The Results Are In

Yesterday we went back to the chiropractor to get the results from the scans that were done to Emmett on Monday. The results came back spot on with exactly what he's been experiencing.

If you look all the way to the left of the page, you'll see a small white dot in the yellow portion of the image. This is the data that was collected from the first scan that was performed, where a probe was placed on Emmett's ear to measure his heart rate variability. The chiropractor explained that this helps them identify how many energy reserves Emmett has to be able to adapt and heal. I was so thankful to see that he was in the yellow, because this means that he still has a decent amount of energy reserves for the healing process. If he was in the orange or red zone, this could tell us that Emmett might need more time between adjustments at the chiropractor and more time in general to release tension prior to the procedure.

Typically, they recommended coming in for about three adjustments weekly for the first month depending on an individual's energy reserves. After a patient's first twelve adjustments, they re-evaluate by repeating the scans to see what progress has been made.

Since our procedure date is quickly approaching and Emmett has a decent amount of energy reserves left, the chiropractor recommended that if we are comfortable with it, to try to do adjustments four times a week to get twelve total adjustments in prior to the procedure. Brett and I are at the point where we will do whatever they think is best, so of course our answer was yes without any hesitation.

The two pictures of the spine on the right hand side of the page show the results from the scan which a device was used to measure the different temperatures down Emmett's spine, correlating with neurological activity. The graph titled "organ/gland function" in the middle of the page shows exactly which organs and/or glands are mildly (green), moderately (blue), or severely (red) affected by tension. The chart below shows which organs/glands are associated with each point of the vertebrae.

By comparing Emmett's results with the photo above, you can see that the most moderate and severely affected functions of his body revolve around reflux and his latch, vagal tone, and sleep.

For those of you that aren't familiar with the term "vagal tone", it refers to activity stemming from the vagal nerve which is a fundamental component of the parasympathetic nervous system.

The vagal nerve runs through the diaphragm as well, so this is explains why Emmett hasn't been able to poop, burp, or toot like a "normal" baby should be able to. You can also see the clump of white and green bars on the middle, left portion of the spine. This shows that Emmett's body has a decreased organization of tension, meaning that one side of his body is experiencing more tension than the other.

The final picture of the spine located on right hand side of the page shows how long the neurological tension has been around in Emmett's body.

The red color signifies tension spots that have been around more short-term, whereas the blue color shows tension spots that have been around long-term.

Well, you guessed it! Reflux is the symptom that has been around longest in our timeline of events and this data shows exactly that.

I was blown away with how accurate these results were with everything we have been living over the last eight weeks. I’m not sure if it's just the science geek in me, but it was so amazing to see how these tests could collect such vital information for Emmett's healing process. It kind of made me want to go through all this chiropractic work myself to learn more about what's going on in my own body!

After the chiropractor finished explaining the graph with Emmett's results, we took him back to their adjustment table where he got his first adjustment.

The chiropractor only uses pressure as gentle as squeezing a ripe tomato, so it's not like the typical chiropractic work that would come to mind.

Emmett did great! He had another adjustment today and will have his third one for this week tomorrow. We will start going four times a week leading up to the procedure and then he will go twice a week for a month following the procedure. Although it's probably too soon to see any physical changes in Emmett's behavior, I'd like to harp on the fact that Emmett is having a pretty good day today! I’m looking forward to his next set of scans, in hopes to see some improvements in the data (and his behaviors, of course) at that time.