Looking for children with measles, mumps, pertussis, meningitis all over U.S. (x-posted in Tribes)

[tarasuetx]

Hey everyone!

Weird subject line, I know, but bear with me... I'm attempting the impossible by working full-time while finishing my Master's degree and raising a 15-month old. I know so many mamas on these forums can relate! So, I'm asking for help with an incredibly sensitive request that I know is a long shot, but I'm having a hard time knowing where else to look. My degree is for my Master's in photojournalism at Univ of Texas-Austin and it's related to vaccines and the diseases they protect against. My project is to photographically document the effects of a handful of those diseases. I need to find two or three families who have a child with one of these diseases who will be open to allowing me to interview and photograph them. I know this is a TALL order - who wants to be questioned and photographed by a stranger (and a journalist, much less) during such a trying time as when a child is seriously ill? However, I'm hoping my sincerity and my background will help a family consider the possibility.

I'm a high school teacher and a mom of a 15-month old, and I was drawn into this project because of all the uncertainty about vaccines and the diseases they protect against and my own confusion and uncertainty in deciding how many vaccinations to give my son and when. A large number of young parents - probably a majority - don't really know much about these diseases or what they look like (except the flu and maybe chicken pox if they had it as a kid). I feel an important part of informed choice is for parents to understand what's really in vaccines, how vaccines work, how effective they are/aren't, AND what the diseases themselves look like/act like/etc. That last part often gets left out of the discussion.

The project needs to be completed by December, but I'm able/willing to travel anywhere in the continental U.S. or Canada. The diseases I most hope to document are measles, pertussis and HiB m or meningitis because they are among the most contagious and can all lead to the most serious consequences. However, my project is flexible in these early stages because the fact of the matter is that most people don't know much about ANY of these diseases, so even documenting one or two of any of these will be part of what I hope is a public service.

If anyone can assist in any way, whether by connecting me with a family or offering suggestions, I'm all ears and I would extremely appreciative. I can also email my formal proposal to anyone interested.

Thanks so much in advance if anyone can help out! I can't wait until this degree is DONE and I can spend more time with my son!

[ma2two]

By reaching out to MDC members, you probably won't find the kind of story you're looking for. From what I've read, non-vaccinating parents whose kids have had pertussis, measles, and mumps most often say that the illnesses were a lot less scary than the media likes to report, and that they have no regrets not vaccinating. We also know of effective natural ways to treat these illnesses, such as sodium ascorbate for pertussis and vitamin A for measles.

You'd probably have more luck getting an interesting story by reaching out to the general population. When their vaccinated kids get pertussis and measles, they are quite angry, and blame non-vaccinating parents.

[emmy526]

You mite have better luck calling major university hospitals/health dept's in a given area and explain your story and see if they know of any families that might be willing to work with you.