September 16, 2008, K.J. Phenezy turned 15 years young. K. J. is the only child of a single, business woman and they lived a great life. Their home sat on a hill overlooking beautiful city lights in San Diego County. Their property was full of flowers, fruits, palm trees with a lovely swimming pool and jacuzzi that they never used. K. J. had a theater room to play Xbox 360 with his friends, dogs, basketball, movie nights with friends and trips to the mall. K.J. was (and still is) a smart, happy, loving young man who stayed out of trouble.
K.J was a very healthy 15 years old. He had never had the flu or even a flu shot. He hadn’t required an antibiotic since he was a baby with an ear infection. As one of the star players on his basketball team, K.J. often played an entire game without resting. He was the epitome of health.
K.J. was finally ready to overcome his fear of the dentist so he could get braces for his teeth. On October 8, 2008, his mom took him to a local chain dentist in San Diego County. They placed two amalgams (a.k.a. silver fillings) in his right upper and lower molars. 3 days later, K.J. was ill with a fever of 102 – 102.9 for 3 days. His fever was accompained by chills and sweat. Except for the lack of mucus, it appeared as though K.J. had the flu.
It turned out that K.J.’s fever was a warning sign that something drastic was happening to his body. A few days after his fever broke, K.J. woke up with a swollen lip. The swell dissipated after a couple of hours. The next day it was a swollen jaw, then eyelid. The swelling began on the right side of his face where the new fillings were located. T. M. Phenezy (K.J.s Mom) asked the hospital to check for mercury poisoning. Recognizing the correlation, his mom took him to see his primary care doctor. She asked his doctor about the fillings, but her thoughts were quickly dismissed. She was told that silver fillings do not make people sick!
K.J.’s symptopms continued to escalate. By December 13, 2008, he was admitted to the children’s hospital in San Diego. K.J. received 2 blood transfusions and numerous tests. T. M. Phenezy had researched the amalgams and found that they were primarily mercury, not silver. She found that there was undisputed and admitted evidence that the mercury leaks from the amalgam compound and enters the bloodstream. They tested his blood and did not find an elevated mercury level. NO MERCURY POISONING? What T. M. Phenezy did not know at the time was that a blood test is one of the least efficient ways to test for chronic mercury poisoning.
K.J. was finalyy diagnosed with lupus in December 08, Stage V nephritis (a kidney disease) in January 09 and by March 9, 2009, K.J. was in a wheel chair, diagnosed with neuropathy (nerve damage). His symptoms continued to escalate although K.J. was on the proper mediation.
T. M. Phenezy (K.J.’s Mom and CEO of The National Patient Advocate Institute) began researching diligently. What she found shocked her. Amalgams were banned in other countries and Canada had placed restrictions on its use. The U.S. had never required the manufacturers to prove its safety. They were simply grandfathered in. She also found that some people lose the ability to excrete the mercury, so it gets stored in their tissues, causing more harm.
K.J.’s mercury fillings were safely removed on March 19, 2008. Some of his symptoms went away or improved, but he was still in a wheel chair. The Children’s Hospital of San Diego’s doctors refused to consider the evidence and research. His mom decided to pack up, sell the home and try an out of state hospital. Any hospital that would listen!
On April 30, 2009, K.J was admitted into Lebonheur’s Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. The once healthy 15 y.o. was frail due to losing 30 pounds. He lost that weight even on 60 – 120 mg of steroids a day. For 16 days, Lebonheur’s tried all their conventional medicines for lupus, nephritis, and neuropathy. They poked, prodded and ran numerous labs. K.J. was getting weaker. He couldn’t stand, walk, or roll over in bed. K.J. couldn’t even wiggle his toes and he was no longer ticklish under his feet. The nerve damage was worse. They assigned him a physical therapist and an occupational therapist.
T. M. Phenezy inudated Lebonheurr’s doctors with research every moment they were in the room. Some wouldn’t listen, but she talked anyway. She was sure it was the mercury! On day 16, May 15, 2009, the Attending Physician entered the room and said that Lebonheur’s Children’s Hospital would treat K.J. for mercury poisoning. Lebonheur’s hospital had never treated a patient for mercury poisoning due to amalgams, so they had to do a lot of research.
Ms. Phenezy was told not to expect any results. Chelation therapy for mercury poisoning began that evening and the very next morning, May 16, 2009, K.J. was able to stand with the aide of a bedside table! Miracle? May 17, 2009, K.J. was pushing his wheelchair down the hall. He continued to improve and was released to inpatient physical therapy to strenghten his muscles and walk without assistance again.
Today, according to hospital lab tests, K.J. is still fighting lupus, but miracoulsy has no signs of neuropathy. He also has no visual signs of lupus. Due to strong advocating, educating and research by T. M. Phenezy, her once seriously ailing son is walking, running, laughing and working on building new friendships in a new state.
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