A Return to the Cornerstones of Health

Cooper

Kelley and Joe’s youngest son, Cooper, had a ton of energy, not unlike his older brother. “The difference was his battery never got tired,” Kelley says. Cooper did well in school, but has struggled with hyperactivity and channeling his strong emotions.

Kelley and Joe spent years looking for something to help their son. “Occupational therapy, behavioral therapy, we investigated every approach our pediatricians directed us to with Cooper,” Kelley says. “Unfortunately, nothing seemed to make much of an impact.”

That is until last spring, when a chance referral led Kelley and Joe to David W. Miller, MD, Medical Director of pediatric integrative medicine at UH Connor Integrative Health Network. Due to COVID-19, the first appointment was a virtual one. Dr. Miller spent two hours getting to know Cooper and his family. Within a week of following Dr. Miller’s initial recommendations – altering Cooper’s diet and adding daily Chinese herbal supplements – Kelley and Joe saw noticeable improvements.

Happier and Calmer

“Sometimes we underestimate the power of the cornerstones of health: diet, sleep, exercise, emotions, and relationships,” Dr. Miller says. “These can be downplayed in their impact, but often can be quite profound.”

Integrative medicine is often able to identify patterns of imbalance not recognized in current mainstream western medicine that are definitive and treatable. Dr. Miller is hopeful that in time and through robust clinical trials these therapies will be the standard in mainstream healthcare.

“Right away he seemed happier and calmer. His thoughts were clearer," Kelley says. “I will never forget the moment he came to sit with me while we watched his brother’s baseball game. He never sat down!”

There is less arguing, and his frustration threshold is much higher. Kelley and Joe aren’t the only ones to notice a difference in their 8-year-old. Neighbors and friends have remarked on the positive changes they have seen in Cooper this summer.

“Our journey has been long and exhausting,” Kelley says. “After Dr. Miller came into the picture, it felt like a new beginning.”

Dr. Miller says that children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are often quite brilliant, and have different ways of thinking that can make them highly successful in their youth and through adulthood. The key, Dr. Miller says, is accentuating their strengths, and recognizing and optimizing their unique learning styles.

"ADHD is his superpower, a gift he was given, and it’s our job to help him optimize these strengths, including his physical endurance and creative mind," Kelley says.

“Working with Dr. Miller has resulted in changes we could have only dreamed about a year ago, and words cannot express the amount of joy and hope Dr. Miller has given our family,” Kelley says. Cooper was selected for a competitive baseball team and is looking forward to hitting home runs and throwing touchdowns on his flag football team this fall.