Boy Keeps his Tonsils!

I couldn’t be happier for Gigo, pictured above, who was very sick last spring, and almost lost his tonsils.

Everyone knows of a child like Gigo, who is dearly loved by his family and has access to modern medical care, but is sick a lot of the time. His mom has allowed me to share his story, and I hope it makes people stop and think about the difference between getting health care and getting truly healthy.

I met Gigo in April 2011. My original goal was to correct his postural distortion. One leg toed out more than the other. But my most notable exam findings were: “lymph congestion in the neck.” He was getting over a cold. On through the winter and into 2012, he was still the same, fighting off more than his fair share of colds. From a chiropractic standpoint, it made sense that he was often much more in need of a chiropractic adjustment than his sister, one year older, who did not get sick.

When Gigo started kindergarten in the fall of 2012, he got worse. I gave holistic advice (get him off milk, put him on some supplements to nourish his immune system), but the advice of the medical doctor held more sway. His medical doctor prescribed antibiotics every few months. The drugs seemed to work temporarily, but overall the child’s health continued to decline. His medical doctor diagnosed scarlet fever in February, then strep throat in April. The glands in Gigo’s throat were now so swollen that he was gasping for air at night.

The medical doctor said it was time to surgically remove his tonsils.

Let me make this clear: I strongly believe the medical care this child was receiving was, to say the least, ineffective and damaging. Yet, Gigo’s medical doctor was only practicing the standard type of medical care you’d expect anywhere across the United States. He was treating conditions with drugs, and when the drugs depleted the child to the point that they were no longer effective, he recommended cutting out the malfunctioning body parts.*

But our story ends without tonsillectomy! After this surgical scare, cow milk was removed from Gigo’s diet. He began breathing better within a day. He hasn’t had any antibiotics in four months. His tonsils have begun healing, and Gigo has not missed a day of first grade!

All the best, Dr. Sharon Martinez, Rancho Cucamonga

*For a wonderful look at tonsillectomy, read this article by a doctor in Oxford, England, who says, “The more fortunate the child in all other circumstances, and the better the opportunities for careful nurture, so much the more is he liable to tonsillectomy.” In her analysis, the English children with less access to medical care had significantly fewer tonsil problems and seemed to suffer no detriment as a result.