asthma, just somehow “mimicking” it. He was never uncomfortable, never short of breath, never needed a respiratory treatment, She described it, “as if it wasn’t real.” The symptoms lasted just two days.

After the fourth week of taking the Carcinosin he was very easily upset emotionally. His mother said that if you looked at him wrong he would start to cry, and that even if they tried to verbally correct him he would start to cry. She said it wasn’t like whining, just very emotional. He needed to be held if you wanted to correct him, and needed a little more attention.

About six weeks after the Carcinosin Sam began to have difficulty concentrating and had some problems controlling his energy at school. He was afraid of the sound of a thunderstorm one night, where he used to sleep through them easily. He was given Syphilinum 200C/1M/10M to be taken over three nights.

Sam’s mother was very curious to see how he would react with this remedy, as there was a deep history of mental illness and alcoholism in her family. Her grandfather would tear doors off hinges, he would do many things that embarrassed her in front of her friends as she was growing up. Once he walked into the living room while she had friends over, unzipped his pants and urinated onto the living room rug, and another time he did the same thing over the fence of a neighbour’s house while they were having a garden party. He molested her when she was very young. He was institutionalised at some point after that. Her aunts and uncles are alcoholics, and one uncle hung himself, while another had delirium tremens and died in the Bowery in New York City.

Two weeks after the Syphilinum Sam was exhibiting a lot of anger, screaming when things didn’t go his way. That expression lasted about two weeks.

In the fifth week Sam was misbehaving and not caring about the consequences of his actions. When told he couldn’t go outside without his clothes on, he said, “I don’t care!” and ran outside naked, jumping into a mud puddle next door. He would get upset if he had the wrong toy in the pool. If things weren’t how he wanted them to be he would become almost inconsolable.

His mother said he couldn’t be reasoned with at all during that time. She said in the beginning it was as if he couldn’t help his behaviour, and now it was as if he didn’t care. His mother said she had to keep an eye on him at all times. He would drop something and smear it into the rug, sprinkle cupcakes all over the floor, he took the paint can opener and stuck one end into an outlet (and tripped the circuit breaker). She reported the cats would never be the same.

Within six weeks he was his loveable self, however, hugging his mother and saying, “I love you, my smoogie woogie mommy.” He was all over her, and she said it was quite a change to see him go from the Tasmanian Devil to a darling little child. He was very calm and loving and was complimented by teachers at a pre-school visit on his ability to participate in a group library situation and to cooperate and play with the other children so well.

It is now about one year since his last miasmic remedy. He is a very friendly child (his mother said “gregarious”), easily walking up to children and introducing himself, visiting the receptionists at the doctor’s office or dentist’s office and asking for pads of paper or lollipops. His mother said he can wangle something out of people now in any store, he is so charming. He has no night terrors, sleeps very well, has an excellent appetite and is ready to go on an adventure on a moment’s notice.

Sam also enjoys helping around the house, unloading the dishwasher, mixing ingredients for cakes and making his own toast. He cleans up his puzzles and toys without being told to do so. He has no reactions to food now, although he has a lingering fear of cow’s milk, and won’t drink anything that resembles it. His mother says “he is robust and strong, to look at him you would never know his history”, that people would think she was a hypochondriac, would never be able to understand the rough time he had had in the beginning of his life. Medication? None!

I have seen too many cases at homeopathic conferences presented as cured, which later were proven to be somewhat optimistic interpretations on the part of the practitioner and not shared by the patient or parents. I feel it is important to also provide you with the thoughts and insights of the patient, or their family. What follows are the comments and insights from Sam’s mother:

I was recently thinking how in December 1996 it had only been a year (that Sam had been treated homeopathically), and I asked myself if it seemed like a long time. And I realised no, and that there has been so much profound change in him in just one year it is amazing.

This past January (1997, it is now more than two years) was a year from his last hospitalisation for asthma, and before that we had been living day-to-day and week-to-week, barely maintaining him, and it was a constant thing with medications and respiratory treatments. We lived that, we lived with a bedside nebuliser, and when we would hear him wheezing every night at 2:00 am we automatically would pick up the nebuliser. We had a whole regime – PediaPred, liquid Ventalin, Propulsid – we lived our lives for Sam’s asthma treatments and reflux, from time he was one year old, and our entire lives revolved around that.

I will admit that, at that brief hospital visit in January 1996 when we thought he was going to have complications we weren’t fully trusting of the homeopathic treatment. But within a month we had gotten rid of all of his medications, and there already was a profound difference.

We were seeing, in a few months, how he lost the acute/emergency kind of feeling about the illness. We have seen some cleansings once in a while, and it can change with the time of the year and the seasons, but it has never had the intensity it did in the past. In the few times he would wheeze a bit it really reminded us – it seems we almost forget what it had forgotten what it had been like to live with it, and it would take us by surprise.

It didn’t take long before we had enough faith in homeopathy to use an acute for any emergency situations, and it was wonderful knowing you and Rudi were there then. It felt like being pushed to the edge of a cliff, looking over, but never going over. And I think that is where I reached the faith in homeopathic process, where I saw that it does work. It was a whole mental change, and I can say that after that it became a second nature to use homeopathic before allopathic.

Again, looking at the changes in only one year, and how we lived before … Sam is no longer affected by food allergies and environmental allergies don’t have any impact. Now he is on the Carcinosin, and when he has lot of phlegm he has had no wheezing at all, and in the past few weeks he has gotten rid of mucous by vomiting, but he doesn’t yet know how to expectorate. He hasn’t gone into his old pattern of bronchial spasms and strider, just a wet cough and blowing his nose and it doesn’t go any further.

His body, his resilience, his life energy has changed. This is a child who, just over a year ago, was just beginning to eat solid foods. Just in the first four months of homeopathic treatment his reflux had stopped, his severe asthmatic wheezing was over, his allopathic medications were gone and he was able to swallow solid foods.

We cannot give him medicines now, he remembers them, and if he saw you coming at him with liquid Tylenol or Sudafed he would cry and say he doesn’t want that, he wants the “crunchy stuff” or “his drops.” if you taste that stuff it is like poison. It is almost bizarre how you can see the changes, this so small amount of a benign substance, how it can have such a profound effect on a child.

There were times when I was afraid to give him the next remedy, and I certainly will never forget Tuberculinum! But I know the reaction is only temporary with the remedies. When I remember what the drugs were doing to him, making him hyperactive … and now he is so soft and loving, all the remedies made that come out even stronger in him. I can handle his healing reactions now because I know where it is coming from. If he is angry, tearful, I can tell he needs some space or some cuddling and I give it to him. I understand now it is temporary.

In all he is healthy, so stable and pleasant to be with. We truly enjoy his company and he is fun to be with. In the past there were times when we just bundled up with pillows and watched movie videos, because he was so sick he couldn’t get up and do anything else. In December 1995 we had to strap him down in a carseat just to get some liquid food into him, and last night he sat at the table with the family enjoying Chinese food. And now he can play like any other little boy.

I think it all came together for me when, in the third month, Sam grabbed for the remedy and we were afraid it would fall. My husband told him, “No, we have to be careful. These remedies are more valuable than gold.” That meant a lot to me that he already recognised and acknowledged all these changes too.