I've never hidden my opinion on vaccines & Autism. But lately I've gotten a fresh new wave of questions & friends with new babies. Emails, phone calls & texts that all ask the same question. What would you do? What did you do? What happened with Reid? Do you believe vaccines cause Autism. So..here it is. Here's what I believe. But first, a message to my friends that vaccinate your kids. I think you're doing the right thing for your child. I do not think you're a bad parent because you choose to vaccinate. But sadly, sometimes I feel that you think the opposite of me.
Sometimes, the only way you can learn something is through experience. I learned to never take your eyes off a kid in a pool..not even for one second. Because my son drowned. I learned to question vaccines because my son reacted to one. I don't call you crazy because you vaccinate. But I can't tell you the looks & emails & comments I get because I don't give my kids every single vaccine that comes out. I'm just asking for the same courtesy. The same respect. There are some on BOTH sides that are crazy. Name calling. Insults hurled back & forth about parenting or lack thereof because you do or don't vaccinate.
Before Reid received his last MMR everything was fine. He hit all of his milestones, earlier than most. Was he a little different as a child? Yes. I would say genetics loaded the gun. And I KNOW that the MMR vaccine pulled the trigger. To full blown Autism. Hours after the vaccine, he spiked a raging fever, was covered in a horrible rash, vomited & had black & red diarrhea for 2 days. He was also admitted to the hospital with severe stomach pains & was diagnosed lymphadenitis later that week. Over the next few months whatever problems he had before were now off the charts. He slid back into this nightmare of tantrums, vomiting every day all day, stomach pains, cramps & swelling, not eating, not sleeping, not communicating, he lost the ability to ride a bike, which he did months before. He could no longer swim or write a sentence. He was NOT THE SAME CHILD. Greg & I spent every last dime we had looking for an explanation & received several. But none fit. Then one day I watched Jenny McCarthy on Oprah. I could not breath. She was talking about Autism & every thing fit. Except Reid could talk. I called my childhood friend Aimee, who had been listening to me for years & knew Reid so well. With tears streaming down my face told her I knew that's what it was. I had finally found a solution & it wasn't good. I called the Autism clinic at Texas Children's. For months we waited. I researched, read every book I could find. I stayed up all night every night just scouring for information about what Autism was. Finally our testing day came. Within minutes I saw that the Dr. knew what I knew. We both remained silent & after 3 days of testing the words came. "Your son has a form of Autism called Aspergers. He will never....blah, blah, blah." My heart broke. For Reid & for myself. "You need to mourn the loss of whatever you thought he was going to be." And I did. But then I got mad. No, I got angry. From my research I knew what to do. So we dug in for 3 years of classes. Classes for us, for him, therapy. For everyone. You name the therapy & we did it. And now he is more than I thought he could ever be. Kick Autism's butt every day!
So..about vaccines. I think they serve a purpose. But the dosage is wrong for babies. It's too many too soon. And the people that are making them & saying you need them are making millions. And they add more to the list every year. Why? I just ask that you research. Instead of saying there's NO way that a vaccine could cause Autism. Read. Research. Think. The amount of vaccines given has increased, Autism has increased. When Reid was diagnosed it was 1 in 88. Now it's 1 in 50. There are so many options. Space the vaccines out. Think about what I stand to gain if I'm right. Nothing. What do I win? My son has Autism. Every day for the rest of his life. What does Big Pharm & the govt stand to lose? Millions. Billions. I don't want to be right. I don't want anyone to go through what we did. I pray each time I see a baby getting their vaccines. And I'm SO beyond happy when I see that they're fine.
Here is some more info:
http://gianelloni.wordpress.com/2013/09/13/why-all-the-measles-outbreaks/
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/side-effects.htm
http://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism/facts-about-autism
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/additives.htm
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