by Marcia Hinds – Megan and Ryan’s Mom
www.autism-and-treatment.com
God always has a plan. But, sometimes he forgets to tell us what it is. The most difficult part of not knowing his plan was that our family had to overcome what seemed like insurmountable obstacles in order to help Ryan. We had to constantly jump over those hurdles that overwhelmed us. It was hard to keep going.
At the beginning of our autism nightmare, I made a deal with God. I told him if he helped Ryan, I would help all the children that were affected. That is why I wrote the book I KNOW YOU’RE IN THERE – Winning Our War Against Autism . I needed to share with the families and doctors what it took me over two decades to learn.
Although it has been over twenty years since my son was diagnosed with autism, it still isn’t common knowledge that autism is medical, treatable, and surmountable. Ryan’s recovery wasn’t miraculous, but resulted from getting proper medical care in conjunction with behavioral and educational interventions. The “experts” said Ryan would need to be institutionalized, but they were wrong. Ryan is now an engineer at a major aerospace company.
All profits from my book go to spread the word that autism is TREATABLE and to develop additional Centers of Excellence to medically treat all pediatric neuroimmune conditions. (For more details read Stephanie Inne’s article in the Arizona Star Newspaper to see the blueprint to be used for future centers. And don’t miss the video of Holland in her story to learn just how treatable autism can be.)
My vision is that these centers will one day offer one-stop shopping for families where children can be diagnosed, as well as get medical treatment. Behavioral, and educational interventions will also be offered to help more children reach their full potential.
Grab a cup of coffee, because this is going to be a long story…
Chapter I – I’m An Idiot
God’s elaborate and tortuous plan all started with the house my daughter bought in an unnamed Los Angeles suburb. Megan’s house needed serious remodeling. I watch HGTV, so this was no problem. I made myself the general contractor and started the “fixer upper.”
On demo day, I bribed the garbage man to haul away our junk. I was on a shoestring budget so I didn’t want to spend money on a trash bin. As I was running down the driveway with a trash can, filled with tile, I hit a rock. The trash can stopped, but I kept going (through the air). I did a perfect flip but apparently screwed up the dismount. When I woke up, my head and back were hurting. I cut my lip pretty good and it wouldn’t stop bleeding.
So I did what any woman would do. I immediately drove myself to the plastic surgeon. The doctor said he would sew me up, if I promised to go to the emergency room next. I had a concussion, but my lip was going to be fine.
Chapter II – Spine Surgery
Life was going great until I started having severe pain in my legs. I couldn’t hike very far and kind of walked hunched over. I looked a lot like Mrs. Wiggins from the Carol Burnett Show. It turned out I was going to need a spinal fusion. But in case you were worried, my lip was still OK.
After extensive doctor shopping I found Dr. John Liu, a rare breed. He was a neurosurgeon who came complete with a personality, a nice bedside manner, and no complaints on Heathgrades.com. The only glitch was I was going to have to wait because USC-Keck Medical Center had just stolen him and his entire team from Cedars-Sinai Hospital, and his team needed time to set up shop.
When it all finally came together, I had a new back. I also became a medical oddity. I think I’m the only person I know who had back surgery where it actually worked and was better than new. During one of my follow-up visits with Dr. Liu, he told me we needed to do something about my previously diagnosed hydrocephalus (water on the brain). I was ready to have Dr. Liu operate on me again, but he passed me off to his water on the brain guy, the amazing Dr. Zada.
Chapter III – Brain Surgery And The Point Of This Blog
Dr. Zada did some neurosurgeon magic. He put in a new drainage system called a shunt to relieve the excess water on my brain (kind of like on HGTV).
After the surgery, I had some pretty intense headaches. Fortunately, I had been warned by Dr. Sharma’s anesthesiologist husband, Sanjay, what to expect. Sanjay said that if the new drainage system was draining too fast, I would have big time headaches. So I headed back to Dr. Zada for a little fine tuning. My brilliant neurosurgeon pushed a button that magnetically regulated the new drainage system.
On that visit, I was a little emotional and crazy with pain. I told Dr. Zada the story of how Dr. Melinda Sharma and I work as a team. Dr. Sharma and I are major freedom fighters in the war against autism.
When Dr. Sharma and I were talking one day I told her that she is the smartest woman I have ever met. That’s when she said I’m not smart enough to fix my own kid. But she was also wrong. Currently her son is on the road to recovery as the result of all her hard work.
When I told Dr. Zada about what she said that day, I started to cry. He held my hand and wiped my tears as I explained the suffering needs to stop. I told him I need his help, because we are losing too many kids to autism. That’s when he asked me what I needed him to do.
I explained that I needed a major medical facility on board to treat autism medically. If a child’s health can be restored by treating hidden viruses and infections, children can improve and even fully recover like my Ryan. We have the physicians that will train more doctors to help us. I explained that we need to make what happened for Ryan, happen for those still suffering in the trenches.
Dr. Zada agreed to connect me with people who can help. I will give them my book and Dr. Zada will convince them to read it. Maybe they will listen. Maybe they will help.
Anyway, I am convinced that this was all part of God’s plan. Granted, God could have sent me to Dr. Zada directly. I could have done without the concussion, the spinal injury, and the shunt that was the reason for Hair Watch 2016 and half my head being shaved. But if that’s what it took, then I’m OK with that. If Dr. Zada can help me get a major medical center on board, it was all worth it. And just in case you were wondering, my lip looks amazing.
….And now for the final chapter – How Do We Get This Done!
We need to stop fighting among ourselves about autism, what causes it and how to treat it. That way we wil be one voice with one message that is too LOUD to ignore.
Please share this video everywhere and our message ….AUTISM IS MEDICAL AND TREATABLE! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_R6Edz4m_U . This video needs to go viral, so I can get the national platform we need to help our kids.
ALONE there is little to do about autism…but TOGETHER we will be unstoppable!
Ellen DeGeneres and Matt Lauer standby…because here comes Ryan’s mother and I need your help!
NOTE FROM MARCIA HINDS – Megan and Ryan’s mom:
Ryan became an aerospace engineer, because he received proper medical treatment combined with behavioral, and educational interventions. To preview my book, “I Know You’re In There – winning our war against autism”go to Amazon or my website www.autism-and-treatment.com
Contact info for Marcia:
Phone: 805 796-8213 Email: For help finding a doctor marcia@autismandtreatment.com
There is more info to help on my website.
