A baby girl who was left unable to SMILE after suffering 40 seizures a day has been cured by a miracle diet – of WHIPPING CREAM.
Olivia Browning, two, began suffering debilitating brain spasms dozens of times a day after undergoing surgery for a heart defect aged five months.
They stunted her development and the tot, who has Down’s Syndrome, lost the ability to smile and giggle – something mom Sandy Browning, 34, says broke her heart.
Over the course of eight months, doctors gave Olivia eight different medicines to try and halt the seizures but though they became less frequent, she battled severe side effects.
It was only when she was started on a ketogenic diet in February – which sees her eat whipping cream for every meal, or 220g a DAY – that the fits stopped completely.
To stay seizure-free, the tot must eat precisely measured meals with a 3:1 fat to carb ratio which keep her in a state of ketosis, meaning her body is forced to burn fat.
Sandy and husband William, 33, an insurance consultant, said the diet has changed their lives – and little Olivia has even regained the ability to smile.
Finance worker Sandy, of Bolingbrook, Illinois, said: “It was heartbreaking and frustrating watching Olivia have seizures. I felt helpless.
“Every time she had one it was like an explosion inside her head. Her brain was shutting down and she lost some of her development.
“I missed seeing her smile and constantly worried about her crawling or walking because she would need to be monitored constantly, otherwise she could hurt herself.
“Neither of us were sleeping because Olivia couldn’t sleep and we were terrified she would have seizures at night and go into cardiac arrest.
“The diet has changed everything. Before, she would be having fits constantly. It was five a day, then ten, then 30 or 40.
“Now Olivia is 100 per cent seizure free. The ketogenic diet has given her a chance to reset – we can tell her brain isn’t battering her anymore.
“She is smiling and laughing again. It’s incredible. We feel like we have got our daughter back.”
Olivia was born four weeks early in October 2015 with a heart defect and Down’s Syndrome.
She began suffering seizures shortly after having surgery to repair a diaphragmatic hernia – which was leaking acid – in April 2016.
Sandy said: “Her eyes would close and she would go into the foetal position then come back up and go back into that position repeatedly.
“I thought I was going crazy because at first the doctors told me it was a digestion problem and gave us laxatives.”
The concerned couple had a gut feeling something more serious was wrong so conducted their own research online – which suggested it could be a neurological issue.
They took Olivia to see a specialist who diagnosed her with chronic epilepsy and started her on a course of steroids, which slashed her seizures from 40 a day to ten.
The injections brought with them terrible side effects including the risk of liver damage and water retention which made her look severely overweight.
It was only when they transferred to Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago that medics suggested she try the ketogenic diet.
Even doctors and scientists don’t know why, but the diet can completely cure up to one in seven children with epilepsy.
Sandy said: “The doctors said they could ween Olivia off all the meds and I was like, ‘Really?’ I was a little angry and very skeptical, but we were willing to try anything.”
Within three weeks of her starting the diet, Olivia’s seizures had completely stopped.
Now for breakfast she eats 20g avocado, 60g heavy whipping cream, 20g egg and 4g butter, before having a mid-morning bottle with 20g cream, 20g milk and 5oz water.
Lunch is 20g yoghurt, whole milk, 10g fruit, 60g more of the unsweetened whipping cream and 4g butter, and Olivia then has a second, mid-afternoon bottle.
For dinner she will eat another 60g of heavy whipping cream, 4g butter, 20g chicken, beef or turkey and 20g vegetables.
Many children are weened off the diet and go on to live seizure-free lives.
Sandy added: “It’s changed everything. It’s incredible.”
Dietitian and nutritionist Robyn Blackford, who works in the Epilepsy Center at Lurie Children’s Hospital,
She said: “When I first met Olivia she had many types of seizures, including spasms, myoclonic jerks of her limbs, and atonic seizures.
“For her, it made learning anything new almost impossible. It’s like her brain hit a reset button every time she had a seizure.
“Olivia’s parents report that they have not seen any types of her seizures since the start of the ketogenic diet over 8 months ago.
“She has been weaned from other seizure medications that have potential unwanted and dangerous side effects.
“Olivia is now more alert, focused and making developmental gains.”
