My Miracle at Sanoviv

Before leaving Sanoviv in 2008, I spoke with my dentist (Dr. Claudia Schiaffino) about the possibility of having my wisdom teeth removed on my next visit.  We looked at my x-rays so that I would have some idea of what would be in store for me.  At that time, she informed me that it was good that I was considering removing them because the lower left and right ones were impacted.

On January 3, 2010, I returned to Sanoviv with the intent of having my wisdom teeth removed as discussed.  When I arrived, I was experiencing severe pain on my left side.  This pain happened on January 1st and I had been in pain every since with no relief.  To sit for a long time would be very painful and I had to take my time getting up.  There were times when the pain was so severe that it would cause me to experience shortness of breath at times.  I shared this with my doctor (Dr. Danielle), my dentist (Dr. Claudia) and the chiropractor (Aaron).  During my session with the chiropractor, he tried several techniques to relieve the pain, but it didn’t work.  Later that day, Dr. Danielle, Dr. Claudia and I joked about the fact that maybe after the surgery the pain would go away.  I was very nervous about having the surgery because this would be my first time having any type of surgical procedure.  Dr. Claudia kept assuring me that I would be fine and she would be there with me.

The morning of my surgery (January 6th), Dr. Danielle stopped by to encourage me.  Later, Dr. Claudia came in with the oral surgeon (Dr. Esteban Ramirez) and the anesthesiologist.  We all talked and before they left the room to prep for the surgery, Dr. Claudia grabbed my hand, smiled and said it’s going to be okay.  She knew I was still a little nervous.  The last thing I remember was going into the surgery room and the anesthesiologist putting the mask on my face to put me to sleep.  When I woke up, the surgery was over and I was in recovery.  The next day when I went to see Dr. Claudia for a check-up, she was telling me about what happened and how difficult the surgery was.  The procedure ended up taking two hours instead of one.  The surgeon experienced problems trying to remove the left and right bottom wisdom teeth. He ended up having to cut the teeth in pieces to get them out.  Also to their surprise, there were 5 wisdom teeth instead of 4!  Dr. Danielle stopped by while I was having my check-up and they both commented on how well I looked and the fact that there was little or no swelling in my face.  They asked me how I felt and I said guess what, the pain on my left side is gone!  They both looked at me in amazement!

As I prepare to leave Sanoviv, I am still pain-free and re-cooperating very well.  This was the best decision I could have ever made having my wisdom teeth extracted here.  The care I received was excellent!!  While I was in recovery, Dr. Claudia checked on me every evening before she left.  I didn’t feel like just another patient, I felt like I was part of her family and she really cared.  Two thumbs up to Dr. Claudia, the Surgeon and the team for a job well done! 

Sanoviv is very blessed to have a doctor like Dr. Claudia Schiaffino.  She goes that extra mile and does it with a very pleasant attitude!  On the morning of my departure she agreed to come in early to see me one more time before I left. Thank you Dr. Claudia for taking what could have been a very bad experience for me and making it a memorable one!!!

De’Leice
January 12, 2010

Alec Serafine                                                                 
2008-12-01                                                                              
D.O.B 05-03-1999

Alec was born a full term birth with no pregnancy complications. Growing up Alec has been a “normal” little boy hitting all his milestones. Alec was a very energetic and athletic child and really made friends very easily.  In 2006 Alec quickly went down hill and became withdrawn while also developing neurological tics.

Alec has not officially received a diagnosis for his neurological tics, however when I took him to the doctor I expressed my concerns and told the doctor what we had observed. Through trial and error we have discovered he has “Allergic reactions” or triggers that seem to make his tics worse, involuntary muscle movement, caused by numerous things; including food coloring (dye), perfumes, chemicals being used to clean the house, scented and dyed detergent and fabric softener. In addition, stressful situations and unfamiliar environments seem to exacerbate these “tics” as well.

With all that said, we’ve been diligent about being careful with what we eat, keeping our home environment as chemical free and as routine/familiar as possible. Alec’s tics surfaced very soon after extensive dental work in 2006, which included multiple mercury amalgam fillings.

Although he still has friends and plays well with others he has displayed mild symptoms similar to autism and Tourette syndrome. Alec’s tics again did not start until after extensive dental work and he started to have facial tics with his eyes, mouth neck area as well as occasional flicking and tapping or hitting his legs or hands. Also after his dental treatment had become withdrawn from most of the world around him other than those he was familiar with and started to live his life in somewhat of a fog.

I feel as if I lost a huge part of my son who had been so outgoing and eager to get out face the world head on. Alec also rapidly started to gain weight just after his dental work, and we were confused as to what could be going on with him. When his symptoms first surfaced, we were giving him a number of USANA supplements. After a period of time, and until recently, these symptoms had mostly been under control because of the major changes in diet and environment.

As a result of our recent move from one house to another, he has not been taking any supplements, and his environment has significantly changed, so the symptoms have resurfaced and seem much worse than what they were before. We have done our best by eliminating dyes from our food, detergents, toothpastes, and other personal hygiene products as well as investing in an infra-red sauna, alkalizer water treatment system, and an ultra-violet \"Ecoquest\" air-purification system.

After explaining to the doctor the symptoms, and what we’ve found to be helpful in controlling his symptoms, he said that if we were comfortable with our methods of treatment, and if Alec didn’t get any worse, he encouraged us to continue what we were doing because he was not familiar with other effective methods for treating Alec that wouldn’t make him lethargic; thus affecting his daily lifestyle. Tourette syndrome and autism did come up in our conversation, however he said that the medical industry did not have a cure for either of these and if what I was doing was working well that surely it could not be either one of those since medically there was not any “proven” triggers or solutions.

Coming to Sanoviv we hoped and prayed that we would better understand, medically, what is happening within Alec, and also an increased knowledge of what we can do to (if not eliminate) significantly reduce the reoccurrence of his symptoms. In addition, we want to ensure that were able to do so, without the use of any pharmaceutical drugs that would either reduce his quality of life or introduce unwanted/harmful side-effects.

While here at Sanoviv we have learned so much. Dr. Meza Alec’s medical doctor, Dr. Claudia Alec’s Dentist and Dr. Luc Alec’s physical therapist have all helped in putting the piece of the puzzle together for us to better understand what is going on with him. We now are able to see the whole picture.  Dr. Meza explained the rapid weight gain as the body’s natural way of protecting itself from the toxins that are in his body. The fat has attached itself to the toxins, which are not natural to the chemistry of your body as a way of protecting itself.

Many tests have been preformed on Alec and with the guidance of Dr. Meza we have been able to see the root cause of the problem, toxins caused by heavy metal mercury poisoning. Alec thoroughly enjoys Dr. Meza his “cowboy Dr.”. DR. Luc has been amazing in helping Alec understand his weaknesses within his own body and has a way of touching and manipulating the body in such a way that when we leave his office Alec eagerly looks forward to going back to see him. Alec says he makes him feel stronger.

Dr. Claudia in the dental department of Sanoviv has such a passion in what she does and has truly won Alec over. Alec was most afraid of the dental work he needed done as a result of his past traumatic experience with the dentist. Dr. Claudia has taken the time to ease his nerves and explain to him exactly what to expect and she has definitely won him over.

When Alec first came to Sanoviv he was in a “fog” just following behind mom to each of his appointments. As fellow guest would say hello to him or ask him questions he would look to me to answer for him and would not give eye contact to anyone. Alec was very withdrawn and not at all interested in socializing.

Friday, November 28th at 9:00 am was the day Alec was scheduled to remove the mercury amalgam fillings from his mouth. Dr. Claudia discussed with me our options and we decided since they were baby teeth that we would go ahead and extract them which would cause the least trauma for him all around.

The night before I sat with Alec and explained to him in detail everything that was going to happen and he sincerely looked me in the eyes and said mom, I am going to be ok because I know that God is going to be with me. He had so much peace about it. 8:30am Alec received some “special juice” that made him more relaxed and we just waited in the lobby for the doctor to come to say that she was ready for him.

We then went back around 9:00am where everyone waited for his arrival. An IV was then administered while Alec looked away sing his Christian songs that soothes and comforts him and in no time they were done with the IV and Alec was impressed there was really nothing to it.

They did have to poke him twice because he moved the first time but still he was ok with that. A few moments pasted and they started on the process of removing his toxic teeth full of mercury. Alec talked the best he could, with a mouth prop, through the whole procedure. Alec complained some during the injections around the teeth but that was it.

When all was said and done Alec sat up still in a daze and said that didn’t hurt a bit it was actually fun. One of the Dr’s in the room then said “ can we schedule you for next week”.  While Alec was awake for the whole procedure he thought that he was asleep and did not remember one thing.

He ended up in special care where they assumed he would have slept for at least a few hours however he never once feel asleep and was ready to get up and move around about an hour after being taken to special care.

Later that day Alec did experience at little pain as the numbing wore off and he received half of a pill and since then he has not needed anything else. When he went upstairs to receive his meds Alec walked up to a guest here that he had previously met and introduced himself as if he had never met her.

My son Alec was coming back to be the boy he was 2 ½ years ago. Alec started to come out of his “fog”. From that moment on Alec became a new person. Alec had a pep in his step and eagerly greeted everyone he passed as everyone look at him with pure amazement that this was the same boy that they had met. Alec has become a social butterfly talking the ears off of everyone here. I believe he has really knocked the socks of many who could have had any doubt. When the guests here could see for themselves who he was verses who he has become in just a matter of a few hours after his dental treatment. While we have been here Alec as also lost seven pounds, he came in at 112 and now he is 105, which really encouraged him and he looked forward to seeing each day what the Dr’s here at Sanoviv had for him to do to help him get better. I know that God has put us in the hands of true Angels here at Sanoviv.

May God bless you all here at Sanoviv,
Christy Serafine