Welcome to WONDERLAND

 
  Dear All

I assume that you are here because you have a sibling or relative, or your relative has a relative that has an extra chromosome. 
Maybe you are here because you just found out you are carrying a baby with 47 chromosomes.
 Maybe you have just delivered and find out about Down Syndrome.
 Maybe you are just one of my friends, or Leyla's friends.  
Maybe you are just curious. 
In any case let me introduce you, by means of little windows, into a not so well known world of DS. 
I hope you find what you are looking for here and may it help you to keep the dreams you have for your children alive.
In Love.
Rosa Davila

About Me

My photo
I am a Therapeutic Massage Practitioner, highly trained in Aromatherapy. I have studied Natural Nutrition and Iridiology. I threw my Naturopathic studies to the side in order to follow my other half to the USA. I gave birth to my beautiful girl In April 2009. She was born with Down Syndrome. I am know aplying all my knowledge to researching T21 and how to best help her naturally and holistically. What a journey! During the first weeks after learning of my daughters diagnosis I spent hours on the internet searching for a modern image of Down Syndrome. I found it, and with it the hope, courage and calm that allowed me to keep dreaming for my baby. With this blog I hope to gather information about people with DS, their lives, epics and struggles. I hope to bring people closer to their hearts, warm them up about DS. There is so much misinformation, outdated research and prejudice. If you have something you think is worth for me to post here, please do not hesitate to let me know. Thanks. Have a great journey into Wonderland.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Conny Wenk

Dear friends

Months ago I came upon the work of Conny Wenk. She is a wonderful photographer and she does a lot of work with children with Downs Syndrome. She is the one behind the A LITTLE EXTRA calendar.
Anyway. Today I checked her blog again and I found this beautiful ballet dancer.
I hope you enjoy her as much as I do.

http://connywenk.com/blog/2009/11/laura-bruckmann.html

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

On Gaby's memory

Now a sad one. I belong to an mother's club at the Babycenter.com. they actually have a group of mother's with children with Down Syndrome. Gaby was one of the children born with heart defects that need surgery. Unfortunately she passed away due to complications on 20 November, just four months old. her mum put this video together for a church memorial. I didn't make it in time to have Leyla's picture in yet I feel the need to pay my respects to her here.

Hope you like it.

bells tolling for the swine flu

Hi there.

I have been looking for something that explains what is going on with the H1N1 virus. I am not one to swallow vaccines crisis so I needed to know. well I have found a couple of videos on Utube, actually six in total but just start with one or two and see what this Spanish Doctor/Benedictine Nun, with a PHD by SUNY has to say about it and about the change of the definition of 'pandemic' by the WHO. Quite Amazing!
I am afraid it is subtitle but she has done a great job at it.
Let me know how it makes you feel.




Friday, January 15, 2010

Neurogenesis and Lithium

Dear Friends.
You know how my few free hours are spent researching T21 and reading blogs of people who has walked my way. As a nutritionist I have found the greatest comfort in a book called what you can do who advocates for nutritional therapy. I am forever grateful to QADOSHYAH FISH for putting it all together. I love her blog and her research has been SO enlightening! I am also grateful to Teresa Cody for her "protocol".
It was while researching for a substitute to Prozac that I was led onto Lithium in a rather casual way,
while I was in Spain, a friend of mine who has been diagnosed BI-POLAR told me of Lithium as a neurogenesis factor used with Manic- depresive people, ADH children and Alzeihmer's disease. I left it as that and when I came back my mother in law had an article on Lithium and Alzeihmer's that tickled the researcher in me. I went to the computer and found enough evidence
that it worked, but what about Down Syndrome? Well, after much discussion we decided to try it ourselves and see. Leyla has been on Lithium for a couple of weeks and we are beginning to see improvement, specially in her interactions with people!
I must say here that Leyla has always been on the overachieving end of DS but as I tell people, the extra chromosome is there messing neurons up.
Anyway, a couple of days ago I came across an article in the web, in a magazine called Brain Pathology JAN 2010, presenting research done with DS mice and Lithium! I couldn't believe my eyes.
My dear hubby got us a copy from a library here in Florida for free!! I have been reading it and jargon aside it is amazing!
Here is the abstract:

Lithium Restores Neurogenesis in the Subventricular Zone of the Ts65Dn Mouse, a Model for Down Syndrome

Authors: Bianchi, Patrizia; Ciani, Elisabetta; Contestabile, Andrea; Guidi, Sandra; Bartesaghi, Renata
Source: Brain Pathology, Volume 20, Number 1, January 2010 , pp. 106-118(13)
Publisher: Blackwell Publishing
Down syndrome (DS), a high-incidence genetic pathology, involves brain hypoplasia and mental retardation. Emerging evidence suggests that reduced neurogenesis may be a major determinant of brain underdevelopment in DS. To establish whether it is possible to improve neurogenesis in DS, Ts65Dn mice—the most widely used model for DS—and euploid mice were treated with control or lithium chow for 1 month. During the last 3 days animals received one daily injection of 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU)—a marker of proliferating cells—and were sacrificed 24 h after the last injection. Neurogenesis was examined in the subventricular zone (SVZ), a region that retains a neurogenic potential across life. We found that Ts65Dn mice had less (−40%) BrdU+ cells than euploid mice, indicating severe proliferation impairment. Treatment with lithium increased the number of Brdu+ cells in both euploid and Ts65Dn mice. In the latter the number of Brdu+ cells became similar to that of untreated euploid mice. Our study shows that lithium is able to restore cell proliferation in the SVZ of the Ts65Dn mouse and point at treatments with mood stabilizers as a potential tool to improve neurogenesis in patients with DS.



I feel that with this, the GB, and the Curcumin we may have a better chance at improving our children's cognitive development and slow down their oxidation processes. I am so thrilled!!!!!!!
I have posted it on the Changing Mind Foundation web but no one seems to notice it. Ce la Vie!

Thursday, January 14, 2010

The Butterfly Circus

My, is this a moving little movie....?
It is worth the lenght of it. Just try it and if you are not captivated within a few minutes let go of it.
I love it.
Once again, thanks Raul for sharing.


Monday, January 11, 2010

We are back.



Dear All

We have been so busy...
We have been there and back to Spain. We had a great time but unfortunately no pictures. I won't even go into it.
Christmas was great in Indianapolis. Low key, no big celebration, fancy menu, sweets indulgence, but lots of sleep. yes, sleep with a nine month old. Quite a blessing.
Right now, we are in Florida and I swear it is the coldest I have ever been while here. Global warming or what? The picture is the actual view of the sunset from our back door! Leyla is having a great time in the Yacuzzi and almost crawling forward, but not quite. She keeps going backwards and getting frustrated. Ah! She is also teething. Both her bottom teeth are starting to show. Needless to say that nursing has taken a different shape.
Life goes on at the Davila's