Sam’s had AIH for 8 years, with MULTIPLE side effects. His body ‘crashed’ because of Imuran, and kept getting worse until his Mom, Lori found CURING COURTNEY. While his spleen is still slightly enlarged…he’s still a success! He’s healthier and stronger than ever. If you’ve EVER DOUBTED whether this ANTIOXIDANT PROTOCOL works…just ask Lori. She has her son back! I love this kid and his mom…we should all be as strong and determined as they are. Here’s Lori’s story about Sam…get out the tissues:…
Hello folks, I am the proud mom of an 18-year-old boy who was diagnosed with AIH at age 10. Sam is an amazing young man and has had a long journey of meds, operations, vaccines and more.
Age 10:
Sam was a happy younger brother of two older boys. He spent most of his childhood on ball fields watching them play. And as most Americans, we were a busy working family eating fast food to keep up with the pace of life and busy schedules. Sam has a passion for soccer and also singing and performing on stage . Suddenly Sam began to develop telangiectasia’s on his fingers that would break open and bleed as well as chronic nosebleeds. The lab work discovered Sam’s enzymes were extremely elevated and that’s where the journey began. His first biopsy was at age 10. The University claimed it was the worst case of liver psoriasis they had seen in a young child. Doctors first put Sam on Azathioprine and prednisone slowly increasing over time.
Age 13:
Sam’s enzymes were normal and 2nd biopsy showed remarkable turnaround with his liver .
Age 14:
Sam received the meningitis, chickenpox, and hepatitis, vaccines. His enzymes shot up within 6 months! Doctors cranked the Azathioprine up… And he had a severe bone marrow crash within 2 months…. It was devastating! After a year of slightly elevated liver enzyme’s , severe weakness, low red and white blood cell’s and hematocrit levels and a fear of many other things… Sam began to slowly recover. He was not placed back on immune suppressant’s for months other than small dose of prednisone
Age15:
Sam’s blood work began to slowly improve, and after 3 months they wanted to put him back on an immune suppressant med, Tacrolimus. His red blood cells again dropped slightly and the doctors took him off of Tacrolimus fearing another bone marrow crash and jacked up his steroid. At that time, a mishap occurred and Sam was given the wrong steroid and he blew up and develop varices. As a mother this was when my downward spiral began. So many questions unanswered…not being heard by doctors. The fear & frustration was overwhelming.That began a year full of hospital visits…EIGHT esophageal banding sessions, the addition of BLOOD PRESSURE medication and the FEAR that Sam was going to lose his liver or be on a slow downward trend. All devastating. I was tired of the doctor’s assumption that Sam was on a slow demise. The specialists kept wanting to give more Med’s which in turn caused more problems.
Never once did anyone mention healthy eating or taking care of the body better! All the answers were in pills, which obviously were NOT WORKING!
Age16:
Once I started wrapping my head around all the medication malfunctions? I begin to question everything! I suddenly felt like doctors weren’t listening to me and they weren’t happy that I constantly questioned their authority and their treatments. They were failing and my gorgeous teenage was getting worse. I felt helpless! That’s when I began to research alternatives and found the book CURING COURTNEY, by Denise Otten. With Denise’s help, we started Sam on the ALA protocol by Dr. Burt Berkson. I was on a quest to give him a healthier diet and turn his disease around.
I was scared because I wasn’t receiving encouragement from doctors about the protocol. They were not against it, but they strongly advised me NOT discontinue immune suppression therapy. We are all brought up to ‘TRUST THE DOCTORS…THEY KNOW BEST.’ But perhaps their standard “medical” treatments need to change. They need to embrace the concept that diet and vitamins DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Within two months Sam’s liver enzymes began to drop and the varices did not return .
Age 17 – present:
Sam now receives IV ALA treatment 2x a week, and his blood work has remains between the 30’s-50’s. All other labs are normal with the exception of platelets remaining in the 60-70’s which has been the case since he was 13 . Last Summer he stopped the last of the pharmaceuticals he was on and has been on vitamins solely since May 2015. We were fortunate enough to visit Dr. Berkson in New Mexico last summer and were able to learn more about the protocol and how Sam can take control of his body.
Sam had an MRI, ultrasound, and endoscopy at the medical University on February 1, 2016. No varices, liver flow is in the appropriate direction, and Sam’s liver has developed new capillaries as his cells regenerate. So we are hoping for the platelets to change. Please pray for Sam to have continued healing . I only wish we had found the protocol early on in his disease. I am hoping the damage around his hyper portal vein can improve so the platelets can also recover.
It has been an enormous challenge to eliminate sugar from a teenager’s diet! When we came home from Dr. Berkson’s in the summer I threw out the entire house worth of food to step up our ability to eat much better. I have had to find alternatives to purchasing organic fruits and vegetables as we live in a very rural area and not much access to organic food stores. But you plug away and do the best you can and I feel we are on the right track. Sam had so many side effects from immunizations and pharmaceuticals. The new approach seems to be producing healthy results. So there you go😀 I encourage you to read the book Curing Courtney and do research yourself. And hire Denise for her services. Are all the doctors at the University recommending the protocol ….of course not! But because we’ve had great results, they’re not telling us to stop what we’re doing. Please do your own research . Sam took both the pharmaceuticals with the vitamin protocol before he weaned off of pharmaceuticals.
My job, now that Sam is an 18 year old senior, is to get him prepared to begin taking care of himself. This is his life and he needs to take control. With the vitamins and diet, he now has the tools to stay healthy.
Thank you Denise for recognizing the need to support mothers. I am a mental health therapist with a masters degree and many years of experience. However, I was not feeling heard by the medical profession and I was struggling to find answers on my own. I needed that extra special someone to support me and push me to overcome the FEAR…. step up the research ….and do what I needed to do for Sam. You my dear, Denise, were an angel.
To all those who struggle with Autoimmune Disease, I say, keep going and don’t give up. Denise reminded me that things don’t change overnight. So work on the diet. Take the vitamins and you too will see a change. A magic pill doesn’t produce results. A lifestyle change does!
YOU GO LORI! You’ve done a GREAT job researching. You’ve got your son back! I’m sooooo proud of her…Another “Warrior Mom!”
