G-Therapy Update: Month 1

Sorry for my tardiness in this update everyone, but it is well worth it.

As many of you know, Aidan started on G-Therapy in March. These small pills are a homeopathic and ayurvedic therapy. The belief is that the ingredients have a significant effect on brain function. One child in India went from severely brain damaged after a hypoxic brain injury to completely normal in just under 18 months, so I have my hopes that this will make a major difference in Aidan's well-being. He is given 3 pills in the morning and 3 pills at night for two weeks then gets a week where he is off the therapy. The idea is to "shock the system" then give the body and brain a chance to recover. The closest analogy is that of weight lifting: work one part of the body for a day then switch to give that part you lifted a chance to recover and become stronger.

Morning Doses

Evening Doses

I asked Aidan's nurses, as well as his teachers to make and note their observations while he was on therapy. The way I see it, if medical professionals and non-medical observers who see him a total of 16 hours a day see the same thing, it has to be due to this!

That being said, here's what they have seen:

• Much more following with his eyes
• More turning of his head, especially in response to familiar sounds
• Smiling (he almost never smiled after the accident)
• He appears to be lifting his arms more; however, we are not sure if this is purposeful motion
• At home, the nurses started feeding him by mouth again. He tolerates it very well, eating up to 120 milliliters (mL) per day on the weekends.
• He is doing better at school with working his switches, consistently activating toys using a switch positioned under his chin.

But, perhaps the biggest change is that Aidan has started to communicate with us! Both at school and at home, we all have noticed that when he is left alone, he would start whining and fussing. Once someone would go over to talk to him, touch him, or hold him ... he would become quiet. It seems like a small thing, but it tells us that he is aware of his surroundings and is reacting according to them.

I hope you enjoyed this update. I promise to get the next one up a little sooner.

~Russell