Holistic Hepatitis News

17-yr-old JUSTIN is OFF the **Liver Transplant List!** How? The CURING COURTNEY protocol & diet, plus his Tenacious mom, April, never gave up.
This story will blow you away! Justin was 14 and put on the liver transplant list by an M.D. who never heard of Alpha Lipoic or Dr. Berkson. AND…Because his mom WOULD NOT give Justin a LIVER TRANSPLANT, the doctor FIRED April. She continued the protocol and NOW Justin is 17-yrs-old; 6’6″ tall; on the Varsity Baseball team; has a part time job and doing great in school! THIS ALTERNATIVE REMEDY WORKS! April’s NEW DOC can’t believe it. But April knows better…her 3 years of hard work paid off! Here’s the long journey of “Justin’s Triumph!”…
At 14 years old our youngest son, Justin, was admitted to the hospital at 12:30 pm March 3, 2014 with a possible appendix. Later that day after a CT scan, we were told that he had Cirrhosis of the liver and was in COMPLETE LIVER FAILURE and in need of a transplant!
I can’t tell you the feelings that went through me, all I remember is that my husband had to hold me up because I almost passed out from the news. The hospital immediately transported me to a large Children’s hospital in Texas.
Justin was an extremely healthy child, with the exception of an occasional flu or strep. Yet after the biopsy on March 5th it was confirmed that he had severe cirhossis, AIH, Portal vein hypertension & Celiac disease.
The most devastating news to Justin was that he could no longer be a “normal” teenager. The doctor told him he couldn’t play football or basketball because they are contact sports. And no more riding roller-coasters! He was given six different medications morning, afternoon and night! Life changed instantly and the constant knowledge that he can go into complete liver failure at any time was extremely un-nerving! As his mom, I sat by his side 24/7, trying to be the strength and cheerleader that everything was going to be just fine. All the while I would cry while he slept and I started to memorize every single detail of him (worried that I would have to bury my son, ripped my heart and soul into pieces)
Weeks later, I found the book Curing Courtney while I was up one night sitting by Justin’s hospital bed, and I started wondering and researching the possibilities of holistic protocols for AIH and Celiac’s. Within a week I purchased Denise Otten’s book, Curing Courtney. Once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down. I studied and studied non-stop, it became my second bible! I contacted Denise and told her how much I loved and appreciated that she had written this book and the process in which she saved her own daughter, it was empowering and gave me hope finally that I would not watch Justin die., I might be able to do something to save him too.
I called Denise for help and started Justin on the protocol ASAP! From March-August 2014, I kept Justin on the vitamins and the meds because I was scared to stop them because I didn’t want his doctors to get angry and possibly drop him as their patient. So I followed their rules, but added the vitamins and diet.
After 6 months of going back and forth to the hospital and taking all the meds that were getting Justin sicker and sicker by the day, we were both tired and he wasn’t getting any better. Then in September 2014, Justin was admitted to the hospital again but this time with pancreatitis, which I truly believe was due to all the pharmaceuticals he was ingesting.
But that doctor put even more pressure on me and said “if I didn’t have Justin ONLY take the meds and have the liver transplant …and stop taking the vitamins, they would no longer be Justin’s doctor.” I told him that this was a big decision and I had to think about this. Without warning, within a week, they FIRED US and STOPPED FILLING JUSTIN’S PRESCRIPTIONS!
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I was livid that a doctor would talk to us that way. i said to myself at that moment, GOD made my choice for me! I stood up as Justin’s mom and full faith in Lord Almighty that “He” had shown me the way to cure Justin. (Whether you believe in God or not, this was my sign from the man above.) I had to make the biggest leap of faith for Justin’s life, and I told those doctors I am his mother and this is what we will be doing from now on, no more pharmaceuticals ONLY this holistic protocol. I found new doctors THAT WEEK who were kind and loving but indifferent about my decision! Yet they were respectful of my choices. While they could not help me with the proper doses of the vitamins, that’s what I had Denise for … balancing the correct vitamins and foods for my son. So as of September 2015, Justin was off all pharmaceuticals and ONLY on the holistic protocol. He was off all wheat and gluten.
Then we found out that in January 2015 Justin will be admitted to the hospital again for another liver biopsy, this scared him to death. I must admit it scared me as well! They also did another upper and lower GI. They found that the Celiac’s is in check, thanks to the gluten free diet and that the liver hasn’t had any more damage, THANKS TO HOLISTIC PROTOCOL I SAID! The doctor’s stated whatever you are doing keep doing, because it is working and what we were doing was not.
Justin became ill with an infection and started to run 104 fever so off to the hospital we went again, nearly one year to the day when this all began. Justin wsa in extreme pain in the liver area and all I wanted to do was take away his pain.
After more nights in the hospital, the doctors told me that he should go back on the meds. I said NO! They made him very sick. But I agreed to an IV of antibiotics as it turned out to be extreme strep. The strep caused the AST/ALT to rise and hence the pain in the liver area. I didn’t want the antibiotics but he needed it badly. Later on I knew we had to give him more vitamins, but not until we were out of the hospital.
Happy New Year January 2016!! Justin is doing amazing on his holistic protocol, the doctors’ state that his numbers are looking better than ever!!! This makes us so thankful as the doctors agreed to keep him on the protocol as the medications they were giving were making him so much worse.
Justin is a Senior now and will graduate making A & B’s and is in all honors classes. Even with his hospital visits these past 2 years, he stayed on the school’s baseball team and now he’s on the VARSITY team. He’s their first baseman and in right field, at six feet six inches, Justin has a reach like no other…and he has an arm like a cannon! He also is now working part-time and having the most amazing social life being a “normal” teenager!
November 2016 and Justin’s numbers are so great now that Transplant is not even being discussed anymore! The Head of the Transplant team stated “there is no need to even bother with a three-day evaluation for a transplant.” Justin is doing so well that he wouldn’t even qualify to be put on list. His doctors don’t understand exactly how the holistic protocol is working but it is.
All along this journey one of Justin’s doctors kept asking me; where and how did I find this protocol and I told them proudly Denise Gabay Otten’s book Curing Courtney. Our doctor purchase the book! This might just be a HUGE step in the actual medical field learning that holistic protocols work! Justin and the protocol has been discussed with Gastroenterologists from all over the United States per conference calls with Justin’s doctor.
We deeply believe in the POWER of prayer and wish everyone who reads this says a pray for all the children living with AIH to heal with this holistic protocol!! We also know the power of prayer warriors so we ask for every disciple of Christ to say prayers and ask other believers to join in the pray warrior chain!! We would like to say Thank you Denise for writing her daughter’s story and for helping other families through such a heart wrenching time.
And thanks to our family and friends and people we do not know, who have sent prayers, love and support. It is so encouraging.
Justin’s work is not done here and he has a long life to live. Look at him now doing everything the doctor’s in 2014 said would never happen!
IT IS POSSIBLE TO RID THIS WORLD OF AIH, HOLISTICALLY!!!
April is truly a Warrior mom and another sweet Southern Belle that I’m honored to call my friend! Congrats to the whole Boyd-Gray family!
xoxo
but those all come to a head as he grew into manhood and balanced his body. This is a journey that no one ask for but it is the one we have been given, and I say even through the crying and freaking out moments alone in my room, I had a peace from our Father in Heaven that Justin’s work was not done here and that he had a long life to live and put in mark on this world. And look at him now doing everything the doctor’s in 2014 said would never happen!
IT IS POSSBILE TO RID THIS WORLD OF AIH, HOLISTICLY!!!

15-yr-old “Ellie” is AIH FREE! No more IMURAN! This Northeast teen athlete didn’t want her identity known…but the girl in this picture could be her. She’s like many teenage girls, smart, athletic and beautiful. But she had AIH, and the best doctors in her area told her Mom “she’d have to be on meds forever!”.
But mom, “Mary” (a pseudonym) couldn’t accept that her daughters life would be filled with drugs …or worse. After 1 year of counselling this family,…”Ellie” is healthy and off MEDS! “Mary” was tough to convince, but her tenacity and mother’s intuition kept her on track. Here’s Ellie’s story told by her mom, Mary. Get your tissues out…and know that everyone benefits from the right diet and proper vitamins!
A year ago our lives changed forever. Out of nowhere, my seemingly healthy, full of life, athletic, smart 15 year old daughter, Ellie, was diagnosed with Autoimmune Hepatitis. Besides feeling full, even if she didn’t eat that much, and feeling like she had “heavy legs” when she played sports, there were no real symptoms to this disease to warn that it was coming. Her pediatrician ran some blood work and Ellie’s liver levels came back in the 300s.
After a few weeks of the numbers not coming down, an ultrasound was ordered. When you get a call from the radiologist on a Sunday night, you know something is terribly wrong. Her liver and spleen were inflamed, and there was fluid in her abdomen. The next day we went to see a liver specialist. In less than 5 minutes of reviewing her labs and ultrasound, he turned to me and told my daughter had Autoimmune Hepatitis, and would need a liver biopsy immediately to see how bad the damage was to her liver. We looked at him blankly and said, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? AND HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN TO MY CHILD? This child was so well taken care of. We never missed a doctor’s appointment or were late for any vaccines. He then explained what AIH was. He believed that there was no real explanation as to how or why this happened to her, and how rare it was. The parental shell shock continued but somehow my daughter remained stronger than both of her parents.
Ellie went in for a liver biopsy and it came back stage 3/4. The doctor explained this was considerable liver damage and that we were lucky we found it when we did or a liver transplant would likely be in her future. Again, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? AND HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN TO MY CHILD? The shell shock continued. He put her on high doses of Prednisone (40 mg) and eventually Azathioprine (100 mg). I knew these drugs were saving her life but long term it was going to be a problem. The Prednisone was horrible- causing fast weight gain, fullness to the face, mood swings, anger, tears for no reason, brain fog. The Azathioprine- she was to be on this drug for 3 years and possible for life. He cautioned me about the potential side effects. All I could think is- we are going to cure liver disease and could possibly end up with cancer because of this drug! No way, not my kid.
The search began. How are others dealing with disease? I immediately found Curing Courtney and ordered the book. I couldn’t read it fast enough, sobbing the whole way through. YES there was another way to handle this disease. If this worked for Courtney then maybe it will work for Ellie. WHY WOULDNT EVERYONE TRY THIS?
I contacted Denise and everything changed that day. I listened to everything she said- eat organic, grass-fed meat, no gluten, no dairy, keep stress low, be happy, take the vitamins. I read everything she told me too- Wheat Belly, everything I could find about Dr. Berkson and Alpha Lipoic Acid, gut health, GMOs, etc. I loved that she said keep reading and educating yourself. This was the exact opposite of what the liver specialist told us. He said, do yourself a favor and do not go on the internet and read those personal stories. It will drive you crazy with worry. Just take the medication. Also, when I asked him about diet/ vitamins, he said no special diet just try and eat healthy, and vitamins have never been proven to work.
And so with Denise’s help, we began with the diet and vitamins (while we took all the Pred and Aza). While we thought we were eating healthy in the past, clearly we weren’t. Organic, no gluten, no dairy. It wasn’t easy, especially for a teenager. For the most part, Ellie was on board and sort of understood the science behind what she was doing. Of course, she is a teen and on some days was angry because she couldn’t eat the garbage most kids eat at that age. Over the next few months, I pushed the doctor hard to get her off the dreaded pred as fast as possible, and he complied for the most part. No more Pred after about 6 months. Every month her number were getting better or at least maintaining. We were always wondering is the diet/ vitamins working? How is this going to go when we get off the drugs?
After 7 months on Aza, Ellie’s hair was falling out. Her white blood count and platelets had dropped low. It was alarming. How will this child fight basic illness never mind diseases? I call the doctor. He was not particularly concerned- just a side effect of the Aza. Well, I was concerned! By some miracle, he allowed me to reduce the Aza to 75 mg. We continued on with the diet and vitamins and did routine blood work. Somehow, the liver levels maintained or went lower even with less Aza! What is going on here?
We then began reducing the Aza little by little. Over the next few months, Ellie’s levels fluctuated a little depending upon her stress at school and whether she was sick with a cold (which took forever to get rid of, thank you Aza). Eventually, it was time to make THAT decision- no more Aza. Probably one of the hardest decisions we ever had to make as parents- there was no way to truly know if this is working unless you do it. Denise was confident and reassuring. “Her body is strong and can handle it, we will watch the blood work, we will adjust the vitamins accordingly.” Her words went through my head daily. It has now been two months with NO medication and her numbers are normal and better than ever. Time will tell how the rest goes but we are confident we made the right decision for Ellie. She is a tough kid and is taking this disease on naturally one day at time without those meds, which initially saved her life, but cause horrible side effects.
Denise, we cannot thank you enough for your never ending support. This last year has been difficult for all of us but your support over this period was invaluable. There were times over the last few months when we doubted ourselves and this decision, but your encouragement helped us stay the course and we are forever grateful for that. There is no way we could have done this without you. You are our angel.
I’m so proud of these parents, … they did their homework and made intelligent and holistic decisions which saved their daughter’s life! BRAVO Mary & Ellie…and Dad.