She was not born like this.

At 6 months, she had a reaction to a flu shot that contained Thimerosal (A preservative containing 46% Mercury)

Mia was a full term healthy baby weighing 7lbs 6oz. The pregnancy and delivery were normal. She had some issues gaining weight in the first couple weeks. She rolled over at 6 weeks, crawled at 5 months, sat alone at 6 months and stood holding on with one hand at 61/2 months. Mia hit all milestones when she was supposed to or earlier. Relatives and friends thought she would walk at 7 months.

At about 7 months of age she developed a slight tremor. We did not think much of it, but this tremor became worse. She had also hit a plateau with her milestones. I started voicing my concerns about her to family and friends. They also had seen changes in her. She had a rash around her mouth and her eyes were glazed all the time.

At 10 months old things changed for the worse. She was standing in her playpen as I walked by her I saw her eyes cross and she fell. When I picked her up she was crying. Her tremors were very bad and she would even shake while she attempted to crawl.

Over the next couple of days she lost all her balance and co-ordination. She could not even sit anymore and her muscle tone was low. Her eyes were glazed and she could not see unless she tipped her head down and looked up to see. She could hardly hold her head. Her muscle tone was very low in her legs as if they were dead. She could not kick at all and her legs just hung. Mia was a rag doll.

I took her to her family physician that referred her to the on call pediatrician at our local hospital. After several tests, the pediatrician did a CT Scan on Mia after sedation. It was so frightening to watch your baby in a dark room, laying there helpless and not knowing if she would be okay.

The test from the scan was clear; she did not have a tumor. Her pediatrician ran some more blood tests and referred her a Neuromuscular/Neurometabolic specialist.

It only took two days have her seen by this specialist. He noted shakiness in her hand but he did not give us much information at that time. He wanted to run some more tests and perform a MRI, do a skin biopsy. We later found out he suspected leukodystrophy (progressive degeneration of myelin in the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves), mitochondrial disorder (disorder of energy for the cell through cellular respiration or disorder within the engine that makes the cell work), or congenital myopathy (a disorder of muscle tissue or muscles that was inherited), or neuropathy (an abnormal and usually degenerative state of the nervous system or nerves). Her MRI results came back normal. Her vitamin E level was slightly elevated but everything else was normal with the skin biopsy.

He then preformed an EEG, spinal tap and muscle biopsy. She had abnormal visual evoked responses, with some slowing and significant mitochondria oxidatative phosphorylation abnormalities. She was diagnosed with muscle complex I and complex III deficiency. There are five complexes in the mitochondria of the cell, which make the cell function properly. A result on Mia’s complex 1 was very low and complex III was very high causing problems with the transfer of energy within the cell. She was put on a mitrichondrial cocktail consisting of coenzyme Co Q10, B2, C, E creatine, and a multivitamin.

We did a lot of research with her diagnosis. We found it very hard to believe she had this condition because she had no symptoms of this disorder. Children with this disorder are born this way with slow development. She was born completely normal then had severe regression. Her MRI should have shown gray matter on her brain and her lactic acid level should have been elevated to have this condition. None of this was the case. Our baby was not born this way, something happened to her but what was it??

We then went to see an orthomolecular specialist who insisted he could help. He said he had seen this situation before. He said she had a reaction to mercury, and other metal in her flu shot and immunizations, which she received at 6 months. He wanted to put her on some vitamins and clear out her system of these toxic metals.

We followed his advice. It took a couple of treatments and we saw huge improvements in Mia. Her tremors lessened, her vision improved. We could even see drastic improvements in her co-ordination.

Both doctors agreed that she had issues with her cells in the mitochondria (the engines of the cell which make the cell function properly). The only difference was, one insisted it was genetic and the other said it was a direct reaction to mercury. Your body can handle a limited amount of mercury, but if there is too much, the body can’t get rid of it all. It then is absorbed into the cells causing many problems. These can include neurological disorder and nerve damage.

Another MRI and muscle biopsy and EEG was preformed one year later. The results were astonishing. Her complex complex III and I were almost in the normal range. Her EEG results had also improved. This could never happen if this was her condition. This condition was just a secondary factor.

Today at 5 years old Mia receives physiotherapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy weekly. She has regained some of her co-ordination and is recovering slowly. She has taken up to 50 steps independently. It has been a long process but she is improving daily. She uses a walker for long distances.

Mia still has many battles ahead of her including catching up on simple things that she missed out on being one, two and three. This journey has been a life changing experience and has seriously affected her life.

Mia was not born this way she had a reaction to a flu shot and immunizations given together at the age of 6 months.