The Birth of Mother to Mother:Another View
And Transition to Eco Family News
A Letter from The Editor – Kathy Arnos
In 1983, I left my position at Embassy Communications and Tandem/TAT under the helm of socially conscious television producer Norman Lear, to get married and start a family. My daughter Danielle was born in 1985, which is when my journey began. Danielle was a healthy baby until she received her first DPT shot (diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus vaccine) and oral polio vaccine. She immediately threw up, became feverish, slept more than usual that day, and developed a large knot in her leg at the injection site. Two months later, she was given her second vaccination and began screaming until she fell asleep. Another, larger knot developed at the injection site.

During the next two months, Danielle developed croup, followed by severe bronchitis, with symptoms that included blisters in her throat and difficulty breathing. When she received her third shot, she screamed some more and developed chronic ear and bronchial infections, for which she was repeatedly dosed with antibiotics. After receiving her mumps, measles and rubella vaccine, she became subject to crying fits, even while sleeping, as well as violent episodes during which she became dangerous to herself and others.

When Danielle was 18 months old, she received her fourth DPT. Three hours later her arm swelled to where it was sticking straight out from her body. She turned red in the face, screamed hysterically then became pale, unresponsive and withdrawn for almost an hour. She threw up for the next 24 hours and it took a week for her arm to return to its normal size. The pediatrician told me my daughter was simply having a reaction to the vaccines, and not to worry.

At the age of 2, Danielle was administered what would become her last vaccine, hemophilus influenza type B. Her health continued to spiral downward and that is when I took the advice of two friends and started investigating alternative medical practices. I was quickly guided to a medical doctor who also practiced homeopathy. Danielle was given a single homeopathic remedy and her croup disappeared for eight months.

Excited by this miracle, I spent the next year researching and using every possible means to help rebuild Danielle’s immune system. The more I learned, the more I realized that not one thing was going to be a cure-all and that it would take a combination of different modalities to establish good health. As Danielle improved in all areas, other parents became curious and wanted to know the secret to our success. That is when I decided to share my newfound knowledge through a newsletter. So in 1988, with a passion in my heart, I began my professional writing career as publisher and editor of Mother to Mother: Another View.

Mother to Mother grew over the next ten years, and became a reliable resource for another point of view. The newsletter also addressed important environmental issues. But in 1998 due to time constraints as a single mother and natural healing consultant, I decided to put the newsletter to rest, while I finished writing The Complete Teething Guide.

Once the book was finished and the Internet had found its place and popularity, I decided to bring Mother to Mother back as a free e-newsletter. However, shortly after the book's release while doing a book signing at a baby expo, I realized there was a huge void for parents in terms of community events for finding healthy natural products, and empowering educational information. So in 2004, I conceived an idea and began production on the Whole Children, Whole Planet Expo – the first natural parenting and family expo to introduce and educate families, professionals and friends about the benefits of sustainable living practices, holistic medicine, non-toxic products, organic foods, better nutrition, enrichment learning programs; and important environmental issues for protecting our children and the planet.

Once the expo was up and running and the Inconvenient Truth era took over, I felt Mother to Mother could use some expansion and decided to combine the knowledge from my two projects creating Eco Family News, which has now evolved into a newsletter, website and internet radio show. And that is my story ...



To visit and sign up for Eco Family News – click here. I hope you enjoy it.

Respectfully,
Kathy Arnos

Danielle and Kathy, daughter and mother 1987

Kathy and Danielle, mother and daughter 2003