Healing and adapting at home

Maya is doing fairly well at home. Victoria's mother, Deb, is staying with us and has been a great help with cooking, clothes, cleaning and caring for Maya. She will be staying for a while, ideally until Maya is off of the NG tube liquids and ready to return to school. We have not noticed any improvement in vocal quality yet, but she has a cold which is complicating speech, most likely. In any case we will probably be requesting speech therapy from the town to get her back on the right track when her chords are working again, or even if they don't get back full functioning we will request speech therapy to help her with alternative means of communicating. Right now she does great with pointing and some signing. She also understands pretty complex requests and complies very well, so no problems with comprehension.

We all have colds in the house now, with the exception of Victoria. That is ironic because Victoria has low white blood cell production which is being investigated and she is usually the first to get sick. She has been taking some new vitamins to boost her iron levels and overall health, so maybe they are making the difference for her. I have made a great batch of cold-killer tea and have been chugging it several times a day, and have also been giving it to Maya once a day via her pump, and I think we are doing better now. Deb has said she would drink the tea, but I think she, like Brianna, is avoiding it due to fear of what it must taste like. Those two are worse off than Maya and I, so despite the small sample size, I think that scientifically we can say that the tea helps. Several people have asked me for the recipe, so here it is:

Cold-killer Tea

Essential basics

• Large pot that holds 2 gallons or so. If you want less or don't have one that big, then use less ingredients accordingly.
• Jar of local honey (can be omitted for dietary reasons or for kids under 1 year old).
• 2 bulbs of garlic and as many old flaky skins from other garlics that you can find.
• Flaky skins from all of your onions, plus the outermost juicy layer of one decent-sized onion
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced ginger root

Helpful ingredients for added potency:

• 1/2 cup dried nettles (aka stinging nettles) or fresh (1 cup shredded) if you know how to pick them.
• 1/4 cup dried dandelion plant, or fresh (1/2 cup shredded) if you can get some free of lawn chemicals.
• 1 tablespoon dried licorice (not for pregnant women or those with heart conditions)
  
• 3/4 cup dried raspberry leaves, or 4-5 fresh leaves, shredded

Helpful ingredients for taste that also have cold-killer properties:

• 3-7 dried cinnamon sticks
• 1/2 cup dried spearmint or 1 cup fresh mint leaves shredded.

Helpful ingredients for hard core cold-killer tea that taste VERY bitter - beware:

• 1/2 cup dried mugwort (avoid if pregnant)
  
• 1/4 cup dried marshmallow root

Feel free to experiment with adding herbs that you have found to be helpful, just consult an herb guide to be sure they are not dangerous for any conditions you might have or to make sure they are safe for children if you are going to use the tea for a child.

Put everything in the pot (honey can be added when the water is hot to taste) and fill with water to within 1/2" or rim. Use high heat until it starts to boil while stirring in all ingredients until they are waterlogged and sink (skins and garlic may not ever sink), then reduce heat to slow simmer for 2-3 hours. Strain tea with fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth and drink some, store the rest in a refrigerator. Should last 2-3 weeks cold in containers. Drink at least 2 big cups a day, more if you can handle it and want max benefits. Also try to eat 1-2 cloves of garlic a day by holding your nose, chewing it up well, and chasing with juice.