Brooke, Heading To Kansas City

Yesterday we made our much awaited trip to Kansas City with Brooke to see a Defeat Autism Now (DAN) doctor. Dan doctors are specialist with autism using a biomedical approach. Grandpa did a lot of investigating before choosing Brookes. doctor. After meeting with him yesterday, we were all very sure I had made the right choice. But first, back to Brooke. Grandma and I picked up Brooke and Mom Cora at 9:30 AM. Brooke was sitting in the back of Mom's car waiting. I walked up to the car and looked into it at Brooke. Her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree and she jumped out of the backseat and headed right for our van. I opened the door and she hopped in the front seat. Grandma reminded Brooke that the front seat was Grandmas seat. Brooke climbed out and went to the back door and knocked on the glass. We opened the door and she climbed right in. "Come on" said Brooke. She loves a road trip with Grandpa and Grandma. It was a long road trip, 4 hours. Brooke was fantastic. Chumping on an occasional Gluten free potato chip, Lucky charms cereal, and drinking juice. But what a good girl, no whining, no crying, just content to ride.

We arrived at the doctors office 10 minutes early. I was expecting a full waiting room of people. Wrong, the waiting room was empty except for the receptionist. She was so nice. She said to let Brooke just move around, knowing Brooke was in a car seat for 4 hours. Brooke checked out room after room. The only thing she touched in each room was the telephone. She picked up each one, had a short conversation, said Bye and hung up the phone. Before meeting with the doctor, Cora took Brooke to the bathroom and she pottied. She came back into the waiting room and the doctor was ready to meet with us. Talk about a super nice, down to earth man. His name is Dr. Michael Brown. He has treated over 1000 autistic children. He was wearing blue jeans and a brown v-neck sweater. We all sat down and he pointed Brooke towards a pile of toys in the corner. She was instantly content playing. Dr. Brown held up his left hand. He told us in all his years of practice, there was less than a handful of children he has not been able to help. He asked lots of questions about Brooke, explaining everything completely. He asked about insurance. Cora told him she had Healthwave. He said insurance wouldn't cover the treatment or testing because it was alternative medicine. Put the little girl on Prozac or some other drug it's covered. Use healthy supplements, it's not. Doesn't make much sense to me, but that's the way it is. He said Brooke would need blood work done to see what was going on in her little body. He would only suggest the test that were crucial for treatment. The final decision was up to us.

Cora took down Brookes supplements, Dr. Brown went thru each one and said how impressed he was with our treatment plan thus far. He added a few more supplements and explained to Cora the best way to get Brooke to take them. He also said other diet changes were needed, and gave lots of helpful advice to Cora. Dr. Brown said after the blood work is done, he would give Brooke a treatment plan specific just to her. He also said after treatment was started, we would see significant improvements in 3 to 6 months.

He was explaining the different supplements when Brooke came over to me. I thought she wanted held, but she wasn't smelling to good. I wrapped me arms around her to pick her up. She took my hands and put them on her butt. I took a quick peek inside and knew Brooke had an accident. Dr. Brown said to take her into an exam room and change her on the table there. Brooke and I headed out to get her changed, while Dr. Brown continued to talk to Cora and Grandma. By the time Brooke and I got back into Dr. Brown's office, he was just about finished. He wanted to look down Brookes throat, check her fingernails, and listen to her stomach. We left his office with a world of imformation and sky high optimism. Grandma was talking to the receptionist and Brooke grabbed her hand and pulled her away. She took Grandma into an exam room, got on the floor under an exam table, and tried to pull Grandma down with her. Grandma explained to Brooke if she got down, she would never get up. I went in to get Brooke so Grandma could pay the receptionist. Brooke ran into another room, climbed up in a chair in front of a mirror and let out a "MUUUUAAHHH and kissed her image in the mirror. She turned looked at me, puckered up and gave me a kiss also. Before we left, I asked Dr. Brown wher he thought Brooke was on the autism spectrum. He said he thought she was mild to mild moderate autistic, but for sure not severe. It was then time to leave with decisions to be made, websites to check, and books to read. Not to mention a 4 hour drive home. After running thru the parking lot with Mommy and Grandpa on her tail, Brooke was anxious to load up. She even tried to close the van sliding door herself. Brooke was once again content riding and chumping. While going thru Lawrence, she started singing Jingle Bells and Twinkle, Twingle Little Star. Plus reaching around the seat and teasing Grandma. She also made Mom grab the handle on the back of my seat to hold on, while she hung on to Grandmas seat handle.

After what seemed like forever, we pulled into Short Stop in Clay Center for a pitstop. Cora let Brooke out to move around. Brooke grabbed my hand and wanted to go inside Short Stop. I must admit I was a doubting Thomas and didn't want to take Brooke inside. Mom said it was ok and took Brooke inside. When I went inside a few minutes later, Brooke was eating a small piece of taffy and said "Yum". She had also gone potty for Mom. She then grabbed my hand, pulled me over to the counter where the taffy was, and stuck my hand on the taffy. Grandma asked Brooke if she wanted another piece and helped Brooke pick out the color she wanted.

I have to tell you I am more than impressed with Brookes action in the Short Stop. She was surrounded by tons of tasty junk food. Not once did she touch anything. She knew where the taffy was, but did not touch it. When she was told she could have another piece, only 1 piece was taken. She waited until after Grandma had paid and opened the taffy until she ate it. Talk about an impressive 4 year old. When we went outside, Brooke went to her side of the van and climbed in her seat. We weren't to far out of Clay Center and she finally fell asleep.

So what's next for Brooke? In about 2 weeks we go back down to KC for blood to be drawn. It takes 2 to 3 weeks for the results to come back to Dr. Brown. After the results are in, we go back down to KC for the treatment plan. After treatment is started, Dr. Brown wants to see Brooke again to make sure all is going ok. If all is good, Cora will just need to call Dr. Brown every 3 or 4 months to let him know how things are going. Until next time., Brooke says "Muuaahh".