It was such a simple thing, Robin Goffe couldn't believe it. Modern medicine couldn't save her autistic 4-year-old son from life-threatening sinus infections but perhaps a natural remedy could: breast milk.
Last year, when doctors told her that nothing more could be done for her son Ty, Robin rushed from the hospital and drove directly to the University of Utah Medical School library. Remember the movie, "Lorenzo's Oil," about a mother who finds a cure for her son's disease on her own? That could be Robin's story.She and her husband, Brad, spent days poring over medical textbooks and journals, looking for a reason behind Ty's illness and a possible cure. When Robin came across a small story about the healing effects of breast milk on the body's immune system, she knew she had the answer.
Her son needed breast milk. Lots of it. But where would she get it? Meet Kim Bracken and Brenda Mercer, two of Robin's 34 "milk moms." At Robin's request, they're sharing a Free Lunch of hoagie sandwiches and chips in her family room, laughing and comparing child-rearing stories as though they've known each other since high school.
Nine months ago, the women were strangers, but now they're great friends, brought together in the hope of saving a sick child's life.
"How could I not help?" asks Kim, a mother of three, including 4-month-old Jacob, who she bounces in her arms while eating her sandwich. "I have an abundant supply of milk -- more than enough for Jacob. Why not help Ty?"
"What they're doing is overwhelming -- they're doing the most loving thing I can think of," says Robin, 37, who has two other children and works as a flight attendant. "It's unbelievable how many women have sacrificed for one little boy."
After Robin hung up signs at church and at her Delta Airlines office, asking for donations of breast milk, she wondered whether anybody would bother to call. "I was worried that people might think it was kind of freaky," she says. "But I had such a strong hunch that (breast milk) would work, I had to take that chance."
That same afternoon, she received her first call, and within days, more than a dozen nursing mothers were dropping by with little jars of breast milk, pumped especially for Ty.
"It was around Christmas when we handed Ty that first glass of beautiful yellow mother's milk," says Robin. "Now he's drinking about a half gallon a day and has never had to go a single day without. I honestly believe he wouldn't be here today if not for my milk moms."
Although there is no medical proof, Robin believes her son's autism and health problems started after he had a severe reaction to his vaccination for measles, mumps and rubella at 13 months old.
"He slowly stopped talking over a two-year period and developed sinus infections that got worse and worse," she says. "Through my research, I came up with what I feel is a link to his vaccination. But just try getting the medical community to back me up on that."
The good news is that Ty is now speaking in sentences, is no longer sick and will soon be starting preschool. "Within days of drinking the milk, his skin was pink and glowing instead of translucent," says Robin. "He no longer had seizures and started sleeping through the night. He was a different person."
"There is no greater gift anyone can give me or my son," she adds, hugging Brenda and Kim. "There are women getting up in the middle of the night to pump milk for Ty. I've even had flight attendants from other states hop on a plane on their day off to bring my son milk."
"It's a miracle," she says quietly. "That's really all you can call it. A miracle."
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