| This 2 month old infant was seen after having received
a Hepatitis B immunization 2 days after his birth. Following the
vaccination his mother recognized he was making very little eye
contact, and he wouldn't readily respond to her voice. Mom described
him as sometimes in 'the zone', and if he was focussed and engaged
with others it was on 'his terms'. At other times she would find
him smiling at a nearby wall, but not in relation to others around
him. Apparently he was more alert at night and could wake to the
sound of the phone ringing. Mom was concerned because her family
practice physician had no answers beyond watchful waiting.
She described a few other non-specific physical symptoms, including
nasal congestion, foamy yellow stools, and his hands were usually
held in a fist. He would enjoy being held, and didn't like his arms
being bound.
During the appointment I reached down to the infant and snapped
my fingers next to both ears. Although he was wide awake, there
was no obvious reaction to the sound--no startled look, no blinking
of the eyes, no crying--nothing. He just continued to look up at
the overhead light. Then I clapped my hands loudly in the same way,
and I observed the same reaction. Finally I lifted him out of his
baby carrier and after raising him up over my head, simulated a
sudden fall as if he were dropping to the ground, stopping just
before he would have hit the floor. Again, not the slightest hint
of reaction to the sudden movement or any perception of danger.
He just continued to gaze off at the walls or ceiling, never even
blinking his eyes in response to the events around him. He seemed
oblivious to the fact that Mom or I were even in the room.
My analysis was that although I had few physical symptoms for repertorization,
it was significant that he'd wake up to the phone at night but be
unresponsive to loud noises during the day. This suggested his hearing
was not directly affected, and because he could make eye contact
for limited times, neither did it appear his eyesight was compromised.
I thought of the rubrics 'delusion detached', 'delusion separated
from the world', 'delusion division between himself and others',
feeling those described his disconnection with the world around
him. I decided on hydrogen 1M, single dose, recalling the 'painful
experience of earthly restrictions' described by some provers.
Mom reported excitedly that within a week following the remedy,
her son began to make more eye contact with her, and in general
was more engaged with the world around him. However, this lasted
only about 2 weeks, after which time the symptoms began to return.
I tried giving him another single dose of hydrogen 1M, and again
he responded positively, but this time for only a few days. I gave
hydrogen one last try, this time in a single dose of 10M. (Incidentally,
I would usually not be dosing an infant in this manner, but felt
the circumstances were grave and the problem needed to be approached
aggressively). I was not surprised when the single dose of 10M did
not help, and her son was continuing to live in 'the zone'.
The next heavier element beyond hydrogen is helium, which had a
proving theme of 'a soul that does not come completely into the
body and is unable to manifest itself fully in life'. Jeremy Sherr
had written about using helium successfully for an 'ungrounded'
adult, and Robert and Judith Ullman and Jan Scholten had written
of it reversing autism. Scholten describes the remedy picture as
a sort of autistic retreat: "They don't feel like entering
this world . . . It is as if they only act from within themselves
. . . You can't get a grip on them, as if they are slipping away
through your fingers each time you try and establish contact . .
. They remain locked up inside themselves, unapproachable and distant".
I switched to a single dose of helium 1M, and incredibly this time
the boy came out from his disconnected state and has remained engaged
for the past eight months. He needed no further doses of helium
beyond that one dose, and in fact Mom cancelled his follow-up app't.
because she felt he was doing so well. She has since told me that
he's now ahead of all his developmental milestones.
Talking to Mom after her son had 'come back', she was obviously
grateful to homeopathy for his recovery. For my part I felt we'd
just 'dodged a bullet', and considering that my previous medical
training would have offered few good options, I thanked homeopathy
as well.
# # #
David A. Johnson CCH, RSHom (NA)
is a certified classical homeopath and professional member of the
North American Society of Homeopaths. He completed his homeopathic
training at the International Foundation for Homeopathy and the
Northwestern Academy of Homeopathy. He taught clinical medicine
at the University of Wisconsin and Augsburg College Physician Assistant
Programs, and is an instructor at the Northwestern Academy of Homeopathy
in Minneapolis. E-mail daj@chorus.net.
Visit his website at: http://www.homeopathy2health.com/profile.htm
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