Vaccine Injury Awareness Month

October 19, 2011
by Jenny Herman 8 Comments

Vaccine Injury Awareness Month–John’s Story, Part 2

As I reread over Cheryl’s words, my heart breaks again. God has given her a strength unknown to many, to most. Let’s continue John’s story. (If you missed Part 1 yesterday, click here.)

Within three months I was starting to worry. The autistic like trance I had seen John slip into would be repeated over and over, out of the blue with no warning. It would last only a few minutes and then the happy go lucky toddler would come back to play. I said nothing to anyone, until the morning his preschool director called. She asked me to come in and sit outside the classroom door and watch what John was doing. I told her I knew, he was going into some kind of spell and loosing contact. We talked as I watched John hide under a table and rock and cry for a few minutes.

“That’s autism.” I said slowly

“Can’t be, I mean he was not born autistic.” She said

“I know, but that’s what that is, something has caused it.” I said.

“Well I never heard of that, but it’s getting worse and more frequent here, and he is loosing his speech.” She said staring into the room and not looking at me.

“I know, I just don’t know what to make of it.” I said back, also staring straight into the room and not looking at her. Continue reading →

October 18, 2011
by Jenny Herman 1 Comment

Vaccine Injury Awareness Month–John’s Story

If you’ve been around Many Hats Mommy for a while, you know I pretty much stay away from political stuff. I just don’t have the energy to deal with figuring it all out and the snarky comments that could come my way. Fibromyalgia, autism, parenting, and life in general occupy my time.

Dr. J was never vaccinated, so that is not the cause of his autism. However, I cannot discount those who have watched their children disappear after a series of shots. Therefore, I’d like to honor those families. Here is one story. John is the son of my dear friend Cheryl. He is now 19, and Cheryl has been a true warrior mom to get her son where he is today. I’m sure she had many moments over the last 17 years when she felt like giving up.

I know many people who are thankful she didn’t. Here’s part one of John’s story. Continue reading →

October 9, 2010
by Jenny Herman Leave a comment

>Vaccine Injury Awareness Month

>Today I learned something new. In addition to Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it is also Vaccine Injury Awareness Month. I have a friend who will remain anonymous so I can share her story. She has a 25-year old son with Asperger’s Syndrome (on the autism spectrum) and an 18-year old son who has autism because his body could not tolerate vaccines. Before his regression he could write his name when he was 2. Now he cannot hold a pencil. If you knew his whole story, that little bit would seem like nothing. I cannot believe what my friend has been through with her son.

We are both members of an online autism community, Foggy Rock. Today I found her post about Vaccine Injury Awareness Month, and I asked her if I could share it here. I figured it would be easier to do that than to try to rewrite everything. If you know someone who has been injured by a vaccine and would like to honor them here, just like we are also honoring breast cancer patients, feel free to leave a comment!

And now my friend’s post…

It’s October and it’s breast cancer awareness month and oddly enough it is also vaccine damage awareness month.

Every where you look, pink ribbons are on display from yard signs you can buy to pink ribbons stamped on the tops of eggs. One uniting thread, Susan G. Komen. Regardless of what group is raising money, it all goes back to one place, the Susan G. Komen Center. We will never see that kind of unity in the autism world.

We will never see such unity because autism is a very touchy subject with individuals taking sides on everything from cause to treatment to therapy choices.

We are a group divided and angry. Last night I sat and read the comments on a blog post and felt both hurt and confused. I read over and over about how dangerous those people who talk about vaccine damage are and how science has proven them wrong that vaccines do not cause autism. I also read harsh criticism about parents who have recovered children and how their kids never had autism or they wouldn’t be recovered. I had to ask myself, then why to you spend so much money of therapy and programs if you aren’t shooting for recovery?

I am that Mom that says vaccine damage. I am that Mom that had the state of Mississippi waver the DPaT after my son developed seizures and lost physical skills, because of vaccine damage. This is my month to talk about that fact. Vaccine damage does happen.

Maybe I don’t really have an autistic child. I just have a disabled one.

Maybe the wonderful people in my life who have recovered children are just nuts, their child never had autism but if that is the case, then why did they have a diagnosis saying they did? Why did these parents of recovered children spend years working with therapist and biomeidcal experts to reach the level of success their child reached? If it was not anything real, then did they really need to do anything for that child? I think they did. I think their child is recovered because they found the keys that unlocked their child’s autism. But what do I know, I believe in vaccine damage too.

Autism will never be united and that is sad. If more people stopped fighting and came together for the good of our children, we might at least have autism schools and autism teachers by now.

For me, I’ll just keep on telling John’s story and doing all I can for anyone who contacts me for autism help, regardless of their feelings, to me, it really is all about the child in need.

I’ll smile when I see pink ribbons the rest of the month, and I’ll blink and squint to picture them as black, for vaccine damage awareness month. After all, for me, that’s the cancer that destroyed my son and forever changed our lives.

Autism divided, always will be. Susan G. Komen, oh how I wish you knew the legacy your short life left behind.