The following information was referenced from the text Healing Your Child, chapter four, written by Dr. Barry Gillespie. Reading this text will help you to fully understand the treatment your child is receiving as well as the detoxing your child may experience at the beginning and sometimes through much of the treatment.
Healing is a Process and Not an Event
The basis of the natural care concept is the onion principle. The history of your child’s body can be likened to the layers of an onion. Each individual trauma experienced during his/her lifetime can represent a specific layer; for example, a strong blow to the head at the age of five or a bad fall at the age of eight or the umbilical cord wrapped around your baby’s neck during delivery. These traumas could cause a tissue strain pattern and painful neck symptoms later in life. If his/her birth was long and difficult, forceps or suction used in delivery may have caused skull bone distortion, or the newborn may have been forcible pulled out by the neck or arm, causing fascial and muscle strain. All the traumas of life from birth to present create a cumulative layering, and unfortunately can lead to adaptation, compensation, and restricted body function.
Time is needed to form and correct the onion. Healing is a process and not an event. You cannot expect your child will be corrected completely in one or two or any particular number of therapy visits. Because of the unknown size of the child’s onion – due to traumas, injections, frequent use of antibiotics – no one can predict the exact healing time.
The general guideline is to take one step at a time, one layer at a time, and gradually achieve treatment goals. Your child’s body can release each layer according to its own specific time frame. Too much therapy in one session or too close together may be counterproductive because excessive structural change can release too many toxins and metabolic waste at one time.
Soft tissue healing is a cyclic phenomenon. As a layer of muscles and fascia releases, toxin residues are also released from the body. Your child may not feel well for a few hours or a couple of days. Your child may experience symptoms such as nausea, low fever, headache, fatigue, draining/fullness of the sinuses, increased bowel movements, muscle sor3ness, or a reoccurrence of a symptom. Emotional ups and downs may also be experienced at the beginning of the treatment visits. After recovering, some later time the next layer starts to peel, and the cycle continues with a lessening of a detox episode.
After approximately a month, the effect of treatment should be progressive and noticeable. The body can powerfully peel its onion if given the chance. Depending on the size of your child’s onion, it may take months before the inner core is reached and additional support from other modalities may be suggested, i.e. a chiropractor or a nutritionist. In contrast, the healing cycles of an adult onion can seem endless. It is important to begin the process for your child as early as possible.
By understanding the general concepts of the healing process, you can react to your child’s condition in a positive and informed manner.
“I envision a future in which all approaches will work together in a complementary way to provide optimal care for all children. The American pediatric profession is the most evolved and sophisticated in the world today. The principles and therapies espoused here will make it even stronger.” – Dr. Barry Gillespie
