Feverish Baby

Make the most of the Ups and they'll carry you through the Down's

My poor Tali has really had a difficult couple of nights - her temperature has soared up and fluctuated between 38 and 40. I stay by her side and just pray so hard for her fever to break. Last night we called helicopteros sanitarios just to make sure she was ok and didn't need to be hospitalized. They just said to keep giving her parecetomol and watching her - if her situation gets worse, then to take her to her paediatrician or hospital. It is hard to know what to do as we have no diagnosis. We just have to rely on our instincts and follow her lead. Even the medics don't seem to know what to suggest. But between Calpol, Belladona and homeopathic flu remedy, I am hoping to get her back to shape asap.

Thankfully she is eating - although only very little but at least she is staying hydrated. She is a very good girl and barely complains - she looks so tired and when she is so weak, she looks alarmingly skinny. Still, I know she will get out of this. Every child has colds and flus. Unfortunately Tali's muscle tone suffers but we will re-build it up again after this nasty bug has passed. She just needs rest, rest, rest ....so we are housebound!!!

Just keep your fingers crossed that she maintains her weight - we have worked so hard to get her up past the 6kg mark, I don't want to fall back again. If she does, tube feeding will definitely need to be considered. So we're back on the roller coaster!!!

High Fevers, no symptoms

Well Tália has been doing well - lots of physio, lots of stimulation and just generally having fun. She went to her first Halloween Party dressed as a skeleton with her swimming group. Bless her, she really does make an authentic and cute skeleton - will try to get some pictures.

Despite doing well though, last Saturday she came down with a very high temperature - we are talking around 40 - I tried to keep it down with Calpol but actually finally managed to curb the temperature by giving Talia a homeopathic flu remedy which instantly worked wonders. By Sunday afternoon, she looked herslf again and she has had a good week, albeit the first few days her muscle tone was slightly down. Now this is the weird bit, last night (exactly 1 week after the last episode), her fever shot up again. She looked bleary eyed and her body seemed to radiate heat. What on earth is going on? When she has these bouts I am sure that we are going to rush her to hospital but she seems to fall in and out of them so quickly. So fingers crossed that this time round the fever will disappear quickly.

The homeopathic remedies have really helped me through these bouts. She had one spoon of calpol last night but I soon started using Belladona and the homeopathic flu remedy. It seems to work faster. I have been doing some research on these remedies and am really more and more fascinated by how they take affect. Seeing is believing. I never would have had such faith in these remedies if I hadn't seen direct results. Unfortunately I am one of those people who needs to understand why something works. The book I have on homeopathic remedies is incredible. I have never seen such a detailed guide - it does not just give you a cure for a fever or sore throat but defines the different types first. For example under fevers, under Belladona, this appeared:
(Extract taken from Homeopathic Medicine for Children and Infants by Daba Ullman)



BELLADONA
When children have a sudden onset of high fever with flushed faces and reddened lips, this remedy is the first to consider. These children also tend to have hot heads and cold extremities. The skin is usually so hot, it radiates heat, (you can feel it by placing your hand a couple of inches away from the skin). The fever is a dry heat, without perspiration. The child tends to have a strong and bounding pulse. At night, the temperature gets its highest, making the child agitated, sometimes delirious, perhaps leading her to hallucinate.

The description above precisely describes Tália's symptoms. Tália's inability to convert food into energy always makes me concerned to give her medications. I do not known how strong her liver is - I do not really know what her body can tolerate. Where possible I will try to focus on diet and natural remedies to help her through difficult times. Of course medicine is necessary and sometimes she needs to have it. I just don't believe in extremes. I believe that both allopathic medicine and natural medicine have their place in society and that they should be complimentary to each other.

A Positive Few weeks

Well, we are back in the thick of it and I am loving it - horse-riding in Mijas, swimming with Naalie of Swim bebe Swim, regular sessions with Ana in San Pedro and Aprona for physio and speech. Tália is going through a good phase and I know that we need to make the most of it on this journey of peaks and troughs.

She has put on weight and is now at 6.4 Kilos. More to the point she is a lot more communicative and I am sure that she is trying to chat - I heard her say 'duck' today during baby swimming. The swimming for her is fantastic - so stimlating. Natalie's energy really brings out the best in Tali. She is also surrounded by other kids and Talia loves that interaction. Her muscle tone seems to be improving and she is getting cheekier by the day - dare I say the terrible twos are actually starting to shine through. Although for me the 'terrible twos' are 'terrific two's' as Talia is expressing herself. I am going to see if I can film Tali swimming next time - I would love to show you all just how happy she is in the water.

We saw our paediatrician from Hospiten today as I needed to take my eldest to see him. He was impressed by Talia's progress. It is so nice to see some of the key Drs who have helped us in this journey. So many people who care. Whilst we still have no diagnosis, I am starting to realy wander if we really need one. Let us focus on each day as it comes. Who knows what tomorrow will bring???

So much to tell...

Well where oh where do I begin??? Its been a long time since I've written. After a fabulous July we found ourselves in Liverpool at the begiining of August for the Walking With Giants annual conference. This was absolutely amazing. You can see a slide show on the right handside of the screen. The conference was beautifully organised and focused on families and the importance of families.

I just thought it was incredible and the best thing for my other two daughters as they had a ball with the other siblings. It was important for them to see that they weren't alone - to see other kids like them with young siblings who had some form of short stature. It was emotional. What I loved most was the positiveness that surrounded us. So much hardship that people face, endless hospital visits, tube fed kids and yet these families were so loving, so happy to enjoy the moment and this really was incredible to watch. Everyone was there to make the best of a situation, not the worst.

Unfotunately the rest of August proved difficult for Talia - when we got back she seemed to start teething and she actually lost a bit of weight in August. Luckily, we had a lovely holiday in Portugal at the end of August and this took the pressure off me - my husband and I shared the feeding (which was difficult - since when do kids want to eat when their molars are coming out???). But alas, Talia does have the luxury of beng able to lose weight.

Despite the hiccup in August and a difficult beginning to September, a trip to the UK to check out Tali's hip semed to be just the medicine. I do not know whether it was the change in temperature or her granny and mum's constant attention, but she seemed to pick up again. (Admitedly granny constantly chatted with her and played her favourite game, 'round and round the garden' with her.Well fingers crossed but the last week has just been pretty amazing - Talia seems to be saying her first words - baby, up etc. i just can't believe it. She is also signing a bit. I see such a difference again. The DRs in the UK where so positive so we came back home full of hope - Talia does not need a hip operation at present. Thank God. I was really woried about surgery and setting her back.

Here is a picture of her on a swing today.

Up on her Own two Feet May 09

To view this one, you may need to turn your computer around. My cousin sent me this clip of Talia in her physio sesion in May - look at the progress!! We'll have her walking soon!

Talia Eats her First Crisp (July 09)

Talia grows and Passes 6kg Mark

At the end of June, my husband and I visted a paediatrician who is also a homeopathic Dr. Seeing that as yet we have had no answers from traditional medicine we decided to try a different route. My physio Ana has seen miracles ocur with this Dr and as I trust and respect her tremendously I decided to vsit this hmeopathic DR in Malaga. She has treated a child with brittle bone disease and achieved much more than Drs ever expected. The child is now in main stream school and walks and talks and has hardly any fractures. By complete coincidence, I knew this child's mum from a business perspective long before realizing she also had a child with special needs.

Well after visiting this homeopath in Malaga and having given Talia loads of vitamins and minerals, I am astounded by the results - Talia has moved from 5.9kilos to 6.14 in just three weeks - absolute miracle. And, get this - she has grown 5 cm to 74cm. I was so shocked that I asked the Dr to measure her several times over so that I could comprehend it.

I am determined to avoid tube feeding and had set myself a goal of 6 kilos by October . Wow - fingers crossed that everything continues to improve at this pace.