In this video, Krista Vance shares some emotional details about her son's Autism recovery journey. As a fellow Autism mom myself, it's hard to hold back the tears.
She wrote the book Meet Jamie Now: A Life Free of Autism. Click here to get a copy for yourself.
Here is a transcript of the video if you'd prefer to read instead of watch.
"I wasn't really sure what kind of a mother I would make. It was pretty involved in things I was doing in my life, but I knew I had that maternal instinct to really want children.
Jamie, before he was hospitalized, he was incredible.
I mean, he was growing like any other child and he was almost ahead of his brother actually.
Jack, when he was about a year old, he was hospitalized. Immediately after the hospital I noticed his coordination. He kind of lacked a little bit of coordination. And it was kind of like we had to rebuild him back into walking. And it was probably three months after it started declining. It was kind of a combination of things. It wasn't just his verbal skills, it was kind of social. He kind of started going within himself and he wasn't playful with Jack, as much.
He was looking out the window, he's making lunch and I was like, "Jamie, Jamie," you know, "let's go, let's eat lunch". And he just kept staring out the window, I picked him up and just looked right through me (crying). And I'm like, "Jamie, are you there?" And I realized that for some reason he was gone.
I knew that there was something really wrong. And so the first thing I did was go to my pediatrician and he said to me, "well, I think Jamie has Autism". I looked at Autism on the outside and I looked at Autism on the inside. A lot of people don't look at Autism on the inside. And that's what I did. I think, and that was his key to recovery is I looked at his body internally and "what can I do to shift the chemical imbalance or the imbalance in his body or his brain".
I needed the right people behind me to do this and I needed to find the right people.
It was four years of really finding the right doctors and going. Who I got from the Autism Research institute was Dr. Terry Grossman. And one of his specialties was chelation therapy. And so I went to him and he started teaching me about chelating. We found another wonderful doctor, Dr. Luke Moss in Santa Barbara. And that's when I found another chelating agent. And that's when we started on that particular chelating agent. And that's when we started to see the changes in him. It had been three years since I heard him speak and it was-- it was amazing.
I was in Santa Barbara and I was getting dressed to go out that night and I was changing and I heard this voice, "what are you doing?" And I was like, I turned around and Jamie was there. And I'm like, "Jamie, where's Jack?"
Because I'm cause I'm like, who would-- you know, Jack's going to tell me that, Jamie's not going to tell me that. And I'm like, "Jack, Jack," I looked all over. "Jack?" And Jamie was just standing there and I flipped out. I was like, "oh my gosh, Jamie did you just talk right now? Did you just talk?" He was about five and Jack and Jamie, we're walking out the door. Always, you know, the biggest thing that I wanted to hear Jamie say was what he said. And Jack said, "Mom, we're going across the street to Hayden and Kate's," their friends across the street. Jamie turned around and looked at me right in the eyes and said, "I love you mom." And that was it.
Krista Vance is a natural storyteller who draws the reader into her life and the lives of our family. She shares her despair and vulnerability, fear and doubts, as well as affection and compassion. This story cannot help but inspire laughter, tears, and most of all, Krista proves almost anything is possible.
The access she provides to doctors, therapists, and new technology and approaches to nutrition will help guide people of all kinds through their own demanding journeys through life-altering conditions. Come experience all the bends and jolts in this unconventional account of conquering adversity as you meet Jamie now."
I hope you enjoyed listening to Krista Vance or reading about her son's autism recovery.
Click here to order Krista Vance's book A Life Free of Autism: Meet Jamie Now
Learn more about Krista Vance by clicking here.