‘I find things easier’ - Family’s fight to support eight-year-old suffering from mercury poisoning

The family of an eight-year-old boy have shared their health journey after he displayed symptoms caused by mercury poisoning.

For most of his life Nathan Harris, from Drayton, has experienced concentration and memory problems, being injury-prone and losing his temper at “the flick of a switch”.

His mum Louise said after a test showed he had mercury toxicity in his body, she set out to improve his gut health and address his body’s mineral balance.

Since December, she says Nathan has not injured himself and has seen improvements in his work and temper.

Miss Harris said: “He can now write beautifully, remembers things, listens first time, can follow instructions and doesn’t get angry at the flick of a switch. The transformation is huge.

“It’s been years and years of struggles turned into months of healing, and the results have paid off.”

The 40-year-old said the first time Nathan went to hospital was when he was around six weeks old when he turned blue due to a floppy larynx. He also had acid reflux and constipation.

Growing up, Nathan would find himself in hospital “every other month” from broken bones and injuries which he did not feel the pain from.

When he started school, he found it hard to concentrate and started to become anxious.

The family went to the Indigo Centre in Norwich and Nathan was diagnosed with dyslexia, dyspraxia and was seem to be displaying signs of ASD / ADHD.

Miss Harris decided to move Nathan to Horsford Primary School and praised the work of staff for the support they have given him.

Miss Harris said: “I went on a quest to help him. Some people told me I couldn’t accept the labels he was given, but the truth was, I couldn’t accept that there was nothing I could do to help him.

“If people can have a car accident and get brain damage and recover, in my head he had a chance.

To try and understand more, Miss Harris took a diploma looking at the gut and brain. She said she read about links between ADHD and mercury poisoning and decided to have Nathan tested.

Using a hair mineral test, Nathan’s mineral balance and metal toxicity were examined by a lab in America.

The report showed Nathan was low in zinc and had mercury toxicity.

All humans will accumulate metal in their blood but the World Health Organisation (WHO) said levels of mercury exposure can impact on a child’s memory, attention, language and spacial awareness, symptoms Miss Harris said Nathan has displayed in the past.

Since the test, the family have tried to eat more food that helps the gut such as probiotic yoghurt and smoothies and focus on removing metals from the body to balance his mineral levels and work on his reflexes.

Nathan said: “I feel different, it was hard and now it easy. I enjoy reading, I didn’t before. I find it easier to make friends and kick the ball.”

His brother Leon, 10, added; “It wasn’t easy to play with him, if we were playing with Lego and I knocked one of the pieces off he would get so cross and try to kick and punch me. Now he will ask can I fix it.”