Addison caught a cold. What kid doesn’t? Two months later, Addison’s cold has manifested into bronchitis. All was slowly, very slowly, clearing up, but a week ago it took a turn back to where we started. Plus, since the windy season has started in Costa Rica, we’re all breathing in dust, pollen, and goodness knows what else. Addison doesn’t deal with the dust well. When he finally goes to bed at night he has not been able to breath through his nose. When he breaths, he coughs. When he doesn’t cough, he can’t breath. It sounds like he’s drowning.

Keeping up with these pesky chronic illness gets tiring. Regular-old doctors offer little help. Even if I did submit to this drug or that drug, which I have in the past, a child can only take them so long and let’s face it, do they really work? I mean really get to the root of the problem. Down Syndrome children are “supposed” to have smaller tubes in their ears and nose. This may complicate the problem, but I know I’m not alone on this pesky adenoid problem because I’ve been on the Web.

One of the things I love about the Internet is that it is this growing, living collection of brain cells, coming together to share ideas. I sat down to research, again, and found a site I’d never seen before: Earth Clinic. Low and behold there were people from all over the world sharing their experiences with Western drugs and old fashioned cures like tablespoons of apple cider vinegar (ACV for those in the know), hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, banana peels, and something called oil pulling, which I have no idea what that is. Over the days I read. And read.

The funny thing is…I don’t have a deep fear of sickness. I know this has driven me to surgically remove body parts in the past such as tonsils and cysts, but this new information coupled with the amazing resilience of children, has enlightened me to take a lot more control over our family’s health. Heck, with just a little bit of information, Addison got rid of two (supposedly) incurable, cancer-causing cysts. My daughter conquered Scarlett fever without a single anti-biotic. I still go to the emergency room. Addison has allergic reactions to things, and thank goodness for all those smart people there. But, for the day-to-day illnesses, I’m loaded for bear and on the warpath to health.

Little Addison just has to tolerate me and some of my foibles. We both hated the raw onion hanging in the bedroom, and the honey and lemon didn’t do the trick this time. We’re on to onion/honey, baking soda, peppermint oil, eucolyptis oil, ginger, tumeric tea, apple cider vinegar, grapefruit seed extract, and there’s a few more I’m forgetting right now. It’s amazing he doesn’t scream when I come near him. No, he only smiles.