Miracle Creek

Elizabeth met Kitt at the doctor’s office. At first, Elizabeth finds Kitt’s constant chatter annoying, but after Henry’s diagnosis, as Elizabeth was leaving the office, Kitt recognized Elizabeth’s devastation and “hugged her, a tight, never-ending hug reserved for the most intimate of friends. She had no idea why this inappropriate hug from this inappropriate stranger should feel anything other than awkward, but it felt comforting, like family, and she hugged her back and cried” (195). After that, they became close friends.

Things changed when they began trying biomedical treatments for autism, such as experimental diets and supplements. Henry responded very well to these measures; indeed, Henry “was the Holy Grail of biomed treatments, the so-called Super Responder” (197). TJ did not respond, which Elizabeth attributed to Kitt’s “loosey-goosey” adherence to the treatments (198). Friction developed between the two, and their friendship was effectively over when Henry’s neurologist “retested Henry and pronounced him as ‘no longer falling within the autism spectrum’” (201).

Elizabeth missed Kitt, however, and hoped their friendship would regain its former closeness when both Henry and TJ signed up for the HBOT sessions. However, Kitt did not understand Elizabeth’s continued use of treatments for Henry, even going as far as to say that Elizabeth had “worked hard to strip away the autism” and now has Henry as he was meant to be.