Bone Broth Brigade Helps Houston Family Through Crisis

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Photo of the Joshua Berry Family Taken Before the Accident

by Kimberly Hartke

On July 2, 11:30pm, a Houston family was driving home in their van from a family vacation in Colorado. In a split second, their journey ended violently, an SUV crossed the median, and crashed headlong into their van. The two parents were killed, three children survived with serious injuries. The two boys ages 9, 8 were dealt spinal injuries, their little sister, age 6, was left with multiple broken bones.

Simone Berry and her sister, Jodi Ladetzky are members of the Weston A. Price Foundation. They have traveled to many conferences on nutrition and health over the past few years, among them, Wise Traditions, Fourfold Path to Healing and Nourishing for Pregnancy.

Simone, and her husband Matt, and their two children were staying for the summer near Jodi in San Francisco when they learned of the accident. The parents of two, suddenly, find themselves responsible for three additional children.

It was Matt who lost his older brother in this horrific accident. Matt and Simone, left their children in Jodi’s care and rushed to a small town hospital trauma center several states away to be with their nephews and niece.

How many times have we heard other crushing stories like this on the news?  What happened next gives one hope that goodness abounds in tragedy.

Jodi received a call from a friend in Houston who heard the news. The Berry children had been transferred back to a hospital in Houston, but she couldn’t reach Simone.

“What can I do to help?” asked Amy Powers, a long time friend.

Because of her belief that food is medicine, Jodi’s instant answer was, “It would just be amazing if you made some soup. Simone loves her broth, and we need bone broth for these children, to help them heal.”

A Group of Moms Fire up their Stoves to Strengthen the Family

Amy happened to have the Nourishing Traditions cookbook, because Simone had given it to her for a gift a couple of years ago. She pulled it off the shelf and set out to do what she could to help her friends. She had always admired the “Weston Price” kitchen that her friends Jodi and Simone kept, and she was a little embarrassed to admit that she had never made a traditional bone broth, herself.

Amy’s act of giving inspired others. She sent an email to other friends asking them to join her in providing wholesome broth to the family still in shock and reeling from crisis.

Peter Berry

Soon Amy had ten other families involved in making bone broth, she dubbed it the “Broth Brigade”. People who had never heard of Weston Price, took the copy of Sally Fallon’s recipe and began to make batches of bone broth to nourish the Berry children.

Simone is also keeping her strength by drinking the broth. Says Jodi, “Simone is living moment to  moment with the bone broth to sustain her through the ordeal.”

“This broth brigade is nourishing not only the Berry family, but the all those who volunteered,” exclaims, Amy, “Now that we have learned of the wonders of this soup, we are serving it to our own families.”

To listen to Jodi describe it, it has become a phenomenon.

“Bone broth is a magic healing food for bones, ligaments, and connective tissue. It is an ideal food for recovery, and it helps to eliminate nausea  caused by medication,” says Sally Fallon Morell, President of the Weston A. Price Foundation and author of the cookbook, Nourishing Traditions.

The Community Rises Out of Concern for the Children

The broth brigade is not the only form of generosity extended to this family during their time of need. The entire Houston community has rallied around this family. Starting with the family’s Jewish community, the business community, the media, professional athletes have all made their own unique gestures of comfort and support.

Every sports team in town has sent a delegation to visit the children in the hospital, the Houston Texans, the Dynamos, and the Astros.

An ice cream store raised $35,000 in one day from their ice cream sales, a community dog wash fundraiser raised $7000, and even children’s bake sale raised $1500.

“It is beautiful to see humanity working together,” says Amy.

Little Aaron underwent surgery right after the accident.

A trust has been set up called the Joshua and Robin Berry Children’s Trust. The numerous fund raising efforts are taking place to fund the trust. The trust already has 18,000+ friends on Facebook. All funds raised will go to provide the best medical care available to address the children’s injuries.

Both boys are currently in wheelchairs, not able to walk yet, as a result of the spine injuries.  Their little sister has a broken ankle and broken arm.

Last week, Aunt Simone accompanied the oldest boy, Peter, to Shriners Hospital for Children in Chicago, where he is undergoing physical therapy. Little Willa remains in Houston, and father Matt will arrive today in Chicago with nephew, Aaron and his son Noah. Aaron will also enter rehabilitation at Shriners, alongside his brother.

Amy recruited another friend, who lives in Chicago, to be the soup coordinator during the expected 6-8 week stay there.  Julie has already found a local caterer willing to help provide the nutrient rich broth.

Amy shares, “There is no one more capable than Simone to nurse these children back to health. Simone in her heart and soul believes the children will get better. Her goal is to see the boys up and walking again.”

How You Can Help

Show Your Hearts is a Celebrity Led Fundraising Campaign

Today, a fund raising effort called Show Your Hearts begins for the Berry’s, backed by celebrities, Britney Spears, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Usher, Lady Gaga, Ryan Seacrest, The Kardashians, and Selena Gomez. It is estimated that the needed medical care could cost upwards of five to ten million dollars.

Those who donate at least $5 to the trust for these children will be receive a Show Your Heart avatar to put on your Facebook and Twitter page. You can also Text BERRY to 85944 to make a $10 donation remember to reply yes to confirm your gift. Donations are NOT tax deductible.

Change your profile picture to this avatar and post the campaign on your page to help it go viral!

For those who want more information about the healing properties of bone broth, please see Sally Fallon Morell’s popular article, Broth is Beautiful.

See Today’s Related Story, How to Organize a Broth Brigade.

Kimberly Hartke is the publicist for nutrition education non-profit, the Weston A. Price Foundation. Bone broth, among other dietary and lifestyle changes has helped her successfully eliminate chronic knee pain.

This post is part of the Real Food Wednesday blog carnival, please see the nourishing real food recipes on Kellythekitchenkop.com.