My daughter was past due for her three month vaccinations. When I took her in, she got a shot in each leg, plus an oral polio. They wanted to do another shot to “catch up” but I declined, agreeing to return in two weeks.
I had no idea at the time how huge that decision would turn out to be.
Within hours, my daughter changed. I don’t know how else to describe it. Her face was just… different. She was crying different. She was acting different. Within twelve hours, she had a low grade temperature and an unexplainable rash.
I called my pediatrician and told her what was going on. I told her she had just received her first round of vaccinations. The doctor simply instructed me to give her acetaminophen (Tylenol). I already had, but I continued giving her a dose every four hours.
It didn’t help.
In fact, my daughter seemed increasingly distraught. Within the next couple weeks, I must have called the pediatrician about half a dozen times. She still had the fever. She still had the rash. She still acted funny. The only change was that the rash would disappear and then show up again somewhere else.
“Something is wrong.” I insisted. I kept mentioning the vaccinations, but the doctor always said it “couldn’t be that.”
So I did the only thing I knew what to do. I Googled her symptoms. I typed “child+fever+traveling rash+strange cry” and hit enter.
The first page was full of words like “immunization”, “reaction”, “emergency room”, “vaccinations”, and “adverse effects”. I began to shake inside, sick with the knowledge that in doing what I believed was right, I may have done irreparable damage to my sweet baby girl. She had all the signs of children experiencing more serious reactions to a vaccine. What hit me like a punch to the gut was that she was having many of the signs of children who later slipped deeper into autism.
I called my pediatrician once again. When I told her what I suspected, I was met with silence. She then repeated her mantra, “It couldn’t be that.”
“Why not?” I asked, completely dumbfounded. “It all began the very day she had her shots.”
Silence.
“Have you changed your laundry detergent?”
So that’s where it was going. Nowhere. The doctor was faced with a child experiencing classic adverse reactions to a vaccine and all she could do was try to pin it on soap? She refused to even discuss the possibility, refused to tell me why, and refused to report it. Doctors are required by law to report adverse reactions, by the way.
And so began my journey into the world of no answers. A place where emotions run high, opinions are deep, and deception is the name of the game.
I immediately began reading all I could on vaccinations. I began, of course, with how to reverse adverse affects. My daughter is completely normal now, thank God. I don’t think she would be if she would have received that “just one more” shot that day or even weeks after.
The fact that parents vaccinate their children doesn’t bother me. What concerns me is the idea many have that parents should not have a choice in the matter. And what frustrates me is that those who administer vaccines do not make the information and education readily available for parents to be able to make that choice.
Oh, I’m not talking about the pretty colored sheets that they hand you when you go to get their shots. Those are practically useless, and only lend credence to the claim that any information they do make available is extremely one sided. And yes, the information is in large part one-sided. I have no illusions that the medical field is looking out for my child’s best interest.
What about telling parents about things they could do to help prevent damage from vaccines? Don’t confuse that with making the child more comfortable by administering Tylenol. I’m referring to things like homeopathics and large quantities of Vitamin C. (Oh, wait. I forgot. Those are just snake oil and voodoo.)
What about checking vaccine antibody levels (titers) instead of automatically giving booster shots that could very well be unnecessary?
What about warning parents that children who have siblings with diabetes may have an increased risk of adverse reaction to the MMR?
What about warning parents that children with digestive or gut issues may have an increased risk of an adverse vaccine reaction? (It is my suspicion this is why my daughter experienced such a strong adverse reaction. She had digestive issues and severe constipation since birth. To which my pediatrician simply advised daily doses of corn syrup. Yes, corn syrup.)
Why do they call them immunizations?
Why is it so difficult to find anyone who will administer just one or two desired vaccines? Why is it so difficult to find a doctor who is willing to spread out the vaccines? Why is the CDC schedule more revered than the responsibility to view each patient as an individual?
Why do they so often try to avoid giving a parent the Lot number for the vaccine? Why isn’t this information given automatically, as part of administering the vaccine?
Why is the Hep B vaccine given to every newborn at birth, regardless of the baby’s risk of the disease? Why is opting out of the vaccine so difficult even when it is clearly not necessary? Why are parents who choose to do so treated like they are irresponsible? Why does the waiver sheet in essence say the parents are admitting negligence?
And on and on and on.
There is so much more I could say, especially in light of recent “news”. Another day, perhaps.
