Oxygen, Autism, Stroke, Hypoxia at Birth, and Drowning

And an update on my son's progress

When Benjamin was born, he had been without oxygen for long enough to suffer end-organ dysfunction. Every cell of your body requires a continuous supply of oxygen to function. Lack of oxygen leads, within a matter of minutes, to cell dysfunction and even death.

Autism, stroke, hypoxia at birth, and drowning are all circumstances in which oxygen delivery to the brain is disrupted. In autism, this is likely due to tiny clots in tiny blood vessels, but larger areas of oxygen deprivation can occur and are seen. In stroke, blood flow (oxygen delivery) is obstructed by either a clot or a tear in the vessel wall. In hypoxia at birth, oxygen delivery to the baby is impaired when the umbilical cord becomes compressed prior to birth. This is what we presume happened to our son, Benjamin. I won't bother to explain drowning - you can Google it if you're unfamiliar with it.

Recovery from all of these illnesses follows a similar course. Chances are that these illnesses will all affect you or someone you love in time.

I’m writing these blog posts not just to share Ben’s journey with you all, but to provide insight to those of you facing similar challenges, now or in the future.

Why do some people recover from lack of oxygen, while others do not?

One of the most difficult things for most people when it comes to serious illness and injury is the uncertainty of their prognosis.

We can't make any definitive statements about Ben's prognosis. “Medicine is a science of uncertainty and an of probability,” said Sir William Osler, founder of Johns Hopkins Medical School and one of America’s greatest physicians.

Nothing is certain in medicine (1 Corinthians 1:27). Most people are deeply uncomfortable with uncertainty. Medical professionals learn to become extremely comfortable with uncertainty, because very little about what we do is certain.

We can't make definitive statements about almost anyone's recovery from lack of oxygen. The typical sequence of events is to provide supportive care (oxygen, mechanical ventilation, fluids, nutrients, and more) while the body recovers. Then, we can begin to test to determine how patients are progressing. Even then, what we find on initial testing is not definitive. Ben's MRI might show extreme injuries to his brain, and yet he might not show any obvious deficits. Regardless, he may make a full recovery no matter what the damage is.

What are the main factors that affect our ability to recover from lack of oxygen?

1. Stem cells. The older you are, the less stem cell activity you have. Predictably, older patients have worse outcomes with any injury involving lack of oxygen (stroke being lack of oxygen to the brain, heart attacks being lack of oxygen to the heart, and so on). Ben has the best chance of recovery in part because he has the most stem cell activity possible.

2. Nutrition. You will see miracles happen when you get nutritional therapies in play for patients with severe malnutrition.

3. Light. Photobiomodulation is a powerful tool to activate healing and promote recovery. It will be standard of care soon in every kind of injury related to lack of oxygen. This is only a matter of time.

4. Hormones. Hormones are incredible. They control practically everything about our physiology. Melatonin is particularly powerful for healing oxygen-deprived tissue. See my high-dose melatonin articles for more on this.

5. Total toxic burden. Toxins poison the body and the mind, so our ability to recover is inherently related to our total toxic burden.

6. Our electromagnetic environment. Our cells are electromagnetic in nature, and EMF can either heal or destroy.

7. Physical activity. One of the best things for people who have suffered from lack of oxygen to do is to get back to moving and exercising.

Ben is still in the ICU. His body is improving, but his brain is showing flat electrographic activity, plus he's not breathing as much on his own as he could be. He’s still on the mechanical ventilator. He is one of the most severe cases they have seen at their hospital in years.

Nevertheless, we are expecting a full recovery for him. More on this in future posts. I will be sharing everything that we do for Benjamin as we go.

We would love to have you join us for our 14-day reset. Learn the secrets behind the reset. If you want to join my team, get in touch with us. Healthy babies start with healthy families, and our 14-day reset is designed to help you and your family get into the best health possible. Everything I include here will be in Benjamin's rehab protocol.

Until next time, be well,

Dr. Stillman