Geneology International

Category: Alternative Medicine

Family of Danielle Loftus, now 25, remains grateful this Thanksgiving

Eleven years after Danielle Loftus, then 14, sustained a traumatic brain injury in a jet ski collision on Lake Springfield, signs of neurological activity give her parents hope to carry on.

“She’s still in there,” Jeff Loftus said during a recent interview with The State Journal-Register.

The Loftus family plans to gather for Thanksgiving dinner Thursday with Danielle, their two other young-adult daughters and other loved ones.

Jeff Loftus, 58, a Springfield native, and Lynell, 53, from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, said they remain thankful to God for Danielle’s health at age 25, as well as their own health, a spacious home in Springfield, stable at-home jobs and supportive friends and relatives.

Jeff and Lynell are faithful Roman Catholics, members of Blessed Sacrament Church and self-employed publishers of the monthly “Heartland Homes” real estate magazine and other materials.

With their younger daughters out of the house and at college and working full-time, respectively, the Loftuses are dedicated to keeping a regular schedule that helps Danielle remain healthy and, they believe, content.

They said they are willing to wait for progress in medical science, or a miracle, to cure their daughter, who isn’t able to move on her own or talk. They don’t plan to ever put Danielle in a nursing home. They take care of her.

Jeff Loftus said he and his wife have spent “lots” on alternative medicine treatments generally not covered by insurance that have done little to change Danielle’s semi-conscious state.

They said they have no regrets for giving Danielle everything from nutritional supplements and neuro-feedback sessions to laser therapy.

They traveled with Danielle to Florida two years ago so she could receive a month’s worth of twice-a-day hyperbaric oxygen therapy not available in Illinois.

“You don’t know if it works,” Lynell Loftus said. “It hasn’t hurt her. We’re going to leave no stone unturned.”

The only thing the Loftuses haven’t tried is stem-cell therapy, for which they probably would have to leave the country. They worry the risk to Danielle’s health would be too great.

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The family isn’t asking for money or pity — just prayers — which they have encouraged since the “Pray for Danielle Loftus” billboards first went up around Springfield after the accident.

The couple admits to feeling sad and weary at times.

“We haven’t been able to fix Danielle yet,” Jeff Loftus said.

Lynell said she believes God has a purpose for Danielle’s situation. “I’m just frustrated at the timing,” she said.

Both parents became emotional at times in discussing Danielle’s prospects for the future. She could live to old age if she remains healthy, they said.

Their thoughts sometimes become pleas to God.

“Either heal her or take her,” Jeff Loftus said.

The accident

Danielle Loftus was an outgoing teenager who liked to write and draw in her journal, and who ran the high hurdles in track and played volleyball at Blessed Sacrament before the accident in July 2010, the summer before her freshman year at Chatham Glenwood High School.

The accident involved two jet skis that were being operated by adults. Danielle was on the back of one craft with another 14-year-old female passenger.

The other jet ski was driven by an adult, an uncle, who had two 11-year-old passengers.

According to a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the jet ski driven by the uncle accidentally struck the jet ski carrying Danielle.

No one on the other watercraft was hurt. Danielle’s 14-year-old cousin, however, suffered collapsed lungs and broken ribs. The girl was hospitalized and since has recovered.

Danielle, who suffered a “diffuse axonal brain injury,” had damage in various parts of the brain and almost died. She spent five weeks at the pediatric intensive care unit at Peoria’s OSF Saint Francis Medical Center and five months at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.

At home, she is fed through a tube in her stomach. She also receives medicine to control seizures.

Standing 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing less than 100 pounds at the time of the accident, she now is about 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs about 140 pounds.

She sleeps in her same childhood room down the hall from her parents, who keep tabs on her with a video monitor.

Much of the physical work in caring for Danielle, including bathing her, feeding her and meeting her daily needs is done by her mother.

Lynell Loftus said she gets up at 5:55 a.m. each day to give medicine, start Danielle’s liquid feeding and begin a regular daily schedule in which equipment and braces help Danielle sit up or remain standing during feeding, watching TV, exercising or just being near her parents while they work.

Several years ago, the couple had an addition built on their ranch-style home. The addition features big windows that flood the room with natural light and contains Danielle’s equipment, a raised exercise platform and a hot tub, complete with a ceiling-mounted lift, to help Jeff Loftus get Danielle safely in and out.

Brenda Vail, a physical therapist who worked with Danielle as part of her job with the Chatham school district until Danielle “aged out” of the system at age 22, still treats her.

The Loftuses arrange for Vail, who has become a friend of the family, to work with Danielle for a few hours each week to keep her joints limber and provide some respite time for the couple.

Vail said she can tell from Danielle’s eye position, smile and tension in her body how Danielle is feeling.

Vail said she can tell that Danielle enjoys conversation, watching Hallmark movies and being read to, especially the Harry Potter books, “Black Beauty” and the Fablehaven fantasy book series.

Vail said she enjoys taking part in all of that and “helping someone with resources I have.”

She said Lynell and Jeff Loftus have done a “phenomenal job” of keeping Danielle on a regular schedule and providing the best quality of life possible.

Life goes on

Life also has progressed for Danielle’s sisters, Rachel, 20, and Taylor, 22.

Rachel is a junior at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, majoring in criminal justice with a double major in forensic science and psychology.

Taylor, who graduated from the Missouri University of Science and Technology, is a nuclear engineer working for the federal government in Knoxville, Tennessee. She is engaged to be married next year to a man she first met at Glenwood High.

Jeff Loftus continues to play drums in a local band called “After Sunset.”

Danielle and her parents all came down with COVID-19 during a trip to Florida in February but experienced only mild symptoms.

Going forward, Lynell Loftus said her husband is the “rock” of the family as everyone deals with Danielle’s future. Lynell said her emotions are more variable.

She said she continues to fervently believe “a miracle is coming.”

Friends come over every week to the Loftus home to pray. Lynell Loftus also reads her Bible and finds the sermons of Joel Osteen to be motivational and comforting.

Jeff Loftus said he views Danielle’s situation from “30,000 feet.”

“The big picture is she’s still here, and she’s still healthy,” he said.

Danielle already may have fulfilled her destiny, Jeff Loftus said. The family’s CaringBridge.org blog, where Lynell used to post regularly, contains many posts by people who said their faith was renewed by Danielle’s story.

Jeff Loftus and his wife said they are careful not to think their situation as more challenging than anyone else’s.

“Everybody’s fighting something,” he said.

Contact Dean Olsen: [email protected]; (217) 836-1068; twitter.com/DeanOlsenSJR.

November 24, 2021
AG Knudsen’s office didn’t intimidate hospital officials

HELENA — Republican Attorney General Austin Knudsen and his office did not attempt to threaten or intimidate Helena hospital officials or health-care providers when they inquired about a patient’s COVID-19 care last month, says a report released late Monday evening by Republican legislative leadership.

However, the report did identify a “third public official” who contacted the hospital on the patient’s behalf as state Public Service Commissioner Jennifer Fielder. It said Fielder, a former state senator, argued that the patient should be allowed to have the alternative treatments of Ivermectin and hydroxycholoroquine, and that “if this doesn’t turn out well,” there may be a lawsuit.

The patient, who had worked for the state Senate in the past, later died from complications of COVID-19.

The report, prepared by a “special counsel” appointed by GOP leadership, outlined actions taken by Knudsen, a highway patrolman and Deputy Attorney General Kris Hansen in early October, in response to complaints from the patient’s family that she was being denied certain medications and communication with her family.

Minority Democrats had requested the investigation Oct. 21, after press reports and a statement by St. Peter’s Hospital that its health-care providers had been “harassed and threatened by three public officials.”

Knudsen and Hansen said they were two of the public officials who spoke to hospital personnel, but denied threatening anyone.

Also Monday night, Republican legislative leaders said the report produced no evidence that Knudsen had harassed anyone, that he didn’t speak directly to any medical providers and that St. Peter’s CEO said he did not feel threatened in his Oct. 13 conversation with Knudsen and described his discussion as “cordial.”

“The misleading and outright false political attacks on Montana’s attorney general by Democrats and members of the media must stop,” GOP leaders said in a statement.

They pointed to a number of newspaper and web-based editorials that had criticized Knudsen and his office for allegedly trying to strong-arm medical personnel into giving the patient certain medications or use the Highway Patrol as a “private police force.”

The report said the Highway Patrol officer dispatched to the hospital on Oct. 12 never entered the hospital or spoke with medical personnel, and only took information from the patient’s family, in the hospital parking lot.

Democratic leaders said they plan to hold a news conference Tuesday morning, to respond to the report.

The investigation and report were produced by Abra Belke, a lawyer who worked for legislative Republicans during the 2021 Legislature and who later was appointed as the Legislature’s “special counsel,” a new position created this year by Republicans with broad powers to investigate government officials and agencies.

Read the full report:

November 23, 2021
IncellDx’s Chronic COVID Treatment Center Partners with ARISE MD Integrative Medicine & Surgery to Evaluate Novel Therapeutic Approach to Chronic COVID

SAN CARLOS, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–IncellDx’s Chronic COVID Treatment Center (CCTC) (www.covidlonghaulers.com) and ARISE™ MD Integrative Medicine & Surgery announced today a new partnership to evaluate CCR5 antagonists and statins as a potential therapeutic treatment approach for chronic COVID, also known as long COVID or post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC).

In a randomized, placebo controlled trial led by co-Investigator Adam Miller, MD, CEO, Medical Director, ARISE, a combination of maraviroc, a CCR5 antagonist, and a commonly administered statin, atorvastatin, will be evaluated for its efficacy in alleviating PASC symptoms.

In the trial, under an Enriched Enrollment Randomized Withdrawal (EERW) design, patients who experience symptomatic improvement with maraviroc and atorvastatin in an open label phase will enter a second phase and be randomized to continue active treatment or placebo.

The study aims to support clinical approaches developed by IncellDx’s Chronic COVID Treatment Center, which has enrolled more than 12,000 patients and published multiple articles on the application of precision medicine and biomarkers to determine the underlying pathways involved in PASC.

“At CCTC, we provide consultation to physicians across the country who are treating patients with chronic COVID,” said internist and physician Eric Osgood MD, physician, CCTC. “We are excited to partner with Dr. Miller to further evaluate the clinical observation that a biomarker-driven, precision medicine approach can result in improvement of long COVID symptoms as well as resolution of abnormal cytokine profiles that may be the underlying cause of this condition. In continuing to advance new research into diagnostic criteria and clinical approaches to treatment, we aim to provide lasting symptom alleviation in patients with PASC.”

“Based on outcomes we observe in long COVID patients being treated under the CCTC program protocol, we believe this condition can be objectively assessed and that addressing immune disruption from PASC may be central to its treatment,” said Dr. Miller. “Through this study, we aim to assess whether reducing the activity of CCR5 in the body with the use of CCR5 antagonists can play an important role in treatment of long COVID. We’ll also be evaluating the potential for the IncellDx Long Hauler Index, or LHI, to provide important diagnostic information about this condition that can inform treatment. We’re very excited about the potential of this study to validate clinical application of IncellDx’s LHI and a novel combination therapeutic approach leveraging already commonly used medicines.”

About IncellDx

IncellDx is a precision medicine company advancing novel diagnostics and prognostics to better understand and treat infectious disease and cancer. The company’s innovative technology platform enables simultaneous cell classification and single cell analysis of proteomic and genomic biomarkers. The company launched the Chronic COVID Treatment Center to apply precision medicine approaches to evaluate, characterize and more effectively address chronic COVID.

About the Long Hauler Index

The Long Hauler Index or LHI was developed and patented by IncellDx to provide an objective method of identifying patients suffering from long COVID or PASC. The LHI assesses cytokines and chemokines believed to cytokine storm conditions and chronic COVID patients (often referred to as COVID “long haulers”).

November 22, 2021
Jeffrey Harris: Doc charged for brutally killing wife who was reduced to just 70lbs!

MOSCOW, IDAHO: Tammy Harris, a 55-year-old woman from Idaho, weighed about 70 lbs and had no hair and fingernails when she died a ‘tremendously painful’ death in a New York City hospital. Harris had been taking dietary supplements for quite some time, and now her husband Jeffrey Harris, 57, who is a doctor, is on trial for her death. Prosecutors have claimed that he interfered with the amounts and types of medicine his wife was taking.

Jeffrey on Friday, November 19, pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter for the alleged murder of his wife three years ago by administering toxic amounts of Selenium, a trace mineral mainly used as a dietary supplement. Selenium, safe when taken in small doses, can cause hair loss, kidney failure and even death when the dosage is increased.

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Reportedly, the couple had come from Moscow, Idaho to New York City so that Tammy could receive treatment for Lupus, which is what doctors believed she was suffering from. She suddenly collapsed at the hotel she was staying in while they had come to the city search for a holistic doctor. She collapsed at the Lott New York Palace hotel and died six days later. An autopsy found that Harris had eight times the average amount of Selenium in her system.

Assistant District Attorney Victoria Meyer has said that “Harris’ starved condition was ‘not something you typically see in wealthier nations”. Harris’ journey to a slow and painful death started in 2017 when Jeffrey began giving her various “alternative” medicine which “worsened her health problems”, Meyer said in court. Refusing to abide by doctors’ instruction, Jeffrey began dosing Harris with Selenium supplements. “He insisted that her true affliction was mercury poisoning due to having worked at a dental office several years prior,” Meyer explained.

According to prosecutors, however, Jeffrey “sneaked in alternative medication” and “cheated doctors” by pretending that she was only being given what she had been prescribed. When doctors eventually understood what was happening, they asked Jeffrey to “be a husband” rather than her doctor. Jeffrey allegedly ignored all these suggestions and instead used his own medical license, writing prescriptions for medication she reportedly did not need. At present, Harris is being held on a $300,000 bond.

When the judge questioned why second-degree manslaughter charges were in place instead of murder, Mayer said that Jeffrey’s belief that Harris suffered mercury poisoning as a result of her job spared him the more serious charges. Harris’ son sincerely believes that Jeffrey loved his mother.

“I have no doubt that Jeff loved my mom incredibly,’ said Joshua Hubbard, 38. “He loved her deeply, almost to a fault. I do not believe that he intended to hurt her in any way. Nothing is going to get my mother back. I have a lot of compassion for Jeff and I don’t know that I hold any anger against him. I would just like to see some closure on this so we don’t have to keep bringing it up and hashing it out.” “He was a physician. He thought he could cure my mother, and what he was doing was wrong. It was a very confusing time … Incredibly weird,” he added.

November 21, 2021
AMA: Physicians should grant medical exemptions to vaccines

CHICAGO — At its Distinctive Conference currently, the American Healthcare Affiliation (AMA) Property of Delegates authorized a resolution stating that only licensed medical professionals need to figure out no matter whether a human being should really obtain a clinical exemption from vaccines.

The policy comes in the wake of tens of countless numbers of people trying to get exemptions to point out and municipal COVID mandates, contending they have health care good reasons for remaining unvaccinated. The new coverage states that only licensed medical professionals should really have the professional medical authority and the electric power to grant these exemptions.

“Vaccine hesitancy has performed an regrettable part in extending the COVID-19 community unexpected emergency. Failing to get vaccinated has resulted in tragic and needless fatalities. To secure all people, we should be certain that a trained, licensed medical professional is producing the judgment on regardless of whether a person essentially warrants an exemption,” said Willie Underwood III, M.D., M.Sc., M.P.H., a member of the AMA Board of Trustees.

The definition of “medical authority” may differ from state to condition, with some states making it possible for alternative practitioners, these kinds of as naturopathic companies, to approve vaccine exemptions. Surveys have revealed that naturopathic companies and other alternative medication companies (such as homeopaths and chiropractors) are significantly less most likely to advocate vaccines—or even recommend versus vaccines—despite scientific proof of basic safety and efficacy.

“State policymakers will need to restrict the definition to medical professionals who have the teaching required to recognize a healthcare ailment that prevents a individual from receiving a vaccine,” Dr. Underwood said. “We shouldn’t jeopardize community wellbeing by listening to unlicensed and untrained companies.”

The AMA now has coverage opposing nonmedical (religious, philosophic, or own belief) exemptions from immunizations, considering the fact that such exemptions endanger the well being of the unvaccinated specific and the health of the local community at big. The AMA supports the immunization recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Procedures for all people devoid of healthcare contraindications. It also supports legislation eradicating nonmedical immunization exemptions and encourages state medical associations to search for elimination of nonmedical exemptions in states necessitating obligatory immunizations.

“One of the regrettable facet results of the COVID-19 pandemic and misinformation about it is the questioning of vaccine efficacy even although vaccines have just about wiped out conditions that when plagued us. Medical professionals will have to make the argument obviously and loudly primarily based on the science: Vaccines help save lives,” Underwood explained.

November 20, 2021
Forum Health Welcomes Santa Rosa Hormone Functional Medicine Clinic as its Third Location in California | State

FLINT, Mich., Nov. 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Discussion board Overall health, LLC, nationwide network of integrative and purposeful drugs vendors, has obtained the practice of Jane Kennedy, CFNP, MN, MPH positioned in Santa Rosa, CA.

Jane Kennedy has been in scientific exercise for above 30 yrs with a concentration on ailment avoidance and encouraging people get back their vitality after enduring hormone imbalances with bio-equivalent hormone alternative treatment.

“We are energized to welcome Jane Kennedy and her workforce to Discussion board Well being,” said Adam Puttkammer, president of Discussion board Wellbeing. “Her abilities in the field of integrative drugs has made her a leading hormonal health and fitness practitioner in Northern California.”

In addition to managing hormone imbalances, Jane Kennedy’s exercise also helps boost optimum health and fitness for adult men and ladies by means of thyroid remedy, adrenal and metabolic support, health care bodyweight loss, neurotransmitter balance, gut well being and detox, swelling, PMS and postpartum, balanced way of living methods and ailment prevention.

“I’m thrilled to be part of the Forum Well being community,” explained Jane Kennedy. “Their philosophy of restoring the organic harmony of the thoughts, system and spirit with the most productive treatments and least aspect results is accurately what our clinic tactics each individual working day. And by joining Forum Wellbeing, my individuals will proceed to receive the exact same superior quality of treatment into the long term with even far more expanded solutions.”

“Jane Kennedy and her staff embody every little thing we seem for in a Forum Wellness exercise,” stated Phil Hagerman, CEO of Discussion board Wellbeing. “Their motivation to providing nutritious hormone solutions and substitute therapies for males and girls supports Discussion board Health’s mission to redefine healthcare and lover with clients on their journey to a nutritious and vivid lifestyle.”

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For far more on Forum Well being and how to turn into a practitioner, visit www.forumhealth.com.

About Forum Well being, LLC

Discussion board Well being, LLC is a nationwide service provider of personalized health care. Steeped in the effective principles of functional and integrative medicine, Forum Well being providers consider a root-induce tactic to treatment. They listen and dig deep — exploring life-style, ecosystem, and genetics to assistance each individual realize their top overall health goals. Members have obtain to superior clinical treatment options and technological innovation, with treatment designs knowledgeable by facts analytics and collaborative associations. To understand far more, go to forumhealth.com.

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Source Forum Health and fitness, LLC

November 19, 2021