ALEX'S STORY

When I read the fundraiser information from the National Autism Association for Dr.Krigsman's research, I felt compelled to share Alex's story with others to show the necessity and emergent action needed to fund this project.

Alex was born April 11, 1995. He had a total normal development up until  15 months. He crawled, walked and talked early, everything was fine. A very bright child, at around a year and a half he had a 60-70 word vocabulary and was starting to put two and three words together. I have him on video singing "happy birthday dear Jacob" to his brother, everything was oh so normal, oh so nice.

Alex received his MMR the summer he was 15 months of age. At that time, Alex's descent into autism began. He still spoke but it became repetitive and scripted and his play became repetitive as well. He started having tantrums, became withdrawn and his problems with severe constipation and diarrhea began. He was still very verbal and affectionate and it was not until we looked back on old videos much later did we pinpoint this time as when autism started ravaging his body and stealing his mind.
That fall, after receiving his DPT shot, and with it another toxic dose of mercury, a rapid downward spiral into the world of autism ensued. My very bright child became a child with no understanding of what was being said to him, no play skills, no language, no way to express his basic needs, everything just gone. His world became one of crying and screaming, spinning around in circles, engaging in repetitive movements and purposeless activities, chaos and pain. His life as he knew it, was gone.

Like so many other moms, I turned to the internet for answers. I spent countless hours researching the vaccine/autism link, pouring over hundreds of websites to find something that would help my son. We performed a multitude of tests, went to several doctors, tried every therapy out there without much success. It was clear his gastrointestinal tract was severely damaged, as well as his brain, immune system and many metabolic pathways. He was, and still is, intolerant to any sugars, artificial colors, flavorings, corn, wheat, dairy,  and many foods containing salicylates. He cannot tolerate most supplements. All the DAN treatments had little effect. We were becoming so frustrated that we could not find anything that would help our precious child.

When Alex was around six, our doctor told us about Dr. Krigsman a pediatric gastroenterologist who was interested in performing endoscopies on autistic children to try to provide treatment for their severe gastrointestinal problems and get some answers. After the scope was done, after four years of speculation, we had proof in our hands that his GI tract suffered from severe inflammation, biopsies showed colitis and his lymph nodes were enlarged throughout his colon. Dr. Krigsman showed us photos taken during the procedure as evidence of his findings and outlined a clear course of treatment. After all this time,  we had concrete evidence that things were very wrong indeed. Unfortunately for Alex, his history of not tolerating medications continued. Dr. Krigsman prescribed several different medications, and Alex could not tolerate any of them. We were back to square one.

This past summer, Alex's colitis flared up horribly. He was in severe pain, crying, screaming, rolling on the floor, and tantruming. His abdomen was distended as tight as a drum and his stools were full of mucous and had a very foul odor. We called Dr.Krigsman and within two days, Alex was rescoped. The findings were more severe than the first time, worsening of the colitis, and now ulcerated open areas existed as well. The pain and suffering that Alex went through was heartbreaking to witness. Alex was then placed on steroids to reduce the pain and immunosuppresive drugs to get the inflammation under control. We also placed Alex on the Specific Carbohydrate diet. (see links on this web site) This was a major turning point for Alex. Within two days Alex's pain was under control, within a month his abdomen was flat and his stools were normal for the first time since vaccinations, a miracle in itself.

Alex still is severely affected by autism, he has severe gut issues, he can only eat a limited amount of foods, but we are FINALLY on the right track after all this time. He is happy most of the time, tantrums are rare, and he has gained a few pounds. (Alex is almost nine and weighs 48 pounds) He is not in pain, he sleeps through the night, he is doing so much better in school, he is becoming much more aware of his environment, and he is more social. He is after a multitude of therapies, starting to heal.

Alex is not yet nine and his journey has been that of what most do not endure in their entire lifetime. He is not alone. There are many more like him. They all need your help. Alex would not be where he is right now without the persistence of Dr. Krigsman and others like him to find the truth. There are more specific treatments and medications out there for children like Alex, they need to be found and fast. Dr Krigman is driven to help our children and discover better treatments to heal these precious kids. He cannot do it without our contributions. Time is of the essence. Won't you help? If there ever was a worthwhile cause, this is it.

Thank you, Valerie Boergesson, mom to Alex