Kirsten's Candy "Allergy"

Kirsten's Candy Jar

Must I lie to the school district??? To protect my child and to keep the peace at home!


Is it fair that only one class of youngsters must go the whole school year with no candy, treats or special parties, because one child has many allergies.  We know that some allergies can be so severe that they can result in death, and obviously all school teachers and administrators take that very seriously. So why is it so hard to understand... That giving a child who has a problem with food and weight, extra treats, is a bad thing? With the potential of life threatening consequences!


Aaarrrgghh.... My daughter Kirsten came home from school today (she rides the bus), and in her backpack was a nicely decorated jar that was about half full of skittles candy. No note or indication of how full it started out and it's Friday. On top of that, she had a goodie bag.  The candy jar was the prize for a successful guess, 280, of "jelly beans" (skittles). 


Is it so hard to understand that with Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS), children lack control and understanding when it comes to limits on food. Why do these teachers say they understand, when clearly they do not! And why do so many continue to reward our kids with more and more candy... When obesity is a worldwide crisis?


With many children, the effects of PWS may not be as apparent, because even those with PWS have different metabolisms and environment that affect their growth, but my daughter is overweight.


To top it all off, the behavioral issues that are a part of PWS are worsened when routines are changed or when they can't have something that is theirs. What child is not going to be upset when someone takes their candy away?


It can be very frustrating! But, to try and punish all children (take away their right to treats at school) for my daughters syndrome isn't right either. My wife has seriously considered home schooling, but school has helped keep Kirsten's mind off food... Most of the time.


Prader-Willi Syndrome is hard to understand for most, because they don't live with it and... In their minds, how can a little candy now and then hurt? Aaarrrgghh... 


Most in the PWS community understand my frustration. For a mom's view on this subject, and a great comparison for better understanding, check out my friend Laurie's Blog post "It's official - I'm twice as stressed as everyone else..."

Because of this syndrome, my daughter does not burn calories as effectively as you or I, so she can not have near the normal amount of calories for someone of the same weight.  Managing her diet is very difficult, as you can imagine, and insuring that she gets the proper nutrition is also a struggle.  It is something she will deal with her whole life.  

I have always believed that if there was a chance to give her even a fraction more of potential for the future, it would be well worth it. That being said, Kirsten takes the ShakleeKids Incredivites (multi-vitamin/mineral) and Mighty Smart (100% DHA). If my family is going to use premium dietary supplements, green cleaning products, ect., I want to be able to find peer reviewed information that is available to the public, on the internet, to back up their quality.  Shaklee has this and provides these references for the whole world to see. It is in the "Clinical Research" section of their order guide. 

Terry Guinn, A Healthier You Too

Treat your family to the quality products they deserve. Shaklee products are always safe, always work, and are always green. If you would like more information about Shaklee products, please contact me, Terry Guinn, Shaklee Independent Distributor, through my website at  www.ahealthieryoutoo.com or if you would like to checkout the products for yourself, go to my Shaklee page at  www.ahealthieryoutoo.myshaklee.com 

Shakleebaby & Shakleekids

Mom's Blog

Warning! Proceed with caution. Reading a mothers blog may cause heart pain and eye strain.

Roaming through the world of blogging can sometimes lead you to a blog post that really touches your heart.  I on the other hand, seek out these type of posts to face head on the stark reality of the world we live in. The posts written from the heart, about children who are struggling, hit especially hard.

Doctors, books and articles written by professionals can provide a one size fits all approach to raising children, including special needs children.  But everyone knows that our children are not all the same.  They learn at different speeds and in different ways.  They grow at different speeds and in different ways. They all encounter different obstacles... Including health issues.  

I am a part of a very large community on-line whose lives have been changed due too a child being born with Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS).  Doctors can tell you what they learned in books, but parents can share with you what they have learned in life. Reading some of the stories from these parents can be educational and inspiring, but can also be very emotionally draining at times.  I was reminded of this in recent days while reading blog posts by a mom sharing in words, her life with a little girl struggling with PWS.  Hugs denied and questions on being different, simple things with a big impact on the heart.

So why would I subject myself to such stress??? I am looking for inspiration and guidence.  Like many other parents of children who have special needs, I want real answers. I don't want the text book version of what “will be”.  I want to understand the struggles and pain from real world experiences so I can prepare myself. Even, perhaps, avoid those struggles and pain through a different approach. Not only that, I want to help others if I can, even if only through words of encouragement.  

As many parents would, I would do anything for my seven year old daughter.  I look for anything with potential for adding to a better “quality of life” for my daughter, now and for the future. 

This is also one of the reasons we started using Shaklee products in our home.  My daughter has enough health issues and we want to try to minimize the risk of her developing any others.  With her low muscle tone and limited ability to cough productively, should the need arise, and the rise in children developing asthma, we wanted to lessen her risk, as well as the risk to our other children, of breathing problems by removing as many toxins from the air as possible.  We did this by switching to “Green” cleaning products from Shaklee for the kitchen, laundry and the rest of the house.  As a result, a breathing problem I had for years has disappeared.

We also have a real concern for her nutrition, given the unreliability of the food supply and her very limited diet. So we use Shaklee vitamin supplements. I have used vitamin supplements most of my life, but noticed a big difference after using Shaklee multivitamins for a while. 


There is a wealth of information on the internet to help you and your loved ones. People around the world are sharing their real life stories to touch and inspire others. How can I help? 

Terry Guinn, A Healthier You Too

Treat your family to the quality products they deserve. Shaklee products are always safe, always work, and are always green. If you would like more information about Shaklee products, please contact me, Terry Guinn, Shaklee Independent Distributor, through my website at  www.ahealthieryoutoo.com or if you would like to checkout the products for yourself, go to my Shaklee page at  www.ahealthieryoutoo.myshaklee.com 

Shakleebaby & Shakleekids

A Wonderful Life...

Cameron Newton just won the Heisman Trophy!  Was there ever any doubt?  

Of course you might not have heard the news yet because you were too busy with your children, helping with homework, transporting then back & forth from an athletic event, introducing them to classics such as "It's a Wonderful Life" or working overtime to keep up with the ever growing expenses of raising a family. 

I may miss the games and awards, but watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” tonight, for the 100th time in my life, reminds me of just how lucky I am. 

My wife and I reminisce often about the days we had the time to do anything we wanted, like play Nintendo Golf at all hours of the night, eat ice cream anytime or sleep in...  Those were the days.

I'm not complaining!  Our children have added structure to our lives and with the addition of the twins seven years ago, we received the missing piece of the puzzle that made our life complete.  One of the twins was diagnosed with Prader-Willi Syndrome and has become our health coach, sort of.  Ok, perhaps more of an inspiration.  Many of us have guilt when it comes to overeating.  My guilt comes for different reasons. Because of my daughters disabilities and her restrictive diet, I have lost ten pounds over the last year.

As I look back and realize how my life could have been, without children, I have to wonder... Would I have even survived to the half century mark???  As I pop my vitamins, slurp my Vivix and sip my hot tea, the children are all fast asleep and I am enjoying my quiet time catching up on the days news &  events. 

Come Sunday I may not get to follow the day in sports, as I take time for my children, but I  wouldn't be living this wonderful life without them.  I still get my time and I can catch up on the sports excitement, but nothing compares to my children's excitement and their smiles that make life worth living.

Exercise and proper nutrition are the keys to a parents full life of children’s activities, excitement and smiles. What are you doing to stay healthy?  Did you know that our food supply is not as nutrient rich as it used to be? Did you know that more than 65% of Americans regularly take supplements? What do you know about the supplements that you use or see advertised everyday?  

This is cool!  Shaklee has a Digital Edition (click here) of their catalog (I love catalogs) that includes the “Clinical Research” section starting on page 118.  Also, clicking on the product picture takes you right to the product page in a new window. 

December is a great month to treat your family to the quality products they deserve.  Shaklee products are always safe, always work, and are always green.   Several promotions available, including the "Free Membership" offer below. If you would like more information about Shaklee products, please contact me through my website at  www.ahealthieryoutoo.com or if you would like to checkout the products for yourself, go to my Shaklee page at www.ahealthieryoutoo.myshaklee.com 

SPECIAL OFFER:

December 1-31, 2010, "Free Membership" 

(a $19.95 value) with an order for $70 worth of products at member prices.

Food Safety Modernization Bull

It won't be long now before billions of people are dying from starvation!

I couldn't help but get lost tonight in a trail of video's and interesting headlines that were fueled by the Food Safety Modernization Bill.  From "Jon Stewart tackles Food Safety Paranoia" to "3 Billion will die!!!" There was speculation about anything from outlawing gardening to making nutrients illegal, including by prescription, with the goal of world domination. 

Thats the problem with these bills, even those that write these documents that can be 100's of pages long may not clearly understand them. Whats worse is that even though they are written in such great detail, they can still be vague and open to interpretation...  Feeding those who are out to make a name for themselves by interpreting these bills for us. Bless their hearts!

I think Jon Stewart said it best "The Senate passed something!"

Now we can move on and work on the next step toward food safety which by the way, logically, would include new jobs.  Think about it... A new department in the FDA, new guidelines on food safety for companies which translates into equipment/production upgrades and perhaps increased quality control personnel, and more frequent FDA inspections.  

Perhaps this could lead to tighter controls in what actually goes into our food. If the government is now actually going to take responsibility for food safety, they now actually have to understand what goes into our food... Instead of "asking" companies to insure that the food is safe, which is as we all know based on interpretation.  I know... I live in a fantasy world. 

But wait, this can't be good!!! "Foodmakers backing $1.4 billion food-safety bill".  Maybe I better take another look at that video about 3 billion dying, which also mentioned big business taking over the world and something about nutrition being outlawed!

As long as it is still legal to get the nutrition my family needs, since I can't trust my food supply, I will get it from a company I can trust. Shaklee products are always safe, always work, and are always green.  

If you would like more information about Shaklee products, please contact me through my website at  www.ahealthieryoutoo.com or if you would like to checkout the products for yourself, go to my Shaklee page at www.ahealthieryoutoo.myshaklee.com 

SPECIAL OFFER:

December 1-31, 2010, "Free Membership" 

(a $19.95 value) with an order for $70 worth of products at member prices.

Prader-Willi Syndrome Is What She Has...

Six years old... For the rest of her life thanks to modern medicine.


Has the world gone mad???  I read an article published today about a new treatment for severely disabled children... To make life easier for their parents.

The treatment is called "growth attenuation". The question is "Should parents be able to use medical means to restrict the growth of profoundly disabled children to make them easier to care for at home?"  Click here to check out the article. Having recently seen yet another child given up for adoption, simply because he had Prader-Willi Syndrome, is just another reminder of how broken our society has become. To many have gotten their priorities all screwed up and are too focused of perfection and "stuff". 


Maybe I am way off base here, but it seems to me that doctors go out of their way these days to avoid lawsuits for malpractice, in the way they treat patients. Now we want to give them another tool that, if approved, will eventually be loosely regulated and as a result of pressure from parents, will cause doctors to more frequently recommend this treatment based on expanded interpretation & opinion to benefit the parents.  Perhaps instead of exploring ways to make our lives easier, we could do research for cures or treatments that could improve quality of life for those who are disabled and perhaps lead to prevention in the future.

I don't pretend to be an expert on all disabilities and I can't imagine any disability so bad that I would lose hope for the future.

I only really know the world of Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) and 
despite all the negatives I had heard from doctors in the beginning who put PWS in a one size fits all box, I have met dozens of children & adults with PWS who are all different, with different levels of struggles and strengths. My daughter is not the person I would have expected her to be, based on initial doctors information. She is doing very well because the future for all of us is still in our hands. Prader-Willi Syndrome is what she has and not who she is!



Raising a special needs child is not easy, but I, like many many other parents around the world, am much stronger from it and my efforts have improved my daughters chances, and the chances for my three other children, toward living a better life.  Understanding that we are killing ourselves with all the junk food we are eating and understanding that the quality of our food is not what it used to be, is just the beginning. We need to not only insure that our children are getting the proper nutrition, but that they are as free from toxins as possible and doing their part for the future.

I am a Shaklee Independent Distributor and my family uses Shaklee products because of there high quality and for what they represent. There is no such thing as a "get healthy quick" pill.  It takes effort, exercise, proper diet and persistence.  Shaklee healthy home products and vitamin supplements are a part of our daily "effort" toward a hopeful future.

If you would like more information about Shaklee products, please contact me through my website at www.ahealthieryoutoo.com or if you would like to checkout the products for yourself, go to my Shaklee page at www.ahealthieryoutoo.myshaklee.com

SPECIAL OFFER:
December 1-31, 2010, Free Membership (a $19.95 value) with an order for $70 worth of products at member prices.