
Banana was a vomit to shock food
I’m having a hard time putting the events of this week into words. Even as I write this, my words seem so unreal. We have experienced an unbelievable MIRACLE and our hearts are bursting with AWE & complete JOY! It is absolutely surreal and can only be explained by something as phenomenal and great as GOD! Our lil girl, Gabriella, is healed….not from “growing out” of FPIES and not from years on the GAPS diet… BUT, night to day; sick to healthy; crazy to normal HEALED! I would be lying if I said I wasn’t just a little self-conscious of people thinking that I may be crazy or am making up some exaggerated story! At the same time, I don’t really care because, I now have a HEALTHY daughter and our lives are NO longer crazy!
Just last week, we were at another low with Gabby. Although we have been traveling through GAPS for 9 weeks, she was still at just one safe food – lamb broth. After several attempts, we could not get her to actually eat the lamb meat itself without severe stomach aches & complete sleepless nights. Furthermore, Gabby was having serious sensory issues with solids in her mouth. She could not chew, gagged, and spit the meat out. We were so incredibly disheartened as we could not move through the next stage in GAPS without her actually eating meat. Which meant, no end in sight for her to wean from nursing & I was so worn out and HUNGRY with just 8 foods I was limited to eating. In addition to Gabby’s poor health and the sleepless nights, my own health was failing. I was really starting to see the effects of my own nutritional deficiencies and did not know where to pull more strength from. As of last week, all I could do was cry…and cry.
Back in January, when we started GAPS, we met another little girl – Gracie (and her mommy Tonya), who also suffered from FPIES. Rare as that is, Gracie was also traveling through the GAPS diet. Just like Gabby, Gracie had been written off by doctors. Also, by prayer, her parents came across the GAPS diet. It was so quickly that Tonya and I became best of friends. As we quickly discovered how similar our girls were, we depended on each other every day for support, guidance, venting, and lots of shared tears. She was the only person in this world that could truly understand the depths of my fears, level of fatigue, and heaviness of burden in finding a cure (or even just a night free of pain & sleeplessness) for my daughter. I wasn’t embarrassed to tell her how angry I was or how much I resented other people who took for granted having healthy children. We talked a lot about what it would be like when our girls were healthy and hoped & prayed to the same God that it would be sooner than later. My heart ached for Gracie to be healthy just as much as it did for Gabby.
I am so grateful for the answered prayer in discovery of the GAPS diet. It has taught me so much about how we are truly meant to nourish our bodies. Even more, how to feed our children REAL foods that grow their little bodies and minds properly. So, that they can be whole and well & avoid so many of the illnesses that are freakishly increasing in this country. Furthermore, to treat the body like God instructed “Do you not know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received as a gift from God?” 1 Corinthians 6:19. I will never, ever go back to the SAD (standard American diet) EVER! However, even this answer to prayer (the GAPS diet) had not lightened the HEAVINESS and burden I was carrying on my shoulders every single day. I still carried an overwhelming amount of fear that FOOD would send my baby into shock, crushing weight to research and figure out how to do everything perfectly, and exhaustion that is humanly impossible. I cried to God every day – seriously this yolk is NOT light – please God take this from me. I’m humbled to admit that I even asked Him to take me from it all. It was just TOO much.
This last week, an opportunity was brought to us to have Gabby prayed over by a pastor that ministers to people who need healing. Honestly, at first I was pretty turned off and not interested. As we had been let down so many times, when it came to Gabby being healed. More so, even as a Christian, I was so skeptical that some made for tv theatrics would manipulate our broken hearts into believing something and we would ultimately be let down again. A couple nights before the pastor had offered to come to our home, I was sent a story about a little girl that he had prayed for and was healed. It was a 3 yo in the UK who had been dying of exactly what Gabby & Gracie had. After being prayed for, she was completely healed and was able to eat immediately. Okay, this sparked my interest. Then, Jayme came to me and confidently said he wanted to pursue prayer for Gabby. He had gentle authority that I respected, so I paid attention to what he was feeling. I prayed that night that God would open up my heart and show me if this was something we should do. I woke up the next morning with 100% confidence and overwhelming excitement that this was it, this nightmare was about to end. We studied the scriptures on healing that pastor had sent to us and PRAYED for faith that we did not have. The only sadness in my heart, was the thought of Gracie being left behind. Nervously, I texted Tonya the testimony of the 3 yo girl in the UK and asked if she would want to come over as well to have Gracie prayed for. Honestly, even with how close we had gotten, I expected her to write me off as a lunatic! BUT, she agreed!
As everyone showed up to our house at 5:30 this past Tuesday, I was still nervous and did not know what to expect. Pastor was just a regular guy in blue jeans and a gray sweatshirt (and an accent 🙂 ). He didn’t start performing any crazy, freakish rituals or start making people fall over like you see on tv. He just sat on our couch with his worn & tattered Bible and started reading scripture after scripture on healing. He explained how simple it can be and it ultimately comes down to faith. I was worried….I know I did not have enough faith… But, he explained an aspect that had never clicked with me before. All we have to do is pray for faith. As we were all listening so intently, I peeked in at the kids playing in the other room. I noticed that it looked like Gabby had something in her mouth. She NEVER has anything in her mouth (oral sensory aversion). As I got closer, I realized she was choking. I started freaking out calling for Jayme. Inside, I was thinking “see God, I turn my back for ONE minute and you let me down – my daughter is choking on YOUR watch!” Everyone came into the kitchen and pastor started praying and a top of a strawberry came flying out of her mouth. Oh great, strawberry is a vomit to shock food for us. But, a peace swept over me and we piled back into the living room. To shorten things up, the next hour was amazing but, so simple. Just the Word and prayer.
I felt that Gabby was healed but, so nervous of how Tonya would feel. She stayed behind, after everyone had left, and I hesitantly asked her how she felt. I was shocked when she said, “Gracie is getting breakfast tomorrow!” Ha! So is Gabby!
Both girls started eating foods on Wednesday that their doctors would have said they weren’t ready for. And, anyone wise in the GAPS diet, would tell you that the severity of illness in these girls would definitely require more than just the first food on the first phase to render healing. They both enjoyed foods that they shouldn’t be able to have for MONTHS or what we thought would be YEARS of traveling through the phases of the diet. By day 2, we went from one safe food that did not cause reactions (lamb broth) to 12 Foods!!!!!!! Gabby was chewing, swallowing, and EATING FOOD! No reactions and no vomit to shock from the strawberry that she had choked on. One food that had sent us to the hospital was banana….she has had a banana every day since Thursday. OH, and did I mention, that both girls went from waking up every 30 minutes at night to only 2x to nurse?!
If all of this isn’t enough, I have to say this mommy’s heart is also healed. I am not drowning in fear. I can breathe & it doesn’t feel like my lungs are being crushed by a boulder. I can EAT without feeling like I am going to poison my baby. The burden of me figuring things out is gone. This crazy life we lived for 16 months is already becoming a memory & JOY has returned to this house.
Seriously, like I said in the beginning, this is all crazy to write. I feel like a nut case. I feel like if it was just Gabby that was healed, I could doubt the MIRACLE. But, 2 babies in 1 night??? I know the human mind searches for logic and as some of you read this, you will look for holes in this story that offers rational explanation. I will tell you this….you will find HOLES…in a man who was pierced over & over again over 2,000 years ago…
“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are HEALED.” – Isaiah 53:5
Here is Gracie’s side of things (written by her mommy Tonya)
I am writing this with a HAPPY HEART! I can say that is very different than how our lives have been for the last year. My heart WAS heavy with fear, grief, anxiety, sadness, exhaustion, confusion, and anger. Our new baby girl was about 4 months old when she was diagnosed with food protein enduced enterocolitis. The doctors could not do anything to help her and we were on our own with a little girl who could not eat any food and was ALWAYS in pain. She was breast fed, and I was on a diet of only 3 foods by the time she was 14 months. She did not sleep more than 4 hours a night, and that was a night that I celebrated. Through many, many hours and days of research trying to find a way to help her I found a group called GAPS that seemed like the right path, because so many people were Christians, and they were healing their children with this diet. God led me here. Because of this group I learned about giving our bodies the nourishment that they need with whole foods, the way God made them. I was able to give Grace LAMB broth with lamb meat pureed into it as a soup. That was the only thing that I ever found that she could actually eat that didn’t give her unbearable pain and diarrhea. (Now I see that it was only THE LAMB that could heal my sweet Gracie!) A few months later a new member was added to the GAPS group. Sarah lived very near to us, and had a little girl just a few months older than Gracie. She also had FPIES. We decided to meet, and have been instant best friends since. That was only 3 months ago! Three days ago Sarah sent me a text message telling me about this Pastor that has helped people pray and find healing through Jesus. She said that he was coming over to her house the next night to pray for her daughter. She told me that I could join them if I wanted. To be honest I was skeptical, but am ashamed to admit that now. I prayed over it and talked with my husband who was in Iraq at the time. We decide that prayer can never hurt. Then as the day went by, I realized how crazy that is. I have taken my daughter to multiple specialists, and have expected for one of them to offer some kind of cure, or even just some relief for my sweet little family. But I was skeptical to bring her to THE HEALER HIMSELF! Ridiculous!!! So I packed up the girls and drove an hour to go to the prayer session.
This is where my story changes. We arrived at Sarah’s house and are welcomed like we are family. I have a hard time in social settings, but felt no anxiety here at all. Let me add that I had never met Sarah’s husband or other children before this day. Then the other folks started showing up, Sarah’s parents, her husbands mother, and my mom all came to support us and be there for this prayer time. It honestly felt like one big family! Then Pastor Gregory came. He was kind, and vibrant and full of Gods word. He sat and talked with us for a while, and then started to pray. He prayed for peace and healing with such power and conviction. I BELIEVE! He SHALL HEAL, in JESUS NAME, AMEN! These are the words that are still ringing in my ears. Such BEAUTIFUL words! This was one of the most beautiful things I have ever been through! Then I packed up the girls and headed home. IT WAS A DIFFERENT FAMILY! Gracie hadn’t nursed for 5 hours, and she was content. Before this she would have to nurse ever two hours or she would be crying and a mess. She dozed off a few time in the hour ride home. We got home and I gave her the normal lamb soup and she went to sleep. SHE SLEPT! She was only up twice! It was our best night ever! She woke up happy, no wait, WE ALL woke up HAPPY! I gave Grace food, yes real food for breakfast! And lunch, and dinner! SHE IS NOW EATING FOOD! She still has a learning curve on feeding herself and will gag every now and again (she only has 3 teeth!), but NONE of her FPIES symptoms have stuck around!! THANK YOU JESUS! We are a different family. Happy, joyful laughter fills this house now. I can feel the love of Jesus in our house! I am now able to be the mother that I have longed to be, but have been so burdened, troubled and exhausted by Grace’s illness to be. I am so very grateful to have been blessed by Pastor Gregory and Sarah’s family for them to share this prayer time with us. Mostly I am overwhelmingly thankful to Jesus for taking away not only our sins, but also our illnesses and curses. He is all powerful. The devil has no power against all who BELIEVE IN OUR SAVIOR JESUS!

YUMMMMMM