by: Jodi Vetter
original image credit: Flickr
I am a non-vaccinating mother to a child on the autism spectrum. Before you throw stones, or tell me about how my decision to be a non-vaccinating parent was driven from the fact that my son has autism, I would like to explain my perspective on the vaccination issue with regards to autism.
original image credit: Flickr
I am a non-vaccinating mother to a child on the autism spectrum. Before you throw stones, or tell me about how my decision to be a non-vaccinating parent was driven from the fact that my son has autism, I would like to explain my perspective on the vaccination issue with regards to autism.
You see, vaccination is not a choice for me. I will not vaccinate my child for his safety. His first reaction occurred when he was 18-months-old, and it was downright terrifying. We were stationed in Germany, and about three hours after he received his MMR, he was burning hot. We took his temperature, and it registered 105.8 degrees. I put him in a cold bath, he started to convulse. When the convulsions stopped, we put him to bed. I slept in the room with him. The next day, he started to vomit and vomit and vomit. He could not keep anything down—not water, not tea, not formula. I ran him to the doctor. I was coming down with a cold myself, because only a few months earlier I had an exposure to anhydrous ammonia, the minor cold I had come down with turned into pneumonia and I was systemically kicked out of my son’s hospital room. He spent 11 days in the hospital. The Germans called his “illness” a negative reaction to vaccination. The Army called it the flu.
After the first instance, he had gotten the flu again, but he had NEVER convulsed, ran a 105.6 fever, or had the multiple febrile seizures he did while he was in the hospital. I questioned vaccines after that, but the doctors told me it was a virus, and that it was perfectly safe to vaccinate again. We moved to Minot AFB, and we were assigned a doctor who said that she would not vaccinate if she were me. She told me that if I opted to vaccinate on the regular schedule, she would not treat my children anymore. We listened to her, and spread out the vaccines on an alternate schedule. He didn’t have another reaction until we moved again, this time to Virginia. They were a little more insistent about vaccinating, and against my better judgment, he was given three vaccines at once with the DTAP.
My husband went TDY the day I took him for his shots. He developed a raised bump at the injection site. The doctor and nurses said that the raised lump was normal. I took him home, and that evening he woke up. He was red all over his entire body. There were raised welts that were about an inch long, burning hot, and ¼ inch high. His entire body swelled. I gave him an antihistamine, and he didn’t sleep for three days. The insomnia got so severe he was given a sleep aid. This was almost 6 years ago, and he still has severe insomnia.
I said never again, and was granted a waiver. We have moved two more times since, and unfortunately, the waiver doesn’t travel with us. In order to get into schools I have to do a horrible thing, and lie. I have to say I am philosophically opposed to vaccines, because the medical community doesn’t believe the reactions my son had to his vaccines. They do not accept the two doctors, who witnessed the reactions, the VAERS reports we submitted. They do not believe one word I say, because my son has autism.
Many parents rail against parents who don’t vaccinate, I understand that completely. I’m on their side, but because my son has autism, I have been painted as a Jenny McCarthy wannabe. I’m told over and over again that science has proven that my son’s reactions didn’t happen (mainly because they cannot determine what precisely caused the reaction). I have been called out as a bad parent. The base personnel have even threatened me. When I go see my son’s doctors I get the look of pity, I get informed over and over and over again that autism isn’t caused by vaccines. I have to bite my tongue. Of course I know that autism is NOT caused by vaccines! But I do know that autism can cause an auto-immune reaction to vaccines. How do I know this? I have autism too, and I have had reactions to vaccines as well. When I entered into active duty (before I was diagnosed), I had a series of vaccines. I ended up in the ER with a dangerous fever and projectile vomiting. When I was tested by the military after the incident, they found nothing. My reaction was written off as a flu bug. Every vaccine since that day has caused a similar reaction, so I am not vaccinated either.
Until the medical community tests the toxic load of vaccines with autistic children, if there is a study that can be done to ascertain why so many children on the spectrum have immunity issues without compromising safety, then vaccination should be a choice for parents who have a real need for a choice. As of right now, I have to rely on philosophical waivers, and if that right is taken away from me, I will be forced to remove my children from school, because I will not vaccinate again until it is proven without a shadow of a doubt that vaccines are safe for my child.
Many Kind Regards,
Jodi
Have you ever worried about being a bad mom? Jessica gave all of us feels when she wrote about post partum depression, and why she was okay with it.
After the first instance, he had gotten the flu again, but he had NEVER convulsed, ran a 105.6 fever, or had the multiple febrile seizures he did while he was in the hospital. I questioned vaccines after that, but the doctors told me it was a virus, and that it was perfectly safe to vaccinate again. We moved to Minot AFB, and we were assigned a doctor who said that she would not vaccinate if she were me. She told me that if I opted to vaccinate on the regular schedule, she would not treat my children anymore. We listened to her, and spread out the vaccines on an alternate schedule. He didn’t have another reaction until we moved again, this time to Virginia. They were a little more insistent about vaccinating, and against my better judgment, he was given three vaccines at once with the DTAP.
My husband went TDY the day I took him for his shots. He developed a raised bump at the injection site. The doctor and nurses said that the raised lump was normal. I took him home, and that evening he woke up. He was red all over his entire body. There were raised welts that were about an inch long, burning hot, and ¼ inch high. His entire body swelled. I gave him an antihistamine, and he didn’t sleep for three days. The insomnia got so severe he was given a sleep aid. This was almost 6 years ago, and he still has severe insomnia.
I said never again, and was granted a waiver. We have moved two more times since, and unfortunately, the waiver doesn’t travel with us. In order to get into schools I have to do a horrible thing, and lie. I have to say I am philosophically opposed to vaccines, because the medical community doesn’t believe the reactions my son had to his vaccines. They do not accept the two doctors, who witnessed the reactions, the VAERS reports we submitted. They do not believe one word I say, because my son has autism.
Many parents rail against parents who don’t vaccinate, I understand that completely. I’m on their side, but because my son has autism, I have been painted as a Jenny McCarthy wannabe. I’m told over and over again that science has proven that my son’s reactions didn’t happen (mainly because they cannot determine what precisely caused the reaction). I have been called out as a bad parent. The base personnel have even threatened me. When I go see my son’s doctors I get the look of pity, I get informed over and over and over again that autism isn’t caused by vaccines. I have to bite my tongue. Of course I know that autism is NOT caused by vaccines! But I do know that autism can cause an auto-immune reaction to vaccines. How do I know this? I have autism too, and I have had reactions to vaccines as well. When I entered into active duty (before I was diagnosed), I had a series of vaccines. I ended up in the ER with a dangerous fever and projectile vomiting. When I was tested by the military after the incident, they found nothing. My reaction was written off as a flu bug. Every vaccine since that day has caused a similar reaction, so I am not vaccinated either.
Until the medical community tests the toxic load of vaccines with autistic children, if there is a study that can be done to ascertain why so many children on the spectrum have immunity issues without compromising safety, then vaccination should be a choice for parents who have a real need for a choice. As of right now, I have to rely on philosophical waivers, and if that right is taken away from me, I will be forced to remove my children from school, because I will not vaccinate again until it is proven without a shadow of a doubt that vaccines are safe for my child.
Many Kind Regards,
Jodi
Have you ever worried about being a bad mom? Jessica gave all of us feels when she wrote about post partum depression, and why she was okay with it.
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