Before and After Photos

The 2006 Christmas Letter

Exactly one year ago, during our annual Christmas photo shoot, 195 candid photos were taken but we were only able to get one shot of us all looking toward the camera at the same time. We still got some beautiful pictures of the girls, but this experience was yet another reminder that our two oldest daughters were fading away from us and had withdrawn into their own world – one which we found to be virtually inaccessible. We could rarely get them to play with us or even allow us to join in their isolated play. We had never had a conversation with Danielle at this point, and she was 5 ½ years old. Sophia only communicated through grunts and had just been diagnosed with Autism (age 3). She did not even point her finger in order to reference things or people.

Refusing to accept the nightmarish prognosis for our daughters, we decided to declare war on this horrible disorder that was trying to literally overtake our household and steal our children. Confident through the Word of God that this was not God’s will for our daughters, we went into intense battle with this enemy. Through much prayer and fasting in January, we experienced a breakthrough of knowledge and guidance from our good and faithful God, resulting in a customized detoxification protocol which began in March when the Lord directed us to a specialist in Phoenix, Arizona. Family and friends gathered around us in astounding ways through prayer and even financial assistance in order for this to happen.

Here are some of Christa’s journal entries from the past year…

May 2006
Danielle has already begun saying some spontaneous sentences here and there. For example, instead of saying “No going outside!” or “No outside!” she says, “I don’t want to go outside.” We are blown away by these things. She used to only speak scripted comments she had learned from videos. Neither of them will yet engage with a camera.

June 7, 2006
A long time ago I stopped bothering to ask the girls to look at or smile at the camera. It seems a lost cause, so I just get whatever cute pictures I can grab. It’s as if they simply refuse to acknowledge the existence of most people or the camera most of the time (even if we do a song and dance for their attention). On rare occasions I’ve been able to grab some really great smiles, but these shots are representative of what they most often do.

July 16, 2006
Wow, just look at Danielle smile for this photo! The transformation continues. Danielle is more and more engaging. Sophia is now saying simple requests if prompted (i.e. “I want ________.”) Danielle actually began dialoguing back-and-forth with us! She is now able to have short (3-4 turn, short sentence) conversations! They both have started to play with toys at this point. They no longer “line things up in a row” all the time. Sophia’s hand flapping has greatly reduced and I overheard Danielle actually reply to another child when he greeted her with a hello at church.
It is amazing.

August 2006
Here are just some things that the girls do which were “impossible” prior to March 2006…
· Sophia (age 3 ½) will answer and ask “Who’s that?” or “What’s that?” questions.
· Danielle (age 6) will happily greet me or her dad when we pick her up from school (we used to be met with angry tantrums every single day – for the last 2 years).
· Danielle and I go through each day communicating back and forth about all kinds of little, simple things.
· Danielle will now allow me to get water for her. She sometimes allows me to help her with tasks. (Before she displayed obsessive compulsive behaviors that were so extreme that the most minute task was inexplicably tedious)
· Danielle does not always wipe off touches or kisses anymore.
· The other night I allowed Danielle to fall asleep with me on the couch. It was funny because I had to tell her to “stop talking or go to your own bed.” I used to dream of the day I would to tell her to stop talking.
· They both make really good eye contact now.
continued…

· We now have to coax them into the house from playing outside. We used to try all KINDS of tactics to get them to play together or with us outside for more than a couple of minutes. All they ever wanted to do was watch videos.
· They both now play with toys.
· Danielle responds to the comments, simple questions, and greetings of other children.
· Sophia's torso and legs began to clear up from eczema & dense bumps right away, and now her arms are clearing up as well.
· Their voices are both stronger and more deliberate. They are finding their voices! They are using their voices. Sophia no longer just grunts for everything. What the devil tried to steal, they will use to bring many to the Lord Jesus Christ.

October 2006 Journal Entry
· Some of Sophia’s (4 in November) spontaneous phrases:”Mommy, I want a drink of wawa.””I want __________ (food or movie “voofie”).””C’mon, wet’s go!”
· She now answers yes and no questions. (Started saying yes about 2 weeks ago.)
· She greets people spontaneously & says goodbye without prompting.
· She sings, claps, raises hands at church. She dances.Her first time doing this was in pre-service prayer, in September, singing Here I Am to Worship at the top of her lungs. I cried from joy the entire time and could hardly sing myself. Before she would only want us to hold her and she would bury her face during prayer & worship.)
· Danielle does not have as much echolalia (repeat every single word said to her) as she did in September.
· She will now let me pack her lunch & put it in her backpack (a big no-no in September).
· I’m now allowed to help her with her jacket in the morning.
· She now does not mess up her hair and throw a fit after I have just fixed it.
· She spontaneously talks and interacts with other children.
· Her teachers just reported to me that social referencing is now one of her biggest strengths and a tool for learning. This was one of her greatest challenges before!!

December 2006
A year ago I did not even want the morning time to come and I cried every day, determined to find answers from God. Now we are free from OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder – a common symptom of kids diagnosed with Autism) which had tried to get complete control of our household! (Only if you’ve faced that can you possibly know what I’m talking about.) Danielle used to always say, “Danielle is sad.” She has not expressed that for months. Their personalities are coming out and they are enjoying life and people. They are learning to have friends and relate to us. They have also learned to pray and worship God. Not only that, but they’ve memorized how to preach to others (which they often do if they find an audience) about how to make Jesus your “very best friend.” Satan wants to destroy our kids. If he can’t kill them, he’ll try to kill their voice, personality, and destiny. But we don’t have to accept one bit of his plan – because if God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)

And then there’s little Victoria Alexis (17 months)She is doing fantastic. Vaccine & pesticide free! She is getting a much less toxic start on life than her sisters did,
and she will continue to reap the benefits of a “new and living way” that God has shown to us. She already says words and is very engaging. She loves people, especially her big sisters.

There is an answer for every problem in Jesus Christ. God says in Jeremiah 33:3 , “Call to me and I will answer you.” We put this to the test and have found that God does not lie. His presence in our lives is real. That’s what Emmanuel means – God with us.

Believing with you for miracles,
Pastors Don & Christa Proctor

Luke 15:24
…for this [daughter] of mine was dead and has now returned to life. [She] was lost, but now [she] is found.