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Sunday, December 09, 2007

Vaccines, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and Our family

This will prove to be the first of a LONG list of posts regarding this subject. Do not fear. We will continue to post pics of the kiddos on this blog regularly, but I am also choosing to use this as an information avenue for friends and family who are interested in our daily battle with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Tonight I will just give an intro to our story. For many of you, this will be totally new news, but we have been fighting this fight for over 1 1/2 years now. In a nutshell, our babies were born at 32 weeks and were very healthy with the exception of having severe acid reflux. Otherwise, they were 'neurotypical' which is the PC way of saying that they were 'normal'. Our children were hitting milestones for their actual age, rather than adjusted ages (they were 8 weeks premature, so for the first 2 years of life, doctors viewed them as 2 mos younger than they actually were.) At any rate, our pediatrician said repeatedly "Sunny, I just can't believe this are preemies; and I REALLY can't believe they are triplets. They are doing great". I received this report over and over, which was incredibly encouraging.

Then we went in for our 6 mos shots, b/c why wouldn't we? Only quacks don't vaccinate--so I thought. Everyone got their shots and we went home. We continued with the normal daily routine, but something wasn't right with Kyan. He was fussy, which I expected, but he was also lethargic. I don't mean sleepy--I mean medically lethargic. NON-RESPONSIVE. This bright-eyed little guy who had been grinning, interacting with us, and responding when we called his name was no longer doing any of those things. This went on for days. The lights were on, but no one was home.

I FREAKED OUT. At that point, I began to do my own research in to this black hole of vaccinations and the havock they can and do wreak on millions of children in this country every year. I read everything I could get my hands on. I was blown away. It went from bad to worse, suddenly by 9 mos, my kids weren't quite so 'on track' developmentally, and by 12 mos, they all qualified for therapy for developmental delays. Kynsie had spiraled downhill quickly, and was showing many red flags for full blown autism.

I began logging late nights studying and reading everything I could get my hands on from Medical doctors and medical researchers, and specialists in the field of vaccine damage and Autistic Spectrum Disorders. At that time, all of our therapists felt that Kynsie was very likely autistic and they were on the fence about Kyan.

We stopped vaccinating our children, because I had read enough from well-sited resources to know that there is certainly enough smoke with vaccines, and I believed in my gut that there had to be some fire somewhere.

It is rarely popular to go against the grain and fight the status quo, but it is even more unpopular when you are resisting mainstream medicine in the U.S. Upon deciding to stop vaccinating, we were promptly fired from our pediatrician's office. And so the battle began. That was a particularly dark time for me. I was watching my children struggle and slip away and I felt so helpless. My family and friends wanted to be supportive, but they wondering if I had a screw loose somewhere. As I said--only quacks don't vaccinate their children.

Even so, we moved forward searching for help for our kids. I said from the onset that it is not my job to be an activist. I am just a parent trying to rescue my children. But as the last 1 1/2 yrs have worn on and I have watched them struggle, and listened to the misinformation and in some cases bold-faced lies that parents are being fed, and I have slowly moved from a low-simmer to a heated boil. I recently made the decision that I am an activist b/c someone has to be. Parents have to stand up and start kicking and screaming and fighting until something radical changes in this country. And actually, I feel better about that decision than I did about keeping quiet. So, my entries here will tell you about our journey so far.

The milestones and miracles that we have lived. The heartbreaking realities that we have faced. The team of doctors, therapists and family members who are guiding my children out of the wilderness of Autistic Spectrum Disorder. I will discuss the radical changes we have made to help our children. I will also post resources.

But before we go any further, I have to thank my parents. I thank God every day that they raised me to think for myself...that they taught me to do what I knew was right even if it was not popular. I am so grateful that they instilled in me a self-confidence that has allowed me to make tough decisions for my children, even in the face of intense pressure and obvious displeasure of many. They have supported us every step of the way in this battle...emotionally by trusting my judgement & encouraging me to make the decisions that I felt were best for our children; in prayer--by praying that God will give me wisdom and help us to help our babies; physically by going to the specialists with us and talking and listening to therapists and to the newest research that I have come across. And finally financially by making it possible for us to see a doctor who specializes in Autism Spectrum disorders and vaccine damage; and by purchasing the MANY medications and supplements that our children our presently on. Thank you Mom & Dad. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

3 comments:

OKeedokey said...

Um...... I am shocked. Not actually being there and just looking at pictues, I thought that all was well. I'm proud of you and I'm praying for you. You have a tremendously tough road ahead of you.

I haven't done any research myself, but I did see Jenny mcCarthy (sp?) on Oprah. She mentioned her book and her son. I'm sure you've heard of it, but just incase.......

love you!

Hilary said...

Wow. I had no idea either. Just looking at the kiddos on the blog I would never guess anything was going on except three growing toddlers. Good luck on the challenge ahead and kuddos for doing what you believe to be best for your family. You're in my prayers and I look forward to reading more of your research.

Chanda the Eco-Cheap Mom said...

What shots did your children get at 6 months? Which one do you believe is responsible?