EnviroAir™ Giveaway!

The expenses can add up very quickly when there is a chronic illness involved in your life. We are very grateful that Ruby's medications are covered on the PBS, and her hospital care and clinic visits are covered under our healthcare system. 

But that's not where the care we provide ends. And there are lots of little things to consider that end up making quite a dint in the budget. This includes things like petrol money to the hospital, paying for necessary meds not covered not the PBS like vitamins laxatives and probiotics, and the bigger food bill that comes with having to eat a high fat but healthy diet.

And then there are the "extras". The things that aren't really necessities, but things that we would like to be able to provide for Ruby, in the interest of her health. These can include things like buying organic food, using complementary medicines and treatments, going to salt rooms, using devices around the home to improve air quality…the options are endless.

Of course, we can't do everything. It's a matter of prioritising. Some families simply can't afford it. If it was a choice between a nebuliser and a salt pod, then of course the nebuliser will win.

One of the "contraptions" that I do have, is the EnviroAir "Breathe Easy" machine, by Nature Direct.   Nature Direct offer a unique range of non-toxic, eco-friendly cleaning solutions and disinfectants created by nature.
I bought it after hearing great reviews from quite a few friends. Sometimes personal experiences are the best kind of recommendation! This machine is like a bowl of water with a fancy water filter swisher thing on top that "washes" the air. It comes with an all natural concentrate, that is added to the water. It purifies the air in your home by reducing allergens (including mould spores), bacteria, pollutants and odours.
I use it every day if I can, especially on days where the air quality is low. I can tell you from personal experience, that on days where there is backburning in the area, and we wake up to smokey air that finds its way inside, our Breathe Easy machine gets rid of the smell very quickly. It is not a humidifier that releases extra moisture into the air, which is important to look out for when CF is involved.

Breathe Easy Machine

So…here's the exciting part…we have very kindly been gifted an EnviroAir Breathe Easy, by Nature Direct, to give away to someone with Cystic Fibrosis! Entry is open Australia wide and is very easy. All you have to do is make sure you "like" the Team Ruby Facebook page, as well as the Nature Direct Facebook page, by using the fancy entry thingy below!
This give-away is only for people affected by CF, so only CF patients or carers are able to enter. We may require confirmation of this.

OMG…the lovely Rachael from Nature Direct has also just told me that the winner will get "The Works" pack as well! Now I am a bit jealous of the winner! Chemical-free cleaning, here we come! Rachael has also very kindly offered to hand deliver the prize to the winner if they live near her in Melbourne, to help them get the most out of it. 

The Works 

So please share this around so the people who need it have a chance to enter! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway



Our competition has now ended and I have randomly drawn a winner using Rafflecopter. A big congratulation goes to Shannon Devorsine! Thank you Shannon for entering, I hope you love your prize as much as I love my Breathe Easy machine xx A BIG thank you to Rachael from Nature Direct  for making this possible without any cost or conditions for us, it was a really kind thing to do. Please contact Rachael if you are ever wanting to learn more about any Nature Direct product.
This was fun, I hopeTeam Ruby can do another giveaway soon to help a CF family! Maybe a salt pod next time??

Chest Rub for Respiratory

Ruby has got the whole smokers cough thing going on at the moment. Deep and chesty. The cough is a stand alone visitor. No runny nose, loss of appetite, fever, or anything else that would indicate a passing viral infection.

I was surprised that her sputum results were all clear. So the good news is, no nasty bugs making a home out of that mucus. The worrying part is, why is she coughing so much of this thick gunk? Why is she producing more than what her normal amount usually is, and what can I do to help her?

Apart form the normal treatments and physio she has, I could make an essential oils chest rub! Easy to do and much nicer than what you buy off the shelf, which normally contain chemicals such as petroleum.

I am making this rub using the essential oils blends, Thieves and RC

THIEVES
Thieves (also known as Oil of Thieves) has an interesting history. During the bubonic plague, spice merchants discovered a combination of spices that made them immune to the black death. The merchants use this knowledge, not to help people, but to help themselves. They made an oil from the spices, rubbed it on themselves, and then robbed the dying of their possessions.
Eventually they were caught, and traded the recipe for their lives. Doctors then used the oil in those strange looking beak masks as they treated the sick.

Oil of thieves is a mixture of cloves, cinnamon, lemon, eucalyptus and rosemary. It has a lovely warm scent, kind of like chai tea! Thieves oil is highly anti-infectious, anti-viral, anti-bacterialand antiseptic.

It is very strong and can only be used diluted (which we will be doing). The recommendation is to not use it on children under 2 .

RC
The other oil I am using is a blend called RC. It does not have a colourful history like thieves, but is great for opening up the respiratory. It is a respiratory anti-inflammatory, is good for sinuses, asthma and allergies.  It oxygenates and expels mucus from the respiratory system. (It does not dry up the mucus.)
It contains different species of eucalyptus, peppermint, pine, lavender, cypress and marjoram. Not to be used in children under 18 months.

The only other ingredient needed is coconut oil! Organic, cold pressed is best, but not necessary.

METHOD

• Heat 100g of coconut oil so it is a clear liquid. I have a Thermomix so just put it in there on 60 degrees for 2.5 minutes.
• Carefully pour the oil into a small jar
• Allow to slightly cool, but not enough to solidify again
• Add 20 drops of RC oil and 7 drops of Thieves oil
• Put the lid on and shake well
• Let is solidify again

This is a mild blend because I am using it on a 3 year old. You could add more oil for an adult or bigger child.

HOW TO USE

Rub on the chest area and throat. Can also be rubbed on the soles of the feet. I put it on my kids feet before bed, and cover with socks. 

Don't use on children under 18 months. To keep the oils potent, make sure you store away from direct sunlight. 

So there you go! A history lesson and a chest rub that will help relieve a nasty cough while warding off infections.



If you would like to purchase the oils...
I have recently signed up as a distributor for Young Living Oils. I chose Young Living after researching how they make their oils, and because of the very high standard of production.
If you would like to purchase any oils, email me direct at danstaa@hotmail.com

Operation Fatten Up

Maintaining a healthy weight can be a struggle for people with CF for a combination of reasons. Most people with CF are pancreatic insufficient, which means their body does not break down fats and protein. These people need to take digestive enzymes every time they eat. A high calorie diet is needed to counteract this mal-absorption. It's also needed as people with CF are working harder to breath than you or I. Simply living, burns more calories than average. And during periods of sickness, weight is easily lost., when it is needed the most.
There is a direct link between having a high BMI and being healthier overall. It wasn't until people with CF were told to have a high calorie diet, in conjunction with enzymes being used, that the a age life expectancy increased past teenage years.
All of this information puts stress on parents feeding their kids with CF. Suddenly "healthy" takes in a new meaning. In the early days, your baby is monitored, charted, weighed, measured so closely, you feel like you are raising a prize turkey.
During our visits with our dietician, I was interrogated with hundreds of questions. How much of this? How much salt? How much do you add to this? How much milk? How many poos? What colour/consistency? How long do you spend eating?"
If the dot on the graph drops below a certain point, then there are things to try. Polyjoule, pediasure, formula, appetite stimulants, Ensure, feeding tube. It's like a big black cloud hanging over you, waiting to rain at any time.

And then like everything else on my CF journey so far, I stop listening enough to do my own research and start thinking for myself. There is a whole world of good food out there. Why can't I use it? To be fair, our dieticians have always told us that a CF diet is not a free pass to junk food. But in my experience, healthy alternatives have not been widely suggested.

So the whole point of this entry is to share the following link with you. I started to post it on Team Ruby but waffled on do much, it passed "status length". The post is written by Jo at Quirky Cooking and is a wealth of knowledge about gaining weight in a healthy way. Because, to be brutally honest (as I always am), people with CF never used to have to worry about their health in old age. Getting to old age was beating the odds in itself. Now, people with CF are living past their 30's and overall health is so so important. That's hard to achieve if a high fat diet is a result of empty calories from McDs and KFC.
So if you want to get a bit if an idea on what "real" food is out there, read through this link:
Nourishing & Strengthening Foods . . . for those who are Underweight or Recovering from Illnesses

Oh, and did I mention I'm getting a Thermomix? It's my new weapon in my war against CF!

Amber

I bought Ruby an amber teething necklace when she was 4 months old to as I had heard from a few friends how it help their kiddos with teething pains. 
Ruby was on an 18 *month* course of antibiotics, she was having liquid vitamins and we were also learning about other medications she would need. We had just given in to using formula as well as another synthetic substance called PolyJoule to help with her weight gain. I made a promise to her that I would limit the amount of chemicals her body receives as much as I could. So that was my main decision in buying the necklace as opposed to using the teething gels available. 


So in regards to teething, did it work? Well let's say I didn't even notice Ruby had teeth until one day I heard the metal spoon hit them. I had a good look inside her mouth, and there were about 4 pearly whites shining at me! To me, that shows the analgesic qualities in amber help bubbas with teething pains.

Ruby at 7 months wearing her Amber necklace 

And then I started researching it a bit further (as I do). Amber is fossilised resin, which warms against the skin, releasing its therapeutic properties safely and naturally. It’s believed to help and treat the throat, stomach, spleen, kidneys, bladder, liver, and gallbladder, alleviates joint problems, and strengthens the mucus membranes. The words mucus membranes jumped out at me. This is the first area to be hit with parasites and microbes. Not nice for anyone, even worse for someone with Cystic Fibrosis.  

The claims get bigger and better. It draws disease out of the body, aids digestion, and absorbs pain and negative energy. Now I haven't gone and checked all the sources or looked for medical trials. But I did borrow Ruby's necklace once when I had a killer toothache and held it against my cheek. The pain halved immediately. Only drawback was, as soon as I removed the amber, the pain increased again. So I ended up shoving the necklace in my mouth where the sore tooth was. If you have ever had a toothache, you understand that you will do anything to make it better! And that reinforced my belief that amber is not an old wives tale.

I'm not naive enough to believe that Ruby's disease will be cured or fully treated by non-invasive options such as wearing an amber necklace. But I am not going to pass up the opportunity to help my child feel as comfortable as possible without the use of even more drugs. I have since got a necklace for Eliza and one for myself. It is also supposed to help concentration and memory, so maybe I should wear ten!


EarthyMamma has very kindly given us an amber necklace to give away to a reader! Read below on how to enter.

GIVEAWAY
to enter this giveaway please do the following steps

1. Comment on this blog and tell me what benefit of amber appeals to you the most and why
2. Go to www.facebookcom/earthymamma and like their page (they have heaps of great items!)
3. Make sure you are a liker of our Facebook page also (www.facebook.com/teamruby)

Terms and Conditions 

• 1 x amber necklace will be awarded worth $24
• giveaway closes on Thurs 7th June 2012 8.30pm
• Entry is only available to Australian residents only 
• Winner to be chosen by me

Disclosure: I was not paid for this review or giveaway to take place. The opinions expressed on this blog are my own unless otherwise stated.