Our kids get to be kids.  They can be carefree and play pretend without a second thought.  They can do activities. They can be in new places with new people.  They can be themselves. Their little lights get to shine through without a screen covering up what we knew was there from the start.  All thanks to Dr. Lewis and his staff.  Our lives will never be the same in the most amazing ways. There will never be enough thank you’s or cookies to express our gratefulness about the transformations we have seen.  God gave us these beautiful children and Dr. Lewis has helped us all live a fuller life for the glory of God.   We are eternally grateful.  We pray that more and more families will find the same hope and healing that we have through Dr. Lewis.

Thank you Dr. Lewis and team!!!

As I gave birth to my third son, we felt that we had finally completed our little family. He was a happy and seemingly healthy newborn who appeared to be progressing normally. At around the age of 18 months, we began to notice some little things that seemed a bit different.  We began to make excuses when he would look at things out of the side of his eyes, “oh he’s just being silly”, or when he would have a meltdown when it was time to make a transition “oh he must be getting sick”, or “he is just really passionate”.  At around 2 years of age, he had zero words. He had started to say “hi” every time we would enter his room to get him out of his crib.  One day we realized that he no longer said “hi” any more.  It would be over an entire year and a half later until he was able to speak to us again.

He was diagnosed with Autism at the age of 2 ½.  We had no experience or knowledge of Autism.  I completely immersed myself in the internet and read EVERYTHING that I could get my hands on.  By the grace of God, even though we left with a punch in our gut that day and a diagnosis of Autism, my husband returned to work the next day and his boss gave us the name of a wonderful doctor.  The doctor we would come to consider as our partner, encourager and a wonderful friend.  His name is Dr. Allen Lewis.

We began treatment through the use of supplements and later through HBOT. For us and our journey, HBOT was the one thing, paired with the use of his supplements and some outside therapies, that we felt gave our boy his voice back.  It helped with many things but hearing his voice was huge. Through genetic testing we were able to pinpoint where his body was struggling and what genetic mutations he had which in turn helped us understand how it could be affecting his behavior. Fixing his body on the inside, so that he could be happy on the outside, was our focus.  It has not always been easy and it takes a lot of work and dedication, but we were determined to stay the course and help our son be the best that he could be.  We attended speech and OT.  I would put him in any group setting that I could.  Along the journey, I was able to keep a journal and monitor what each treatment/supplement did for our son.  Dr. Lewis was very attentive and allowed us to be in control of what we felt was working and what was not working.  He was understanding when we saw adverse reactions and he was supportive when we wanted to remove something from his protocol.  He allowed us to walk through our son’s treatment as his partner and that was amazing.  He never made us feel that we did not know what we were talking about or that we were making the wrong decision.

Dr. Lewis and his staff have been amazing throughout this experience and we could not imagine having gone through this journey without them. Angie has been a little angel sent to us.  She has helped me through many confusing rough times and has been my hyperbaric guru for which we are so grateful.  Dr. Lewis has been supportive and attentive to our son’s needs from day one and we could never thank him enough.  Everyone else there has been a helping hand along the way and is always there for us when we need something. Our son no longer looks at things from the side of his eyes.  He breezes through transitions as if it were never a problem and he talks up a storm.  He is a bright thriving 7 year old who has now transitioned into public school and integrated into a mainstream classroom.  He has friends and sleepovers and is a wonderful student.   We still have our struggles but now he can talk to us about them and explain how he is feeling and we are able to help him work through things.

This journey is a marathon not a race.  For our family, finding a doctor that understood the diagnosis and the treatment options was imperative.  We needed someone who was able to address each core issue and teach us what was causing all of those outward behaviors while treating them individually in a sequence that made sense for our child. We have been on this journey for a little over 5 years now we have seen tremendous progress in our son’s quality of life.  We could not be more grateful.  We would encourage each struggling family out there to take this journey one day at a time, embrace the good and the bad for that is the measurement that we use to see how far we have really come.  Stay the course and you will see improvements and strength in yourself and your child that you could never have imagined.

When our daughter was in the 5^th grade, I knew something was seriously wrong as she exhibited a variety of concerning behaviors, she – i) was anxious and fearful of many things including anything new, ii) was sad and didn’t smile, iii) had no friends and had poor social skills; would wander around the school playground talking to herself and was ridiculed by her classmates, and iv) had poor grades from the inability to focus, anxiety and the need to retrace over her answers to the point she wore a hole in the paper before moving on to the next question.  She couldn’t complete tests in the allotted time.  These concerns are just a few of her struggles.   After over a year of trying dietary changes, vitamins, herbs and medication, she showed no benefit and some behaviors worsened.    We had great concern over her future not knowing if she would graduate or even be able to hold down a job.

Our daughter has been a patient of Dr. Lewis’ for the last 8 years and these concerning behaviors slowly melted away over time.   By following his treatment plan as prescribed, we saw improvements with each stage of treatment.   Dr. Lewis explained the reasoning and expectations with each treatment so that we knew what were expected to do as we anticipated changes.  Integrative care requires participation, commitment and steadfastness but the results are wonderful.

Our daughter graduated high school with a 3.7 GPA!  Her animated personality is bubbly and fun, she loves life and the adventure of experiencing new things.  She has several friends and enjoys hanging out with them.   She is currently attending college 350 miles away from home with confidence and courage to face the unknown.  We are no longer concerned over her future but rather are excited to see the plans the Lord has for her and know she now has the ability to do much for Him.

Our son was referred to a speech therapy consult the week before his 2^nd birthday. At the consult the word Autism was not used and we were referred for a behavior consult. The first time we saw the word Autism was on the sign for the center on the building. It was the most difficult day of our lives as we were given little encouragement other than early intervention was key.

There were no providers available at the time to begin treatment and we commenced with the insurance wars for speech and other intervention services.

Through research my mother-in-law found Sancta Familia Center for Integrative Medicine.  Upon entering the center and understanding the mission of Dr. Lewis and the staff, we were encouraged. Dr. Lewis looked at my wife at the beginning of the first meeting and said “Mom, you look like you could use a hug.” It was as important for our family as it was for our son to begin our journey together.

Our son’s blood work confirmed vitamin and nutritional deficiencies. Dr. Lewis built an integrative plan and his staff worked closely with us as we followed the protocol.

The improvement in our son’s attention, energy, and overall demeanor was significant. He was now ready to learn.

Through work with The Childhood League our son started school 120 days after diagnosis and initiated play therapy. Both experiences were very positive in his development and in conjunction with his improved overall health due to his improved nutrition, he continued to improve and progress.

After a follow up visit with Dr. Lewis, we discussed the benefits of HBOT. Soon we initiated therapy. Our son did not speak a word on 1/1/17. By April when he was in the middle of HBOT therapy, he Facetimed with me while I was away on business and said “I Love You.” It was an incredible moment that has been filled with many more since.

We have continued with the recommended course of therapy, supplements, ABA, play project, and speech therapies. We also completed an additional round of HBOT.

As of 1/1/18, at 3 ½ years old, our son speaks over 1,000 words, has begun to read, counts to 20, attends a fully integrated private preschool, has been invited to play dates and birthday parties, is a loving big brother, and is now driving his sister around in a battery operated car.

We are hopeful for his future and confident in the guidance and ministry of Dr. Lewis and his staff. There is no doubt that this progress would not be possible without their science, understanding, dedication, and mission. Though we have moved to another city we continue to travel back to this special practice that has saved our son’s life and our family.