Travel with a 16 month old - what fun!

Well, we made it! Left our house (north of Barrie) at 7:20 am. Didn't arrive to our new destination until 7:00 pm. Wow!

I have to give cuddos to West Jet. The attendants were spectacular. The flight was packed and they were busy but they found time to get Patrick a little airplane book and to check in on us. Helped that I had an off-duty attendant sitting next to me too!

He did brilliantly. No tantrums or upsets. I have a little harness for him that has a little backpack - cute and functional. Let him run around the airport and get his ya-ya's out before we boarded.

Used Kali-mur (homeopathic) to help with the ear popping thing - didn't bother either of us. Packed lots of food and milk too and with a big eater like Patrick, that was the ticket.

We had gone to the Source and bought Patrick a pair of headphones meant for kids. They are great. No matter how high they turn up the volume, they can't blow out their eardrums - too bad he doesnt' like TV much. I'm sure he'll use them when he's older.

It has taken me almost to the end of our trip to finally get this post written! We'll be headed back on Thursday and I'm praying for a repeat performance.

See you all soon!

Kerri

Really? Another HPV vaccine.

I know that I'm biased when it comes to vaccines, but with still looming safety issues about Guardasil, Health Canada has approved another HPV vaccine.

At a price tag of $400 and a need for three doses, no one knows if it's any better than Guardasil. Really, is this the best way that our health care system can offer the best care?

Yours in Health,
Kerri

Cleanse Recall

Just found out that a cleanse is being recalled. Check out the Health Canada bulletin here.

It's a Complete 7 Day cleanse that wasn't approved for sale in Canada.

Physician Assistant's are coming to Ontario

I just read an interesting article. It outlines a new program being offered through McMaster University. A two year program for a Physician Assistant (PA's). They are meant to be the interface between doctor, patient, and nurse.

I have concerns. We as ND's are not supported by many MD's because of our (perceived) lack of training in diagnosis and clinical knowledge. However, these students, who only need two years of university education (that does not have to be in the sciences), are going to be responsible for taking histories, knowing what questions to ask, and what tests to order.

ND's are required to have a minimum of three years of university education, and that education must include the minimum science courses to have a base to learn medicine from. Then we go through a four-year full-time program, followed by rigorous examination process. we are a government regulated profession in Ontario which protects the public from harm (something that these PA's won't have).

So tell me, is hiring a bunch of unregulated PA's really the best way to bridge the gap? And aren't nurse practitioners already doing a pretty bang-up job already?

Yours in Health,
Kerri

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is more than the winter blues. Most of us feel a little less energetic when the sun goes down at 4:30 pm., but for those with SAD, it's so much more. They lose interest in their favorite things, they crave carbohydrates, they can't seem to get out of bed, or find anything to be happy about.

Current theories about what causes SAD seem to include three main ideas: dysfunctional melatonin production, dysfunctional seratonin production, and of course, lack of light.

For those who believe they may have SAD, please see a doctor. Medical or Naturopathic, there are treatments available. There is no reason for you or your family to suffer any longer.

Yours in health,

Kerri

Wheat free Zucchini muffins

Trying to reduce the risk of allergy development, we have been concious to rotate Patrick (and our) grains. We eat Kamut bread, use alternative flours in our home baking, buy wheat free/gluten free waffles. By reducing the frequency that we are exposed to each grain, we reduce the risk of becoming sensitive to it.
Here is a muffin recipe that I use a lot! You can swap out the zucchiini for any other veggie or fruit (like bananas of course!).

Recipe:

In large mixing bowl, combine the following ingredients:
1 cup shredded zucchini
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt

Then add:
one egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a separate small bowl, combine the following ingredients:
1 cup barley flour
1/2 cup arrowroot flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined.

Add a 1/2 cup of walnuts.
(if I using pumpkin, I add raisins and walnuts; if I use bananas I add frozen raspberries and almonds).

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

Enjoy!!

Our first trip to the ER

My son, Patrick, who is 15 months old had his first emergency this weekend. Little boy vs. coffee table - coffee table won this time. He's fine, of course. They are resilient little creatures. Mom and Dad however, not as resilient.

I got my first real challenge to the "we chose not to vaccinate" decision. It made me appreciate how truly difficult it must be for people to make this choice. We were instantly treated differently, and the conversations became dominated by the "we're really concerned about tetanus here..."

Let me say this - I appreciate that the doctors and nurses in the ER were doing what they truly believed to be in Patricks best interest. They were doing due diligence and educating us on what they thought was best.

Let me also say that the decision to or not to vaccinate is a conversation best had with the patients regular MD, who has all of the pertinent family history to advise on such a matter. Despite my explanations (which are, lucky for me, "good" ones even in the medical world) they continued to push. I cannot imagine how hard that would have been for people who are not as well versed in medicine as I am.

This post is not meant to blast the doctors. This is meant as a little rant about how sad it is that parents cannot make informed decisions in the best interest of their child without strangers poking their noses in it.

Yours in Health,
Kerri