Jenny McCarthy remembers hearing the news three years ago that her son Evan, now 5, was autistic.The actress opened up about her experience with autism and helping Evan recover on today's Oprah Winfrey show.
It started for McCarthy the day Evan suffered his first seizure (which doctors blamed on a fever). Three weeks later came another seizure and his heart stopped while visiting her in-laws.
When the paramedics arrived, she told them about Evan's heart had stopped. "They looked at me like I was crazy. I don't know why," she said. They ultimately discovered she was right and they administered CPR.
"Why, God? Why me ... Why? Why? Why?" McCarthy recalled thinking at the time before an amazing feeling of calm came over her. "Everything's going to come out okay."
A diagnosis took time because was nearby and the family needed to drive back to Los Angeles. A drive that involved several more seizures for Evan. Once arriving at the hospital, Evan was initially diagnosed as having had epilepsy.
Not satisfied with the diagnosis, McCarthy followed her "mommy instinct" and sought out another opinion. Finally, a neurologist broke the news, "'I'm sorry, but your son has autism.' My mommy instinct said, 'This man is right.' I didn't want to believe him ... but ... this man is right. I felt like death."
Not one to give up easily, McCarthy, sprung into action. She immediately researched autism on the Internet and found alternative methods to help Evan. First she changed his diet and put him on a wheat-free, dairy-free and artificial-additive-free diet to detox his system. She also followed method of play therapy to help Evan interact with her and the world around him.
McCarthy chronicles her experiences in her new book, Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism.
Source: Oprah
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