Our Story

with no guarantee that it would actually work. We had all but resolved ourselves that he would suffer from this his entire life. Jackson had been tested by allergy specialist and the only thing they could really narrow down is that he must be allergic to dust. His allergies were year round. They were not during the normal months thought of as typical allergy seasons. The specialists concluded it must be something inside the house and the most typical household allergy is dust. We took precautions as best we could. We had hardwood floors through out our house so that we could see the dust on the floor to clean instead of carpet where it can hide. The rooms that had any carpet were vacuumed once a week and my son had to be out of the house after vacuuming for sometime for any dust to settle. We felt so horrible that this is what he was going to have to deal with. No one else in our families had suffered from this so we just could not figure out where these problems were coming from. Little did I know a lucky break for Jackson was about to come our way.

On Earth Day 2007 I was watching the Oprah Winfrey show and saw a story about a little boy who had a very similar struggle to my son's. As I continued to watch these parent's tell their son's story it was so similar to mine. They also had no family history of such extreme allergies or asthma. This family had tried switching their cleaning products after having to admit their son to the hospital because his asthma had gotten so bad. Once they made that switch to natural cleaning products their son was fine. They loved the products so much they bought the company! Needless to say I was a bit intrigued. I ordered the whole set of the cleaning products that day. I waited anxiously but of course I was not counting on this working. When the pack arrived I was able to change everything in my regular cleaning products, laundry, hand soap, dishwasher anything that was inhaled in my home.

Once I received my cleaning pack I immediately got rid of everything else in my house. I knew that I had to switch over to these products 100% if I wanted to see if they worked. I couldn't have toxic cleaners mixed with non toxic cleaners and expect to see a difference. The first week I noticed a difference in Jackson. We were off the breathing treatments but I still wasn't sold completely. Little did I know that three weeks later I would need to have emergency dental surgery done. I would be a little out of pocket for a few days around the house. When that happened I, of course was trying to keep up with the kids and getting things done but I was a tad bit out of it. On day 3 post surgery I realized in a split second that I did not give Jackson his allergy medicine. None of it. For 3 days!!! You have to understand for this child that is not something you could ever forget. If for some reason we were ever in a place where he had to miss his medicine the 1st day after his eyes would be watering everywhere, the 2nd day his eyes would be swollen shut and the third day he would be in the hospital. I could not believe it!

In 2007 our son Jackson was suffering from horrible allergy problems. He had been treated since the age of 3 months. He had become immune to any medications that lasted 24 hours so by the age of 4 was on 6 doses of allergy medication a day. The allergy problems started effecting his breathing so he was also taking breathing treatments as if he had asthma. In April of 2007 we were very close to allergy shots to the medication regimen. This would mean at least 2 ½ years of weekly shots into his arm

To this day I still feel horrible that I forgot Jackson's medicine for those 3 days! It became a mixed blessing though. I brought him to his pediatrician. I explained what happened and she was in agreement, it was time to try to take him off the medication. It is now almost 3 years later and Jackson has not had to have a breathing treatment and has not had to take an allergy medication. Like the parents I saw on TV I was so excited! It turns out he was reacting to the toxic chemicals in regular cleaners. He just was more sensitive to it than the rest of the family was. All those years and I had to idea. I never even knew about these chemicals in cleaners. I began to educate myself and was really terrified by what I found. It wasn't only the chemicals that have been added to products in our homes over the last 30-40 years it was the health results that have come along with that. The explosion of childhood asthma, allergies and cancer in women as a direct side effect of this. Even the connection to ADD and ADHD.

After I learned all this I decided just like those parents I had seen on Oprah. I took action. Now, I couldn't afford to buy the company like the Barnett's did but I started my own Shaklee business right away. After some research I had found Shaklee offers non toxic enviromentally friendly alternatives in many product lines. It is also the #1 nutritional company in the United States.That decision not only changed the health of my family, but the financial situation of our family. I now am able to work from home on my Shaklee business. Who would have known watching Oprah that day would have made such a difference in my families future. This could be the changing day for your family too.