Dr. Nemeh on Dr. Oz

On February 1, Dr. Nemeh, the faith healer that we went to see in 2006, was interviewed on the Dr. Oz show.  My nephew and nieces got to watch the show had some questions afterwards and this is what I wrote to them.

Dear

I heard that you watched the TV show with Dr. Nemeh yesterday. Your Dad told me that you had a lot of questions, as many people do. I don’t understand it all myself, nobody does, but I thought I could tell you a little bit about our visits with Dr. Nemeh and share with you some of my thoughts.

On February 26, 2006 Dr. Nemeh came to our church for a Healing Service. Kevin was 1 ½ years old at that time and Uncle Jon and I were very worried about Kevin. Often times when people go to see Dr. Nemeh they are sad and scared about something in their lives, usually due to being sick or a disability. We told our family that we were going to the Healing Service with Dr. Nemeh and many, many, many people were praying for us at the same time that Dr. Nemeh was praying over Kevin. In fact, I remember that your Mom and Dad asked a lot of people to pray for Kevin too, and we did not even know them. I have seen a lot of good things happen with prayer, especially that day. It was just as you saw it on TV. Dr. Nemeh came up and put his hands on Kevin and said some prayers. Dr. Nemeh’s wife, Cathy prayed for Uncle Jon and a Nun was praying for me. It gave me a lot of peace being there and watching a packed church of believers. Even though I prayed for a miracle for Kevin, I wanted him to suddenly get better, we received what Dr. Nemeh said on TV a healing journey. It started with Kevin giving me my first hug. You guys know how much I love my hugs from you, and I felt like I had to wait a long time before Kevin was able to give me a hug. But it was well worth the wait and I felt like Kevin’s hug gave me a healing to my heart. Two weeks later, Kevin gained some weight too. He was struggling a lot with gaining weight and his medical doctors wanted to put tubes in him to help him, but I didn’t want to do that. So this was the next healing that we received. But probably the biggest gift that we received from the healing service was when Pap found a book, and Grandee read it, that led us to our good friends in Philadelphia. These are the people that teach us how to help Kevin get better. So this is how our healing journey began with Kevin. I think God chose this for us to give us faith, make us stronger, and to inspire others. People that we don’t even know come up to us and tell us that they are inspired by Kevin and his healing journey, and they are inspired by our dedication to him to work with him every day and help him get better. And did you know that Kevin began walking on the same date, February 26, 2009, two years after our visit with Dr. Nemeh? That is a miracle!

I think God sometimes gives us challenges in our lives to help us grow, especially in our hearts. So what I try to remember is to keep good thoughts in my head, and to pray to God that he help Kevin heal, and then I don’t mind doing the work to help.

When you pray, always remember that God knows best and that what you think you want may not be what is best, even though it is hard to understand. God has a plan for each of us. This is what “Thy will be done” means from the prayer Our Father. And don’t forget to thank God for all that he has given you and even if it seems he doesn’t answer your prayers just know that he may have something better in mind for you later on.

Love and Blessings to you all

Aunt Karen

Happy for the Wheel of Fortune Winner

We continue to watch Wheel of Fortune at the end of nearly every day, and we just had to capture Kevin watching as a winner wins the bonus round.  He is very happy for them!  Take a look.

Little Christmas Miracles

This Christmas we all saw some wonderful changes in Kevin during our visits with family.

When we visit with my family (8 adults and 6 kids) all 14 of us are usually together because we are the only ones that don’t live nearby. Sometimes I get some mixed emotions during our visits because I love to be there and see my nieces and nephews but I also feel a little sad when Kevin excludes himself by going off by himself or standing at a light switch or ceiling fan switch to entertain himself. But this year, he did not spend as much time by the switches and he seemed to be hanging around more with his cousins and the rest of the family. I saw him sitting with my Mom on the couch and some of the other cousins, not needing anything like photo books to keep him there. I saw him tickling his 9 year old cousin, Ryan at the table and being wrestled by his 3 your old cousin, Daniel who seems to make him laugh the most. Even when we visited Jon’s family there was more interaction with his Aunt and Uncle than we have ever seen by sitting on their laps and spinning around a room.

One of my favorite stories from our visit is when the cousins were having a graham cracker snack with some sunbutter. (Note: Kevin has many food allergies; one being the wheat in graham crackers and peanuts in peanut butter, so sunbutter is a great alternative since it is made out of sunflower seeds and tastes great.) A sandwich was made out of the graham crackers and sunbutter and was sitting on the counter. Kevin walked up to the counter and looked at it, I watched to make sure he wouldn't touch it, and offered him a fruit snack instead. He refused the fruit...this is very unusual for Kevin to turn down fruit of any kind. So I thought maybe he was hungry for dinner instead. So I began preparing his meal, but he began giving me signs that he did not want that either. Finally, he picked up the sunbutter jar and brought it to me and I about cried with happiness. I was more than happy to give him a sunbutter snack with apples. I found this so fascinating because he wanted to be included with what the cousins were eating but he knew that he could not have the graham crackers but that he could have the sunbutter. What a good boy!

Another Christmas miracle was when Kevin pooped 9 days in a row, even during the holiday traveling. This is a big deal! Kevin has been struggling with digestion issues for years, we have been trying to find some kind of balance for him and this was a poop marathon for him. Not the typical Christmas gift most parents hope to receive from their kids but it works for us!

These wonderful changes that our family got to witness in Kevin, especially when he included himself, made me relax and enjoy my visit as well. I feel so proud when not only I but our family as well can see these changes in Kevin that we work so hard on in our daily program that the Family Hope Center provides us with. It keeps my hope strong!

Family Trip to see Winter Lights at Oglebay

A Special Thanksgiving at Peak N Peak with family

Bear and Two Dogs

One of the big changes that we have noticed recently is the increase in verbal sounds that Kevin is making. It seems to be mostly from the Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy but many of our daily programs are to help improve this long awaited ability. We are very encouraged when we hear him repeat sounds and when we hear the occasional word, usually only once.


Here are a couple of examples of recent words we have heard:

One Sunday we decided to go for a walk at a local trail after sitting around all afternoon watching football. For some reason, Jon remarked that maybe we would see a bear during our walk. Well as we were walking along, a man and his very large dog were walking towards us. At the same time two other people were walking towards us with two small dogs. As the dogs passed, I remarked that the very big dog did look like a bear. And Kevin immediately began vocalizing many sounds and Jon and I both heard “bbbeeaarr” and “do dogs” (bear and two dogs). It was very exciting especially to have Jon there to witness it as well.

One other day, Kevin and I were finishing lunch and after he finished his last bite he pushed his dish away and said “all done”.

Kevin's New Program (Fall/Winter 2010)

Nutrition Program
As I said before, the digestive issue is one of Kevin’s greatest problems in life right now. I communicated with the Nutritionist regularly during the last six months trying to improve this situation and we continue to work towards solving this problem. One suggestion that she made was to try a liquid diet once a week. This is given to individuals who have multiple food and environmental sensitivities and to help support and strengthen their liver. This will rest and cleanse the digestive system including the liver, helping it to function better in terms of digestion, immune function, and detoxification. Other changes will be made after a stool test is completed and results are received to determine other changes that could be helpful to improve this situation.

Physiological Program
• Passive Deep Breathing Program/Reflex Bags – The purpose of this program is to increase blood flow to the brain thereby enriching the brain with nutrients and oxygen.

• The Oxygen Enhancement Program/Carbogen Therapy (95% Oxygen and 5% Carbon Dioxide) - The purpose of this program is to increase blood flow to the brain thereby enriching the brain with nutrients and oxygen.

• The Mild Hyperbaric Therapy Program – To increase partial pressure which increases oxygen uptake in the brain and body, improving overall brain and body function.

“Simply defined, hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a medical treatment that uses pure oxygen at increased ambient pressure to speed and enhance the body’s natural ability to heal. In cases of cerebral palsy and brain traumas, the brain tissue is revived and can assist the child in restoring those functions that have been lost or compromised. It is interesting to note that the recovery of the child’s motor and intellectual functions often continues long after the treatments have ended. The brain cells that have been dormant need to re-learn (or, perhaps, learn for the first time) the functions for which they are responsible.” (Richard Neubauer)

We have noticed remarkable changes in Kevin since receiving the Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber in July. We call this “the spaceship” because it is a huge (7 feet long) white enclosure that looks similar to a rocket or spaceship. I even made it comfy cozy inside for Kevin with spaceship bedding. (Check out photos of “the spaceship” on our blog.) The most noticeable change in Kevin since beginning HBOT in July was the increase in his verbal sounds. The quality and quantity has increased significantly. There have been several examples of hearing words (one time). Kevin loves to go into the spaceship. Generally he goes in daily after lunch for about two hours. He can take a nap in it or just occupy himself with some books. When Grandma is here once a week, she will usually go in the chamber with Kevin and read to him. When Grandee visits she also enjoys spending time with Kevin inside the chamber. But he certainly does not mind going in by himself, in fact, one time our power was out and he was not able to go in for his session at his normal time after lunch and he was very upset about that. Jon and I have also benefitted from this new addition to our home.

Intellectual Program
This program was particularly challenging the last six months. Initially we were to begin with using simple picture cards and have Kevin point to the correct picture consistently. We never progressed from this point. I became very frustrated when Kevin would consistently point to the picture card that was closest to his right hand, not even considering it seems the correct answer. I was given some helpful advice on how to move forward on this task and get Kevin to respond correctly. It is unquestionable that Kevin knows the pictures but our goal is for Kevin to give clear feedback on what he does know.

Social/Emotional Program
Developing Self and Self Control – our goal is to get Kevin to imitate, interact, experiment, and play purposefully; and also to accept boundaries for acceptable behavior. Kevin made a lot of progress in this area in the last six months. The simple act of holding Kevin by the hand/wrist/arm to give him boundary has improved his behavior greatly. It is still something we are working on but we are having much more success. Because his brain is unorganized a boundary is a way to help bring him back and keep him on task.

To our visit we brought a video of several daily tasks and situations that occur at home. I am very proud of some of the routine activities that Kevin participates in around the house. For instance, loading the silverware in the dishwasher and closing the door, turning on and off the lights appropriately, shutting doors, etc. I was given some very helpful feedback as well as very encouraging affirmations that my own actions as a parent were confident and clear and appropriate…which every mother is relieved to hear…that I am doing it right.

Sensory Program
• Olfactory & Gustatory Integration Program – Presenting smells and tastes

• Auditory Training – To be comfortable in noisy situations, to not be upset by sounds and to not be easily distracted; To hear sounds at the appropriate volume; To hear all sounds well in daily life and speech. This is one of Kevin (and mine) favorite programs. When Kevin completed his morning program and completed it in a timely manner he was rewarded with this program. He loves to listen to his headphones. I was apprehensive about whether or not he would actually wear the headphones on his head but he doesn’t mind at all, and looks forward to listening to his EASE music and snuggling with his Mom on couch.

• Sensation Level 3 – Create the ability to feel pleasurable and un-pleasurable sensations in the appropriate length of time consistently all over the body. Using Proprioception for Kevin to become more aware of his body, specifically through his left hand, and using joint compressions on his left hand.

Physical Program
This six month period was bit challenging to us because we had to return to crawling and creeping indoors during the spring and summer months. Finding motivation to accomplish this was even more difficult at times. Initially is was not difficult to get Kevin to do this activity, especially when he played hide and seek with Grandma, our neighbor Karen, and other friends but over time as the distance increased weekly it became more and more challenging. Eventually when we were one week from our goal Kevin shut down. He became very apathetic about everything, he was not smiling or happy, he was not eating well, his sleeping during the day significantly increased despite the lack of physical activity he was accomplishing. When I communicated this to the FHC, we were told to stop all physical programming for a week and then start back up again. We never reached our crawling and creeping goal but did get a fair amount accomplished each day. I was relieved to hear that some of the improvements that Kevin made in the last six months were due to the crawling and creeping (even though we did not reach our goal). Some of these changes were his ability to visually bring his eyes together and track upwards on an object; improvement in depth perception; and improvement in ability to filter sounds and stay on task; and improvement in understanding; improvement in creating many different sounds. All of these are activities are learned in the midbrain which crawling and creeping directly affect. His crawling and creeping technique began to improve as well. Six months ago, Kevin was not able to use his toes during belly crawling and now he is able to with both the right and left toes, still needing help occasionally but definitely an improvement.

I was not expecting our physical program to change much at all considering we had not met our crawling and creeping goals. But I was happy to learn that our crawling and creeping distance has decreased significantly and very happy to learn that we have added walking again to our program.

• Crawling – helps develop the pons in the brain to help control face & tongue, focus & concentration, feet & hips, and visual tracking; 200 meters a day (ideal 300 meters)

• Creeping – helps the midbrain with convergence of vision, understanding, and coordination; 400 meters a day

• Walking – begin with ¼ mile and increase ¼ mile every two weeks until 1 mile with a goal of 42 minutes.

• Reflex Integration Program – To support the organization of the Medulla Oblongata and to pattern and integrate pathological and dysfunctional reflexes into higher level brain stages. Out of the 22 Reflexes we have 13 to work on.