switching it up~

Hello all! I am now officially on blogspot so, check me out there! We will no longer be at www.jenngreutman.wordpress.com. The new address is www.jenngreutman.blogspot.com. Change it in your bookmarks, and we’ll see you there!

Jenn

makin stuff…and other stuff

With all of the new expenses that have come up for Rowan’s treatment, Joel and I have been trying to find ways to make extra money.  The average biomedical treatment for autism costs $30,000 to $70,000 a YEAR!! Isn’t that just insane? So, I’ve been trying to sew alot lately, to bring an extra little bit here and there. It’s been fun! I like when i’m forced to be creative Plus for some reason, when I’m sewing, I can talk to the Lord really easily and stay quite focused, as opposed to when I sit to just pray (which I think is the ‘right’ way to do it but sometimes I just don’t do that well!).  Here’s a few pictures of my latest favorite bag design:

These are both in my shop right now, just waiting for the perfect person to come along and claim them!!

Update on Rowan: the past few days have gone REALLY well for him! His disposition has been extremely sunny.  He smiles at us and looks us straight in the eyes, which most children who deal with autism dont do, so that is encouraging! He has been very affectionate and playful, although still not like a neuro-typical child yet. But I can see the fog slowly lifting, and my heart is overjoyed! Let me expand on the fog:

Many people say that before their child became autistic (meaning, before they regressed into showing full-blown signs of autism, which is the most common way for autism to be diagnosed), they were not in the fog they’re in now. When they are frozen in autism, they seem to in a kind of different world where they’re real selves just can’t come through. I’m not sure if I’m explaning this well, but I hope you get it. But yesturday, as my son looked at me all day long and smiled and sat on me while i laid on the floor and sang “Pop Goes the Weasel” to me, I could see a little bit of his real self through the fog. Like we were almost connecting on a different level. I can’t wait for more than that!

Alot of people who are not propponants of biomedical treatment and recovery (mostly because they believe what mainstream doctors say: that autism is untreatable and pretty much a life-sentance), think that it is mean to try and change someone when this is the way they are, but I disagree whole-heartedly.  Rowan regressed into this fog and daggum, I’m coming in there to get him!!

So friends, if you wouldnt mind partnering with us in prayer through this whole thing, I’d be extremelely blessed! We need lots and lots of money, to be quite blunt, so pray for miraculous provision. And pray for Rowan to be healed. Nothing is too big for the God who created the heavens and the earth.  After all, He is our rich Daddy.

Jenn

DAN! protocol

I took this from a blog I came across today. It is a great description of what we’re doing with Rowan. Down below there is a man mentioned named Dr. Bernie Rimland.  He has passed away, but we will be taking Rowan to his center in Lynchburg, VA as soon as we can to see how they can help with his treatment. The person “Avander” is the writers’ son.

The DAN Protocol

Avander is a patient with a world reknown pediatric practice located in Ponte Vedra, Florida. Both of the doctors there are parents of recovered and recovering autistic children and, as board certified pediatricians, have worked tirelessly in the fight against autism to bring recovery to other parents of children suffering with this disease. We (Avander’s parents) made a call to their office so many years ago and were placed on a two year waiting list (which was well worth the wait). Finally, one day when our son was 5 years old, we received the phone call that would change Avander’s life forever. It was his turn to meet Dr. B and be introduced to the DAN protocol.

The DAN protocol is the preferred biomedical treatment option for children with autism today. Based upon the pioneering research and studies by people like Bernard Rimland, PhD., Karyn Seroussi, Lisa Lewis, Dr. Jeffrey Bradstreet, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, Dr. Julie Buckley, Dr. Jerry Kartzinel, and Dr. James A. Neubrander, and countless families desperate to find something to help their children, a treatment plan comprised of a multifaceted biomedical approach to autism was born in a time when all that was available to children such as Avander was a lifetime locked away in an institution, or if you were independantly wealthy, the possibility of private ABA therapy at home. With the development of the DAN protocol, hundreds more families began to have hope that some day their children would not only recover (as is the best case scenario in regards to therapies like ABA), but would be completely healed (or “recovered” as is the popular term) as the purpose of biomedical treatment is to attack and correct the underlying cause of an individual child’s neurological (and thus systemic) damage. Doctors who practice said protocol are referred to as “DAN doctors” and are ideally (in my opinion) board certified pediatricians who have completed additional training in regards to the DAN protocol by attending DAN conferences that are held annually. Please note: not all DAN practitioners are board certified pediatricians. Like anything in life, there are professionals, and then there are quacks. For the sake of my child’s health and safety (and as a former pre-med student… not that that means anything here… I simply say this to mean that it has taught me great respect for the licensed medical professional), I’d much rather travel the 4 hours it takes to get to Ponte Vedra so that my child may receive quality care from a bona fide pediatrician as opposed to (for example) the holistic guy down the street who has absolutely no training whatsoever in biochemistry, (or chemistry for that matter, microbiology, or heaven forbid, pediatrics), or the local nutritionist or whomever just because they’ll charge me less, are local, and happened to have attended a DAN conference or two. This is my son’s life we’re talking about… I should think a 4 hour drive in that respect really isn’t too much to ask!

The DAN protocol is most well-known for its emphasis on maintaining a gluten – free and casein – free diet (gluten is a protein found in grassy grains such as wheat, barley, and rye; casein is one of the proteins found in milk), chelation for the removal of heavy metals (eg. mercury and lead), megavitamin therapy and supplements such as B12 shots to stimulate speech, and CLO (cod liver oil), hyperbaric oxygen therapy (essentially to repair damaged brain cells and encourage new cell growth), and the use of antifungals and probiotics to heal gut issues.

For more information, please click the following links:
http://autism.about.com/od/alternativetreatmens/f/dandoc.htm
http://autism.asu.edu/Additional/Summarybiomed07.pdf
http://www.autismwebsite.com/practitioners/us_lc.htm

Please feel free to leave any questions you may have in the comments section of this blog. That way everyone gets a chance to see it and its respective answer. Also, it is my hope that the information you find here will encourage you to commit to pray daily for healing of Avander and any child you know that has autism. And pray for their families, too. Please remember DAN doctors in your prayers as well as they are also in the forefront of this battle for the future of our children.

Long time coming…

This post is for those of you who dont see me in my every day life and may not know the latest happenings in the Greutman house.  We have waited to ‘go public’ with this because it has been a long, hard road.   Grab a seat, get some popcorn. This is gonna be a long one.

One year and some change ago, we were confronted with the reality that our son, Rowan, is quite different than other boys his age.   I am not going to drag out how we finally came to grips with this, but the fact is, a few months ago we realized our first born baby boy is on the autism spectrum. We don’t know quite where yet, as he hasn’t been officially diagnosed.  Now friends, please don’t start crying for us, unless it is in intercession for his healing!  We fully believe that God is going to bring about a miracle in Ro’s life, mind, body and spirit.

3 months ago, mid-february, we began biomedically treating him for autism.  Again, it’s a long story of how God confirmed that this was the way to go for us, but I promise you, God led us down this road and we are going all the way, baby! Rowan started with the gluten-free, casein-free diet, then went to the Specific Carbohydrate diet, and finally, we have settled on doing the Healing Diet, which is basically just eating all organic meat, veggies, fruit, nuts and seeds.  (The way we used to eat before all the processed food came along).  Many autistic children have issues with their guts and how their bodies process foods, toxins, etc, so we are addressing this first.  If you are wondering at all about what these diets actually do and how it helps, you can go to www.generationrescue.org or www.talkaboutcuringautism.org and read all about biomedical treatments.  We are absolutely pursuing therapies also, but as you can imagine, getting all of these ducks in a row takes time. And by the way, we’ve already seen some great changes since we started!

We do believe that, to some degree, Rowan’s vaccinations triggered his autism (not CAUSED, mind you, so dont go crazy on me here!). So at some point we will probably also detox him of all the heavy metals he incurred while having his vaccinations.  I understand that many of you might not agree with this stance, and that’s fine. I am asking that you not write to me and tell me you think I’m wrong I am not taking this lightly, of course, and have done many many hours, weeks and months of research to make these conclusions and take these steps that we are taking.

Most importantly, we are praying for Rowan non-stop, for a miraculous healing and restoring of what has been damaged.  I firmly believe that when the writers of the Bible called the Lord “Jehovah Rapha” ( i think thats how it is spelled), which means God Heals, they were telling the truth. In the book of Matthew, Jesus healed ALL of the sick who came to Him. And He never changes. He is always Jehovah Rapha.

So I write this blog entry in hopes that you’ll join us in prayer for our little boy. He can wake from this slumber and come out of this fog of autism, in Jesus’ name and for His glory only! Amen?

And lastly, there is another change, a big change, but not quite as dramatic as the first half of my blog. Today was Joel’s last day on staff at ZHOP.  We’re still here in Fort Mill being a part of the House of Prayer, but due to many factors, one being all of this stuff with Ro, we can no longer be dedicated to the hours at ZHOP.  Side note- if we haven’t already contacted you and if you’ve been funding us, I am very sorry and I tried to get in touch with all of you to let you know this ahead of time.   Ok, continuing- Joel is going to be working full-time as a self-employed web programmer in the area.  He has a few jobs lined up and will be staying with his current part-time employer who he has been doing work for already.  (go check out www.worshipplanning.com Some of that is Joel’s handy-work!)

Deep breath! That is our life right now. Thank you all for loving us and taking time to read this story.  From now on, I’ll be posting updates on how things are going with Rowan, and of course my other 2 beautiful children. By the way, Asher is doing great! He is talking up a storm with several new words every day (it seems!).  He is defintely the ham in the family and loves putting on comedy shows for people, and he’s only 2! Bella Rose is almost crawling, and we often get told that they’ve never seen a baby who smiles so much and so easily. She just loves people, and is clearly already an extrovert.   I am doing well, although a bit overwhelmed at times with all of the research i’ve been doing in regards to the biomedical stuff. I am so appreciative of my close friends and family who take the time to learn about this too.  Lauren, Liz, Laurel, Sooz and Ry, you have no idea how you’ve touched my heart by researching, listening to my rants, and bearing me and Joel up in love.

Love you all! Keep us in your prayers and I look forward to updating you on his progress. Blessings!

-Jenn

PS  If you plan on commenting, which i always love and encourage, please make sure you only say positive things! If you write something negative or discouraging, understand that it will be promptly deleted, and you will get a response from me asking you to please not do that again. Thanks.

5 things!!

1.  donuts. yes i really do love donuts. way too much!

2.  Sooz. She’s out of town and I always miss her when she’s gone!

3.  blessing my sister in law with new curtains when she’s 8 months pregnant.

4. making fun of said sister in law because of her pregnant brain

5.  watching my kids learn to do new things or see new things. Asher had 2 balloons in his hands today and was thrilled about it! I love his happy dance. Sometime I’ll show you.

wordless wednesday

all alone…:)

5 things I love Friday

Hi friends! It’s time again. And today I can  think of many things I love. So here’s 5!

1.  browsing www.etsy.com  I love seeing other people’s handmade items! Gives me ideas too!

2. suprise chocolate chip pancakes from a friend who knows how to make really good pancakes

3.  goofing off with Dave and Liz Carey. Them’s some good people.

4.  the movie “PS I Love You”, my latest favorite. Perfect amount of drama and comedy!

5.  recycling. It makes me feel like i contribute.

Bonus: This picture!

Ok, everyone. Your turn! Comment back to me 5 things YOU love!

-Jenn

Beachy times

Hi friends! My goodness, I think I just forget about this thing sometimes! Well, there’s been lots of things going on with us lately, one being that we just got back from a glorious 5 day beach vacation with the whole Greutman clan.  We went to Surf City on Topsail Island in NC.  It was SO nice, let me tell you.  There were 14 of us in a huge 3 story beach home. We didnt make any plans at all, we just sat around on the beach, played games, had good conversation, ate lots of yummo food, and relaxed.  Asher absolutely loved to play in the sand, and at one point, became obsessed with a kite Debby brought out.   Here is a picture of the view of our beach and some of the family enjoying the beautiful day:

When Ro went down to the beach, his favorite thing was to run! I think he really enjoyed the feeling of the sand under his feet, and the wide open space. Bella just loved all the attention she got from her doting grandparents and aunts and uncles.  My favorite part was getting to know my in-laws better. I don’t get to spend a whole lot of time with Ben, Bekah, Mark, Lauren, Amy, Deb and Ed very much so to be with them for 5 straight days was really a treat.

A few highlights of the trip for me were: the first night we were there, we played a game of Cranium as a whole family. It was so fun! Lots of laughing, goofiness and all around good times.  Then, the next day, I was able to go sit on the beach for about an hour and just bask. That doesn’t happen much! And lastly, on the second to last day, we went out looking for soft-serve ice cream. Although we didnt find any mom-and-pop ice cream shops that had it, we did end up at a Dairy Queen. Lame? Yes but it was fun getting there, driving around the island looking!

Bella is now 6 months old, Ro is 3 and Asher is 2.   Bella just crawled for the first time yesturday!! I couldn’t believe it. Big moment! And now it’s time to make sure there are no small things on the floor. Oh, the phases of infancy are quickly passing and it is bittersweet as always. My little girl is growing up

My heart is doing well.  I have to admit, some days, i get stuff in self-pity about how it’s just so very hard to be a stay at home mom. (by the way, it is an aboslute privelage to do this, but you SAHM’s know what i mean right?).    Some days I just get the urge to go out for coffee by  myself! And I dont even really like coffee!

My friend, Lora, has this amazing shop on etsy that you should all go check out www.eagerhands.etsy.com It is awesome what she can do with vintage fabric!! Go buy lots of stuff from her.

Bless you all and have a great Saturday!

Jenn

5 things!!

I almost forgot!!!

1. Marth Stewart Living. I love that magazine, call me crazy!

2. talking to my family on instant messenger and skype.

3.  feeling productive. While Joel was out of town, I got alot done around the house!!

4.  eating a whole box of Russell Stover’s Assorted Creams almost by myself. mmm…

5. that one of my 5 things is almost always about eating.

Bless you all!

5 things

1.  hush puppies from Steve’s Restaurant. Mmm….

2.  chocolate. and lots of it!

3.  asher’s poop face (meaning the face he makes while he’s going poopy)

4.  the fact that I can go next door at 8 AM when Joel isn’t home and ask Ry or Sooz to help me get a splinter out of my hand. I love good friends!

5.  Settlers of Catan. I pretty much always want to play!