|
|
||
02/02/10 |
     
|
Since Cameron's birth there has been more research done and more evidence of the damage that heavy metals found in childhood vaccines may cause. Although Cam did not have an immediate allergic reaction to the vaccination itself, he did have minor to moderate reactions to each vaccination he has ever received. These reactions include: prolong periods of crying and irritability, low grade fever, and a half dollar sized hard lump at the injection sight. I was always assured that these were all "normal" reactions and to give him Motrin or Tylenol for relief of these symptoms. I trusted our doctors, but I began to wonder about these instructions after Cameron's little sister was born. While Cam was born in Texas and had received all of his vaccinations in Texas, Megan was born in Virginia and had received her first shots in Virginia with none of the above reactions. We returned to Texas when Megan was 10 months old and she too had the same reactions Cameron had to the vaccinations she received in Texas. I was assured again that this was "normal." However, I now know that what may be a "normal" or common experience for family doctors and pediatricians to see may not necessarily mean that it is a "healthy" reaction. I began to suspect that the vaccinations received by our Texas and Virginia doctors may have been distributed by different distribution centers and contained different preservatives. I would discover that in fact Cameron's vaccines were Mercury containing and Megan's were Thimerosal-free. There were other differences between Cam and his neurotypical sister as well. While Cam was a breastfed baby and Meg was a bottle fed baby, Cameron has always seemed prone to infection and while Megan has been relatively healthy. This experience had seemed ironic to me since one of the major reasons proponents of breastfeeding claim is that it helps to build the child's immune system. So why do my children seem to be the exception to this rule. We can only make logical guesses at this time based on research. However, we believe that the key lies in both a genetic link and an environment trigger. Researchers now suspect that children with ASD do have a genetic make up that predisposes them to neurological disorders; however the disorder itself is brought on or triggered by the burden of heavy metal toxicity. We believe that Cameron's genes made it more difficult for him to process or excrete toxins, therefore his body has been burdened by heavy metals which have led to the neurological disorder of ASD. I had decided to postpone Cameron's four year well child appointment while I gathered more information. We then decided that we would not vaccinate Cameron any further until we tested Cameron for heavy metal poisoning first. On the day we arrived to Cameron's well child appointment, I was prepared for an argument with our family doctor. I knew I would be going against mainstream medicine and had heard that most families receive backlash when they decide to delay or refuse vaccinations. I was nearly brought to tears when the doctor walked in and declared, "Cameron is due for his 4 year old vaccinations, but I don't think I want to give them to him." I replied "Thank God, because I was not going to let you give them to him!" We talked and decided that Heavy Metal Poisoning was a definite possibility. Our family doctor decided to refer Cameron to a Pediatric Neurologist for testing. We waited another two months for an appointment with the neurologist at Cook Children's Hospital. When our appointment finally arrived we were less than prepared for what the doctor had to tell us. The neurologist declared that Cameron "was doing much better than most of the patients he sees," and that we "should be happy that we have seen any improvement at all in Cameron since most patients never see improvement." He continued by adding that we could "continue speech and occupational therapy if it makes you feel better but it will not do anything for Cameron," and that we needed to learn to accept his disability and move on with our lives. He insisted that mercury poisoning was not possible. We explained to him that we would prefer to run tests to rule out mercury poisoning as a possibility. He begrudgingly agreed and sent us to the lab with a prescription. The lab drew six vials of blood from Cameron that day. When we returned home I looked up the lab work that had been ordered from Cameron and discovered that the type of tests ordered would be useless for determining heavy metal poisoning in my son. Fueled by new anger brought on by our neurology appointment, I searched day and night for someone who could help us. What I finally found was Defeat Autism Now! (DAN!). We scheduled an appointment with a DAN practitioner. However, our appointment was several months away (most of the best known DAN practitioners are booked months if not years in advance). We already felt that we had wasted too much precious time and felt the need to do something quicker. We came across a radio interview with another DAN practitioner. We were impressed by his approach and called his office the next morning. We were relieved that he was able to schedule us in for a phone consultation the following week. Scheduling this appointment would prove to be the single best decision we ever made for our son.
Disclaimer: The material on this site is for informational purposes only and is not to be meant as medical advice. Please consult a trusted and knowledgeable physician when making medical and treatment decisions.
This site was last updated 01/09/09
|
|