We have now moved to our new home, and Nisarga seems to be thriving. He is eating more, sleeping sooner, sleeping sounder and rising at the crack of dawn all excited.
Another new beginning is the end of my resistance to massage. After being told that it wouldn’t help him, and after seeing little to no result from it as well, I’d given up on it as one of those things everyone either tells a mother to try or avoid, depending on which end of the orthodox to allopathic spectrum they land.
Then today, something a new neighbour said, suddenly clicked. He was speaking of trying various exotic oils specifically to help his condition (as opposed to the general “build strength” or “good for baby” suggestions so far). It was a minor departure from the routine suggestions and possibly an accident more than intentionally different, but it got me thinking.
After Nisarga settled into a very uneasy sleep, I got on the internet and hunted down information.
And I can’t believe I missed this, but 3 in 4 cerebral palsy patients experience pain from their constant involuntary movements. Astonishingly, I have not actually tried to solve the pain beyond gently pressing his feet when they seem restless. I however seem to have noticed subconsciously that the few times he was given crocin – usually for unrelated reasons, he slept soundly and moved around less in his seep. Obviously, he can’t make painkillers a part of his diet, but surely there can be massage oils for pain that can be in his routine?
So I hunted down information that mostly led me to herbal and alternative medicine websites and some natural treatment websites including one that claims to treat cerebral palsy (implying cure). In the process, I ran into dozens of names of oils and herbs that would be useful, and made a note.
Among those on various pages (and for various related reasons ranging from pain relief to relaxation and nerve stimulation), I noted those I had present at home to experiment. I had rosemary, eucalyptus and citronella (I thought it would be the same or substitutable, if not, for lemongrass). On a stray note, most of these seem to be astringent or somewhat mildly irritating to the skin – I wonder if that is a factor in the pain relief – by creating counter sensations or increasing blood flow, etc.
Taking a few spoons of olive oil, I mixed a few drops each of these, and rubbed a sleeping Nisarga’s legs.
Normally, touching his legs when he’s sleeping, particularly extensive touching causes him to contract them closer to his body. Not today. He just relaxed into my touch, his breathing suddenly deeper and his whole body went limp in a way that spoke of relief.
So I rubbed some into my own aching legs, and the ache indeed seems better.
So now I’m hunting down various other alternative medicines and massage oils to try with Nisarga. Might as well boost this growth spurt and see where it takes us.
And I am planning to massage him (very lightly) with one or more of these oils twice a day. Less rubbing and more of pain relief and relaxation.
I’ll update here if there are any noteworthy results.