Jarynsmom,
I'll post our story about vaccinations. I've posted it before, but it sums up our experience pretty well. I hope it helps you to understand as we were in your shoes once, as well!
We used to be like you. Not vaccinate? What kind of whacko doesn't care enough for their child (not even talking about society) to protect them from such horrible diseases??
Crunchy Granola Radicals, all of 'em. Probably only eat veggies and don't shave their legs... Certainly not "normal" people, like us.
I signed that consent form in the hospital when ds was a day old to ok his getting the HepB vax (because it is the law, stated the nurse). I never thought to even ask WHAT HepB was exactly. If "they" said he needed it, it must be okay, so........
We took our son in for his 2, 4 and 7 month exams (late on the 6 month because of weather concerns driving the 180 mile roundtrip to the office) like good parents are supposed to do. He was doing wonderfully, gaining weight and length ahead of schedule and breastfed like a champ from birth onward, no problems at all. He got his shots and I held back tears as he cried, accepting without questioning, this part of well-child checks.
I was never given a vaccine information sheet (VIS) or asked to sign a consent form at any of those visits. I was never told about any possible problems related to vaccinating. I never noted if the nurse noted the lot numbers on the records (why would I even think about such a thing). The shots were just given and I was told what they were for. I never asked why our son needed a shot for this or that, I never asked about what was in the vaccines or what about the diseases was so bad. I simply accepted, rather, no, completely blindly, the absolute knowledge the doctor has. They couldn't give out anything that wasn't completely safe, right?
And, so our son received 6 different vaccines at his well-child visit at the age of 7 months. OPV (oral polio vaccine, yup, it was still being used in 1999), HepB, DPT and Hib.
He had just passed, with flying colours (I was so proud), his physical exam. He was ahead of schedule on everything and the doctor was glowing. Though he was telling me we could start solids, I ignored this piece of advice with a smile, knowing we were going to hold off solids for awhile longer, based on personal feelings.
And so, the doctor left and the nurse came in, bearing her steel tray with various hypodermics on it. She gave him his oral dose of polio vaccine and then BAM-BAM-BAM, two shots in one thigh and one in the other.
His reaction was swift and frightening. Within 30 SECONDS of receiving these vaccines, he went into anaphalactic shock. Lost consciousnes, no blood pressure, blue-gray skin, stopped breathing.
They resusitated him with who-knows-what in more shots (the meds were never listed on the medical record, but then, neither was the reaction). A routine 20 minute well-baby check turned into several hours of fear. Our doctor simply said, "Don't worry, sometimes, these things happen. You have a fainter! He'll be fine."
I'd never heard of babies fainting from shots, but I knew that adults sometimes did, so maybe it happened with infants? And, what happened was certainly NOT fainting. But, good little person that I was, I didn't question the great and mighty doctor about his diagnosis.
We were finally allowed to leave, with the dark advice to stay in town for awhile longer and head to the ER if he had any additional symptoms... As though I needed to be instructed to do that.
Fortunately, for us, he recovered, though he slept all the way home (2 hour drive) and was fitful that night. In the long run, no lasting problems. He hasn't been vaxxed since.
Shortly after that, we mentioned what had happened to a friend. She said that it sounded like a vaccine reaction (we had never heard of such a thing). She pointed us in the direction of research, and we began our journey into the world of medical journals (ever hear of JAMA or Lancet?), the WHO, CDC and NIH websites. We read pharmaceutical journals and reference books (PDR). We spoke with other doctors (not much help, actually as they depend on the pharma reps for most of their info, and Docs only get about three hours of education on vaccines in med school), pharma reps (those guys are a joke, they are salesmen, nothing more) and even veterinarians (don't laugh, they ordered mercury removed from animal vaccines years ago!). We read books, magazines and scanned the Internet sites, pro-, anti-, and on-the-fence.
In the end, it was obvious as to what our choice was. The most natural one.
No more vaccinations, for any of us.
For us, it was an easy decision. No more poisons in our child. See, it isn't just mercury. It's the host of other KNOWN toxins and carcinogenic ingredients (aluminum, formaldehyde, anti-freeze, fetal stems cells, ANIMAL cells and more).
Diseases aren't the scary things they used to be. Better health (and, health care) and cleaner environments have much to do with this. Even the diseases that are routinely used to try to fear us into vaxxing are not as bad as they are made out. My parents are both 85. They remember polio epidemics that hit both coasts (Dad in the East, Mom out West) when they were kids and adults. Many of their friends contracted polio. But, you know what? None of their aquaintances suffered long-term effects. Many had polio and never even knew it. We have one friend that did contract it in Africa, in 1956. She spent some time in an iron lung (in Morocco, where the medical care was not the best). But, she survived and is fine today (a vital 83 year old).
I am 46. I had measles as a child. I had rubella, whooping cough, scarlet fever (NO vaccine for that one!), chicken pox and mumps, as well. So did all my siblings (there are 4 of us). We came through all of them fine. My dh had these same ones, save for the scarlet fever. Our parents had them, too.
Yes, ALL of us ARE continually bombarded with environmental hazards, as many like to remind us, pollution in so many forms, radiation, bacteria & viruses, the current administration...
Some of these hazards we can't control: we drive cars and buy groceries and live in a house and wear purchased clothes that are not necessarily 100% organic cotton (and we didn't vote for the guy in the White House)!
Some hazards we can: we live away from the cities in a rural area on a large parcel of land. We have a well that is 750' deep. We have it tested yearly and know what is and isn't in it. We live in an area of the country (in a rural setting) that is so free of air pollution as to say it is pure. We homeschool so as to give our son the best we can, educationally, environmentally and socially. We grow all our own fruit and veggies, organically. We eat free-range meat from a local rancher. We don't eat any fish (fresh or marine). We plant trees all over our property. We recycle and support environmentally-friendly organizations.
On some, we compromise: we have a computer and TV (though no reception) for use with the DVD and VCR. I wear a watch with a glow-in-the-dark face.
We are not in a bubble, however, nor is our son. Being homeschooled, he goes everywhere with me. He is exposed to disease in the environment everyday (as are all of us), including two attempts to "make" him catch chicken pox by exposing him to children that had it. No good, he remains "pox-less! He is now 6 1/2, and has had nothing more than a couple of sniffles in his life. His immune system is strong enough without the dubious "benefit" of vaccines.
Should he receive another of the vaccines he got at 7 months, we would probably lose him permanently. See, subsequent reactions are always worse. There is no way to test him as to which caused it. It was probably the pertussis component of the DTP, as that is the worst in the bunch.
We stopped well-child checks, as well, after his reaction. There didn't seem to be much point since he was not getting any vaccinations. Afterall, I was perfectly capable of measuring him and checking various sources to see how he was progressing. Happy to say, he's survived just fine without those journeys to see the all-powerful physicians!
We have been refused as potential patients be multiple physicians' offices because of our no-vax decision (even in light of it being MEDICAL in nature!). Other offices have said, we'd have to vaccinate, they'd just be ready for a reaction. Yeah, right........
I am not completely anti-mainstream medical, either. I appreciate them and KNOW they do a lot of good (they kept my late mother-in-law comfortable as she lay dying from lung cancer several years ago). But, like anything, I don't take them at face value.
We have had friends refuse to allow their vaccinated children play with our unvaccinated son. What are they afraid of? If vaccines work as well as they seem to believe, what's the problem???
You must remember, NO VACCINE IS 100% GUARANTEED EFFECTIVE OR SAFE. So, just because you were immunized, you could/can still contract a disease. It may allow you a milder case, but it is still the disease.
So, if you've read this far, I thank you! I wanted you to see that those of us that make this decision do so after MUCH research, and into areas of knowledge that go beyond one website.
We look behind the people that write the information and find out where THEY are coming from regarding this subject. Many of them have financial ties in the vaccine game, and, unless you look deeply, you will take anything they say at face value (paid for, thank you very much, by the pharma companies!). Push vaccines, get a paycheck.
I prefer MY information from a wider source, and ones less-biased.
So, ask questions, that's good! But, also, widen your research. And respect those of us that differ in what we say and do, we'll do the same in return.. We'll listen politely to you if you'll listen politely to us!
By the way, I guess I turned into one of those Crunch Granola Radicals! I breastfed until our son was 4 1/2 years old, we still co-sleep and we DO eat a lot of veggies.
However, I still shave my legs....
Leslie
to the board. congrats on your new little guy.
