A Testimonial Written by Biyonca’s Mother
Biyonca had a rough start. She was born at 32 wks gestation (8 weeks premature) weighing 3lbs 13oz and 19 in long. We were very lucky that Biyonca never needed oxygen or resuscitation as so many babies born early do. Biyonca had trouble with tachycardia and O2 saturation. When Biyonca was 9 days old she was transferred from Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical center to Concord Hospital. At 14 days old she began to nurse on her own and no longer needed her feeding tube. At 15 days old all her leads were removed and at 20 days old she came home a rolly polly 5lbs 6oz.
Biyonca was very healthy as an infant. Over her first year we did find that she had
a few serious allergies such as cigarette smoke (just walking by it in the open air) and deer flies (bite caused her cellulitis) which both landed us in the hospital. Biyonca was a very happy baby but she wasn’t a big mover, she did not like to crawl and she did not start walking until just before her 1st birthday.
Shortly after her 1st birthday Biyonca had her first bout with an upper respiratory infection. After a round of antibiotics she was feeling better but it was short lived. Biyonca was seen at the Drs. office several times over her second year and treated with many courses of antibiotics. When Biyonca turned 2 she was diagnosed with reactive airway disease, this is the term they use for asthmatic children that are too young to take the proper tests for asthma. Over the next few years Biyonca had flare ups but we were using the nebulizer with albuterol and cough syrup with codiene and this usually kept us out of the hospital. When Biyonca turned 3 however things took a turn for the worst. By this point she had a rescue inhaler with a spacer that she used very frequently.
In late 2010 Biyonca came out of her room as I was getting up in the morning. It was the scariest thing I have ever been through Biyonca could not breathe. Not at all, not even after using the rescue inhaler. She was gasping for air and begging in short breaths for me to help her breathe. We rushed to the ER calling her MD on the way by the time we got there Biyonca had silent tears rolling down her cheeks her chest was moving rapidly and she was taking very short breaths. We were admitted to the ER and she had her first breathing treatment within 3 minutes of arriving. After 3 duoneb treatments a dose of IV steroids she was breathing well enough to have a chest x-ray done. It revealed that she had pneumonia. Though she had no symptoms before the incident I was told sometimes RAD children will have an asthma attack which causes pneumonia which causes a severe asthma attack. The duonebs caused Biyonca to have more of the tachycardia she had had as a newborn. I should have realized then we were masking the symptoms of something far more serious than they were giving credit. We went home the next day with a prescription for antibiotics and steroids and a new inhaler with a higher dose. We also ordered allergy testing for 6 weeks after the day she was supposed to be off her steroid. The allergy testing is not effective if you have been on steroids in the last 6 weeks. Biyonca never made it to that appt and it was rescheduled more than a dozen times. From Jan to Sept 2011 Biyonca had numerous severe asthma attacks. She was prescribed a daily inhaled steroid and daily allergy medication as well as taking her rescue inhaler 4 puffs twice a day and 2 puffs before any activity. We were still seen in the ER 14 times and admitted 7.
Once while we were on vacation in California we rushed Biyonca to the
nearest ER with the aid of our GPS. She was immediately transferred to a prominent children’s hospital where she was treated once again w/ duonebs, injected and IV
steroids and antibiotics. In October 2011 she was once again seen in the ER because she couldn’t breath. At the follow up in her MDs office 2 months before her 5th
birthday the MD looked at me and said there is nothing else we can do until she turns 6. We just need to stay the course. My brain reeled with this STAY THE COURSE?
NOTHING ELSE?? What were the next 14 months going to look like? How many nights spent in the ER and hospital rooms? How many of her soccer games were going to be
interrupted?
As I drove home from that appointment I decided to find something else myself. I got online immediately. I researched Asthma care and the one of the first websites was
Chiropractic and Asthma after reading through it I decided to call Crossroads. I passed by the office daily, why hadn’t I called them before? I spoke with Sharyn who
listened to my story and assured me that I had made the right call. She made me an appointment for the following day. We met Dr. Stephanie and Biyonca had x-rays done.
After hearing what Dr. Stephanie had to say and seeing the x-rays I knew chiropractic would help Biyonca. She started getting adjusted 3x per week and within a week we
started to see a difference in how Biyonca ran and played. She smiled even more during soccer and cut water breaks down to 1 or 2 in an hour instead of 4 or 5. That
first week she didn’t need her inhaler at all!
Biyonca has now been adjusted for about 2 months we have not been to the hospital for breathing treatments 1x in those 2 months Biyonca got a cold and cough that would normally send her into a severe attack. I called the office and they said come right in (on a day she wasn’t even scheduled1) Biyonca was adjusted 5x that week she never had a severe attack we never ended up in the emergency room. Though she has had a few mild attacks due to environmental allergies I can literally say chiropractic has been her miracle! She no longer takes singulair or flovent. She rarely uses her rescue inhaler and I am proud to say she kicks butt on the soccer field!
Teaching should be such that what is offered is perceived as a valuable gift and not as a hard duty. – Albert Einstein