No one knows your child better than you do. |
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Feb 23, 2010
If I Had Known Then
I remember sitting in my new pediatrician’s office, when I eight months pregnant, discussing what his views were on well child visits. As we sat and chatted I was sure I had found the perfect pediatrician for my first baby. As we were getting up to leave, he handed me a packet. He called it “propaganda”. He said as we walked down the hall, “Read this packet of propaganda on the adverse effects of vaccines, but don’t worry…the risk of anything happening is very slim.” So with that we said goodbye and I tucked the packet away. How I wish I could go back to that day and ask all the questions I now know to ask! A few weeks later my son was born a healthy little boy and immediately started his immunization schedule at his first appointment. I dutifully took him every two months and received the battery of vaccinations. At that time we didn’t think anything of the fact that he wasn’t interested in toys like other kids or that he didn’t babble or smile much. He seemed to learn these things at a slower rate, but then would lose the skills he had gained. As a Special Education teacher, I knew in my heart that something was very wrong with my little boy. My pediatrician was reassuring and tried to calm my fears, but something inside me just ached. At twelve months I requested an evaluation for my son and at fifteen months he was evaluated by a Speech Therapist. I remember her coming to me in the waiting room and in front of the rest of families she said, “There is something very wrong with your child. I suspect it is a form of autism. You need to call for a full evaluation.” With that she walked away and my life crumbled and has forever changed. The last three years have been filled with countless hours of ABA therapy (applied behavioral analysis), occupational therapy, physical therapy, music therapy, and special classes, not to mention constantly digging to find out what caused this in my little boy. I took a Special Education position teaching children with autism. This allowed me access to the whole world of approaches and theories of what could have happened to my son. One characteristic related to their overall physical health. Many children with Pervasive Developmental Disorders, which my son was diagnosed as having, seem to fit the same pattern. One of the first theories I ran across was the fact that these children were often sick and the likelihood of them having received a vaccine when their bodies were already naturally in an altered immune state is high. We were always at the doctor for ear infections and respiratory infections. In my son’s case that means his body probably couldn’t handle the stress of the vaccines. He should never have received any vaccinations when he was sick. Some physicians seem to be careful to not give vaccines to children who are running a fever, but there seems to be considerably less caution to giving them to children that are running an ear infection or slight upper respiratory infection, or consideration given to allowing the child’s immune system to return to a normal strong state after having recently having an illness. The attention not being given to how infections within the body, even minus the absence of a fever, can already have the immune system temporarily in high gear, may be a huge contributory reason we are seeing devastating results in our children receiving vaccines. A heightened immune system in the throws of fighting an infection can and will react differently to the invasion of yet another element. About two years ago I attended a conference in which a presenter talked about the fact that there was thimerosal in children’s vaccines. I listened with interest as I was told that from 1998 to 2000 many children received vaccines that had well over the limit of what was considered safe levels of thimerosal. Thimerosal was used as a preservative in vaccines for many years. In 2000 there were changes made in the production of vaccines which eliminated thimerosal from most immunizations, but sadly many doctors continued to use the supplies that they had in their offices. As I listened I realized that I had a thimerosal allergy and I remember audibly gasping when Irealized that I might have found another possibility of what caused my son’s disability. I spoke with my pediatrician right after that conference. He immediately started digging into the research and when we sat down to look at my son’s vaccination record, his shoulders sank. The realization was weighed heavy. He turned and looked at me and said, “My God, if we look at where he regressed in his development, it coincides with all four of his DPT vaccines. From what I have found, they were the ones that contained the highest levels of thimerosal.” So finally we seemed to have narrowed down what caused my son’s developmental delays. My son is making great progress and continues to gain skills, but we don’t know if he will ever be the child he should have developed into. Now when I talk with new moms I always tell them to be an equal partner in their child’s health care. You need to do the research, be as educated as the doctors on immunizations and not be afraid to say, “I am not comfortable with that for my child”. Had I known that five years ago, my son wouldn’t have gotten any vaccinations when he was even slightly sick, I wouldn’t have dismissed the seemingly mild reactions after the shots. I would have known exactly what was in that syringe that was injected into my child. We now have our daughter and she has received her vaccines, but we ask questions and research every shot she receives. We have broken down and spaced out the shots that are typically given in combinations. She doesn’t get any vaccination if she has been sick within seven days of the appointment. Thankfully, she seems to be developing normally. I just saw my pediatrician at a recent visit and we talked about my son. My son is getting ready for kindergarten in the fall, and we are faced with the requirement of booster shots for his vaccines. My pediatrician said that he feels my son has made such incredible progress over the last few years it is amazing. He also feels that vaccines had a hand in causing his delays and agrees that giving my son booster shots is taking a very serious risk that he could regress just as he did when he was younger. So with that our final decision has been made. My son will not receive another vaccine for the rest of his life. Had I been armed with the information I have now it is very possible our lives would be vastly different. For further reading: Autism and Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) 4 Responses to “If I Had Known Then” |
Your story has brought me into tears. The same thing happened to my oldest and there isnt a day that goes by where I wish I researched the vaccines my son got, My Alex came out very normal but I always told listen to the doctor, my son always had ear infections and lung infections, the infections were all the time. My daughter got vaccines spaced apart and is very normal and as for my youngest I am scared to give him a vaccine. Hes 1 year and is healthy he had one fever and once he got the motrin it went away. Thank you for story and I wish the best for you and your family.
This mother is claiming that her young child was injured by vaccines. Her doctor now knows it was the vaccines. I don’t get it. They both know that vaccines can seriously harm, but decided to still vaccinate her daughter? That makes no sense. This kind of logic is EXACTLY why we are still feuding with Big Pharma and our government officials about possible forced vaccination. Wake up America. Vaccines don’t work and cause brain damage and early death.
My husband did all the research… My son has just now celebrated his first year. He is still primarily being breast fed. I am so sorry for all the people that are getting taken by Big Pharma and our gov't. My son hasn't received any vaccinations, and most of my family thinks we're crazy and that if he doesn't receive them soon he might come down with something… But then again, they also thought we were nuts when we had our baby at home, breastfeed, I haven't gone back to work, my baby still sleeps with my husband and I, my husband is attempting to grow a garden without store bought pesticides, so does that make us hippies or tree huggers?? i'm planning to keep breastfeeding as long as my son wants, that should help us with immunity from a lot of things.
I too thought I was doing the right thing with my oldest son, getting him all his vaccines exactly on time with the pediatrician's schedule. I didn't like him getting 5 or 6 shots each visit at those three requested newborn vaccination dates, 2, 4, and 6 months, but I didn't stop to worry what was going into his tiny, brand new immune system. I knew I'd had vaccines as a child, and I was fine. What I didn't realize is that I had a few individual vaccines. Not multiple multiples on the same day, and probably not that early in life either.
I can't point to a time my son regressed. He was very bright from day one and still is a genius. But his Asperger's has hurt him a lot throughtout his childhood. It made it very hard for him to be around people, though he wanted to. He had no social skills, no self control, and needed things to happen a certain way or he would become very upset, out of his ability to calm. Tantrums were vicious: he was highly verbal and bright, but zero self control. it was very hard to raise him and very hard to BE him.
He has now graduated from high school and wants to work in programming, a career well suited to him. But so much of life is social. I still worry about his ability to have a relationship, family, bosses, children. It won't be easy.
I do not know if the vaccines "did it," but I have been around many parents of kids with autism that did notice a precise regression after a vaccine. My second and third kids were vaccinated very late or not at all (my 3rd – he had too many allergies and was so small).