Rooted Wellness

02/14/2026

**Leucovorin Journey Update – Week 14 (11 Weeks at Goal Dose)**

For those who are new here, a little backstory 💚

Our daughter experienced a significant mold exposure early in life that triggered a systemic immune response. What followed were cascading food sensitivities, gut inflammation, and nervous system dysregulation. After we had made meaningful progress, at 14 months a second exposure occurred — and that’s when we saw a regression in behavior and a stall in expressive verbal development (she had only just started speaking, and was basically nonverbal but would occasionally say 'mama', 'dada' or 'that').

As both a mom and a practitioner, it was heartbreaking and clarifying all at once. We knew her brain was capable. We had seen her light. But something was blocking access.

Fast forward to today. We are now at **Week 14 of leucovorin therapy, 11 weeks at her goal dose.**

And the changes continue to humble us.

At 23 months old now, she is not just “catching up.” She is exceeding milestones. Her vocabulary is expanding more rapidly each week. She is independently forming 2- and 3-word sentences to express herself and ask for what she needs — often including descriptors like colors. (“Blue cup please.” “Big sister help.”)

She seeks out interaction at the playground. She initiates play. She laughs easily. She is deeply protective of both her older and younger sisters.

And she sings. All. The. Time.

But what moves me the most is something harder to quantify:

Her eyes.

They have not looked this calm, clear, and present since she was just a few weeks old. The nervous system settling. The inflammation quieting. The connection restored.

We got our Riven Bear back. 🐻🤍

For those walking similar paths — whether mold, immune dysregulation, regression, or unexplained developmental shifts — there is hope. Healing is layered. It is rarely linear. But when you address root causes, the body remembers how to come back online.

Grateful. In awe. And continuing forward.

02/12/2026

Come see Jessica at the Women's Show on Saturday, March 7 from 8am--4pm.

02/07/2026

02/01/2026

Molecular mimicry causes various problematic conditions depending on genetic predisposition, microbial terrain, and environmental triggers.

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2021.673708/full

01/25/2026

Homemade gelatin gummies: easy gut healthy snack
-1 c juice of choice
- 4 tbsp beef gelatin

Optional add ins
1 tsp honey (if child is >1 year old)
Liquid vitamin C, D or zinc (in age appropriate dose)
Elderberry concentrate
Magnesium

•Gently warm juice over low heat
•Sprinkle in gelatin gradually, whisking to prevent clumping
•Pour into molds of choice
•Refrigerate

Ready in less than an hour!
For littles who are weaning & dont have all their teeth yet, use less gelatin for a softer, mashable texture

01/22/2026

It is estimated that the infant brain forms 1 million new synapses PER SECOND in their first year of life. This is 86.4 billion per day! This growth peaks in the 2nd year and continues at a rate of tens of billions of synapses per day until the end of year 3. Needless to say--nutrient density and gut barrier integrity is ABSOLUTELY key to maximizing their potential benefit in this developmental window.

The GAPS approach is built upon the importance of gut barrier & microbiome integrity for overall health and disease prevention. In addition, the aim is to optimize neurological development via the gut-brain axis and by providing foods which are packed with nutrients the nervous system needs to develop itself.

Here is a GAPS friendly, Roara-approved dinner! Strips of grass fed butter, sardines in water, & homemade bone marrow butter. Not pictured: homemade jello that she gobbled right up!

01/19/2026

"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us." -JRR Tolkien. Enjoying office hours with the best little Medical Assistant! Happy Monday everyone!

01/11/2026

Leucovorin Update – Week 10 (7 weeks at goal dose)

We are now at week 10 on leucovorin, with approximately 7 weeks at her full dose. We continue to see meaningful changes, particularly in expressive language, singing, and spontaneous social interaction. She is now also within or ahead of all of her milestones.

Singing has become a major area of growth. She now sings along anytime music is present, whether live or on TV, and is able to accurately mimic the tune. She will also sing strings of words from songs she has heard from memory, while carrying the tune. In addition to this, she is spontaneously making up her own songs throughout the day with original melodies. In this video, the song is mostly nonsense, but it is clearly centered around her sister (“Ro ro”), which feels significant in terms of social referencing and intent.

Her speech clarity has also improved. She has been intentionally practicing consonants (e.g., “la la la”) and working on annunciation, and as a result, most of what she says is now intelligible. Previously, she was attempting many new words that were difficult to distinguish, and this shift has been noticeable. She has also begun playfully copying what we say to tease us, which reflects growing social awareness and receptive–expressive language integration.

In addition to language gains, she is showing more creative, spontaneous, and expressive social behaviors. She will sneak up on us and say “boo,” approach us to give unsolicited kisses, put on accessories and show us, and ask us to put her princess dress on her and then spin. She will also stand in front of the gecko enclosure, point then clasp her hands together, and exclaim “aww.” These interactions are unprompted and consistently directed toward shared attention and connection.

Overall, it feels like she is not just acquiring new skills in receptive language comprehension, expressive output, and social-emotional awareness, but becoming more intentional, expressive, and socially engaged, with increased initiation of play, affection, and shared enjoyment. These changes have occurred while maintaining her goal dose of leucovorin and continue to be very encouraging.

01/05/2026

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/15/2/151

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and interaction, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities. ASD encompasses a wide spectrum of clinical presentations and functional...

01/05/2026

Our first food drive has come to an end, and the girls & I are ready to take the bounty to Crosslines tomorrow! (I've had to fend them off of the fruit snacks multiple times).

With your contributions I was able to purchase these nonperishables & vitamins. The emphasis was on nutritious school snacks & breakfast options for kiddos.

Thank you to each and every one of you for your support and uniting with me in giving back to the community!

12/24/2025

From my family to yours, Merry Christmas ❄️

12/21/2025

Leucovorin Journey Update – Week 7

We are now in week 7 of our daughter’s leucovorin journey, with 4 weeks at her goal dose.

We did experience a small setback recently. When we removed dairy, she went on a food strike, and the transition to dairy-free alternatives didn’t go as smoothly as we had hoped. To protect her intake and regulation, we temporarily phased dairy back in for about a week while slowly building acceptance of new alternatives.

During that time, we noticed a quiet regression. She continued to have spontaneous speech, but the new words she had been gaining began to disappear. Her previous pattern of saying several novel words daily came to a halt.

We are now on day 3 fully dairy-free again, and the change has been striking. About 24 hours after removing dairy, her novel words and total word count began to rebound, and that progress has continued. Yesterday, she started learning her colors—she can now name and accurately identify the primary colors on request. Today, she started yelling the verbal prompts on Dora the Explorer.

She continues to grow in her interpersonal skills and motor planning as well.

But what I really wanted to share is this moment: a video of her dancing and singing with her big sister.

Two months ago, this simply would not have happened. Not the imitation. Not the appropriate behavior in context. Certainly not the singing. If anything, she might have stood nearby and watched—or more likely, not even been aware of what was happening. Now she is participating, imitating, singing, using several-word phrases, and even carrying a tune.

I couldn’t help but shed a few tears while filming it.
If you are watching your child struggle, I would love to walk that journey with you. It is hard. It is scary. But there is hope.