I get e-mails from the NVIC at least once a week, but the most interesting thing I have read recently is about Autism (or should I say lack thereof) in the Amish. I guess I never really gave it much thought, but it proves interesting to consider that in a society that rarely vaccintes, it is virtually unheard of. I grew up unvaccinated, but when I was 16 I changed schools and so that we could avoid controversy, I had one series of shots. I'm sure it was MMR, tetnus, and TB tine. I had whooping cough at 22 months, so I wouldn't think they would have given me that. If I could go back I would fight like hell to change that. There is no doubt that my immune system suffered a great deal because of that. I have heard of others...Jordan Rubin, for example...who were vaccinated for the first time before going to college and suffered great health problems thereafter. I had my first daughter at age 19, and although I was able to put off vaccinations for 6 months, I got the old, "Well, should your daughter die in your arms in the middle of the night, it will rest on your shoulders the rest of your life knowing that you could have prevented her from getting a deadly disease." That is not an exaggeration. I was too young and unarmed with facts, so i gave in. At 18 months, she was given MMR. She spiked a 104-105 fever, red lump on her leg for weeks, cried and then slept for a long time. Finally, she broke out in a full body rash within 24-48 hours. They told me she had gotten chicken pox and not to bring her in. I now am convinced that she got "vaccine measles", and although it's too late now because she's 12, I still went back last year and filed a report that this happened to her. I realize it was for my benefit only. I feel very lucky that she is OK today
because all the little reactions she had to vaccination could have been so much worse. When my second daughter was born 3 years later, I asked for acellular pertussis, and they asked why. I asked for dead polio, and they told me to go get vaccinated so that it wouldn't be an issue. It's funny how both of those forms of are the norm now. I had her vaccinated at 2 4 and 6 months, but my husband had to take her at least once because I would get so upset, I could barely stand it. I stopped vaccinating after that, and I finally found a doctor, after so many years of feeling like a complete idiot, that neither agrees with me or tries to stand in my way. I also read everything I could get my hands on to prove to myself that this was the right thing to do. My biggest point here was to finally say that I now have 2 more children who have never been vaccinated. I would love to see a major university study on this population. I think there there may be weaknesses in some children and having the vaccinations puts them over the threshhold of what their little bodies can handle. In other children, I think they could be perfectly healthy and that one shot with mercury could be enough to do damage . What about Moms who have mercury filling while they are pregnant? Something to consider. Well, I have a lot of theories but i am "just a mother". It is my hope that with pressure from concerned parents, vaccines will at least become a safer alternative for those who choose them or should I say, for the children who do not have a choice.