The start of the new school year has opened my eyes to a whole new level of parenting. Dana and I are part of a local group of amazing autism mothers called The Badgers (yes, Honey Badgers). They are one hell of a fun group of strong women. They make me laugh til I almost pee every time I meet up with them. One of these ladies, Chelsea, had a pretty awful moment today at school. Another mother, I guess with good intentions, walked up and told her how bad she felt for Chelsea's son, C, because none of the other kids wanted to play with him. And if only he were good at sports, maybe then he would have friends. Imagine someone saying that to you about your child. I give Chelsea so much respect for her response. She stood up strong and informed her that C has autism and perhaps maybe this mother's kids should make a positive example to other kids and try friending him. She told her how C prays every night asking for friends and to make his autism go away. Blank stare from other mom.
This broke my heart this morning. It stayed with me all day and as I was sitting in the parking lot at my kids' school, I watched afternoon recess for the older kids and noticed more heartbreak. Most of the kids were playing in pairs or groups. But there were a few random boys walking around by themselves. One was running beside another group of kids, alone but imitating the others. Another boy was standing in the field by himself, flapping his arms and randomly running in circles. He looked as if he were playing. Just. Alone. They were so alone and not a single other child seemed to care enough to make an effort to include them. As I witnessed these kids trying to make the best of their loneliness by entertaining themselves, my thoughts travelled back to Chelsea and C. And then I wondered if this is what the future holds for my own son. Will he be the kid walking around the field playing "superhero" completely alone? The thought makes my entire body ache. He has been through so much. He deserves friends as much as any one else.
By the time my son reaches grade school, the statistics of autism will be near 1 in 30. This is just autism. What about the other socially shunned disorders? ADHD, asthma, severe food allergies, obesity, etc? How many kids will be part of the Lonely Generation? Even when they are in the majority, will it matter if so many of them can't even talk or make the initial steps to building relationships? How many kids are going to be scattered around the play yard, completely alone? This is why integrated programs are so crucial right now. We have to start teaching typical developing children now how to befriend and understand our upcoming sick children. Prevention is coming and we are working so hard to spread the word about vaccines and environmental toxins causing our children to be completely annihilated. But even if we were to save the coming generations from this trauma, we still have the ones left, like Elijah, Keanu and C. They cannot be left behind and forgotten about. We will not allow it. Please, parents and non parents alike, we beg you. Open your hearts and minds to the amazing possibilities of friending an autistic or other developmentally challenged person. They may not be the easiest people to "get" and live with. But they have so much to offer. Don't discount them. Teach your children that different does not mean less. It's personal to me; my child's well being is at stake. It should be personal to you with 50% of children being chronically ill. Someone you know is "socially unacceptable." Be the change.
~Cheers,
Nicole
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Summertime + Autism
Here we are friends, smack in the middle of Summer 2013.
I have to be completely honest, the thought of summer + autism, gives me severe anxiety.
But! I had decided that I was not going to succumb to it, I was not going into it with a crap attitude, so far so good!
In my perfect world, there would be all kinds of recreational centers, just for special needs kids, I'm talking swimming, rock climbing, trampolines, running tracks, obstacle courses, slides, swings.... something for everyone!
But, then I woke up, nothing like that exists...
From our years of traveling to California and Hawaii, I fully realize that my son needs to swim, and all the time.. hmm.. now what?
How the hell do I make this happen when I don't have a pool in my yard?
Easy! Sign up at the local YMCA.. hmm.. tried it, and well, he breaks every single rule there, it's not enough time spent for him to relax, still, we get up, we do our best and we go.
Then something so awesome happened, my Uncle moved into an Apt. that has an indoor and outdoor pool - I was still chicken shit to take Keanu alone there though, what if he breaks the rules, what if the residents are jerks, what if.. you get it. This is what autism has done to my brain.
But, with my husband gone to work for 4 days I just had to try.
I am THRILLED to tell you that I mustered up some guts one morning and took him, and 3 other friends of ours' with me - we went back for the following 2 more days! We spent 3 glorious days swimming from morning until night, breaking only to eat and digest food - I learned ALOT about myself, got over some fears, was forced to engage with the "typical" kids and parents' who live at the Apts. and it was so wonderful!
Keanu beams from ear to ear in the water, he dives to the bottom, he jumps in, he swims underwater looking for me, laughing at me, he climbs on my back for a ride, he floats on his back like a frog, so happy it's like nothing I've ever seen.
Uncle knows this is imperative for Keanu, and the other kids' and we will be doing this as much as we can, I am so happy.
My next goal: to become a certified swim instructor, yeah, it's a big goal, but, I'm pretty serious.
:)
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Aloha, Dana
I have to be completely honest, the thought of summer + autism, gives me severe anxiety.
But! I had decided that I was not going to succumb to it, I was not going into it with a crap attitude, so far so good!
In my perfect world, there would be all kinds of recreational centers, just for special needs kids, I'm talking swimming, rock climbing, trampolines, running tracks, obstacle courses, slides, swings.... something for everyone!
But, then I woke up, nothing like that exists...
From our years of traveling to California and Hawaii, I fully realize that my son needs to swim, and all the time.. hmm.. now what?
How the hell do I make this happen when I don't have a pool in my yard?
Easy! Sign up at the local YMCA.. hmm.. tried it, and well, he breaks every single rule there, it's not enough time spent for him to relax, still, we get up, we do our best and we go.
Then something so awesome happened, my Uncle moved into an Apt. that has an indoor and outdoor pool - I was still chicken shit to take Keanu alone there though, what if he breaks the rules, what if the residents are jerks, what if.. you get it. This is what autism has done to my brain.
But, with my husband gone to work for 4 days I just had to try.
I am THRILLED to tell you that I mustered up some guts one morning and took him, and 3 other friends of ours' with me - we went back for the following 2 more days! We spent 3 glorious days swimming from morning until night, breaking only to eat and digest food - I learned ALOT about myself, got over some fears, was forced to engage with the "typical" kids and parents' who live at the Apts. and it was so wonderful!
Keanu beams from ear to ear in the water, he dives to the bottom, he jumps in, he swims underwater looking for me, laughing at me, he climbs on my back for a ride, he floats on his back like a frog, so happy it's like nothing I've ever seen.
Uncle knows this is imperative for Keanu, and the other kids' and we will be doing this as much as we can, I am so happy.
My next goal: to become a certified swim instructor, yeah, it's a big goal, but, I'm pretty serious.
:)
.JPG)
Aloha, DanaFriday, June 14, 2013
Adventures With the School Nurse: Vaccine Exemptions
So, the last few weeks have been insanely busy. I have gone back to work full time and Elijah's school year has come to an end. We went through all of the end of year parties and IEP meetings. We decided to keep him in Preschool for a third year to better develop his communication and social skills before throwing him into Kindergarten. Another plus? His sister, Jazlyn, will be in the same class with him. Mommy thinks that's just too adorable :)
Anyways, Elijah's teachers are being moved to another school within the district, so I had to go through the registration process at the new school, including bringing in our newly acquired vaccine exemptions. We have that law requiring all three types of exemptions be signed by a doctor. Our naturopath decided we qualified for permanent medical exemptions for both kids. I love her so much for that. The state and federal governments will not ever be able to take that away from us (hopefully). Anyways, I brought in the signed and lawful exemptions along with the rest of the registration stuff to the new school office. The office staff called in the school nurse to verify the exemptions. She looked over them for a few seconds in silence and then the fun began.
Nurse: What medical conditions do they have that prevents them from being vaccinated?
Me: Elijah has suffered from a vaccine injury. The doctor believes Jazlyn had a mild one as well.
Nurse: A what?
Me: A vaccine injury. He had an adverse reaction to his shots when he was about a year old. He has autism as a result of encephalitis, demyelination and over toxicity in his entire body.
Nurse: *eyeroll* Oh.
Me: Yep, so no more vaccines for us.
Nurse: Well, was this signed by an actual doctor?
Me: Yes, Dr. A is a licensed ND. She even has a fancy "Dr." in her signature.
Nurse: Well, usually WE provide the exemption paperwork and then you take it to your doctor and bring it back.
Me: Well, she had the paperwork in her office. Saved a step.
Nurse: Why is this a photocopy? Where is the original?
Me: The doctor has the original. I can go get it if I have to.
Nurse: *sigh* This should be ok. Where is the additional form stating you are aware that should an outbreak occur, your children will be excluded from school until the outbreak is over?
Me: Um, that statement is already written on this official exemption sheet. Right above my signature.
Nurse: Well. I don't know if all this will be sufficient. I will take it and let you know if it's not.
Me: Thank you *walk out the door feeling the major eye rolls and overall bitchiness going on behind my back*
I was so ready to drink. Or fight. Or both. My goodness. Even with a LEGAL SIGNED exemption, I was given so much trouble. I did everything right. And still she tried to find a way around it and force my children to be vaccinated. The family who was being helped ahead of me was another preschool registration and the nurse had already been berating them for not having enough vaccines. The poor mother was almost in tears not understanding why her son needed more vaccines. "He has had SO many already," she said. I really felt for her. I looked at her son, smiling, healthy and happy. I pray he will stay that way. My son was not so lucky.
With so much pressure from doctors, media and even school nurses, it's no wonder so many parents blindly shoot up their kids, even when their instincts tell them not to. Unless you have spent the hours upon hours researching this topic, you really are lost on the whole subject. Your heart tells you its too much but since you are ignorant on it all, you just let it go and trust these people who tell you how perfectly safe it is.
One thing is for sure. The nurse can hate me all she wants, the mainstream doctors can browbeat and throw scary sounding statistics at me, the media can highlight every rare case of polio, measles, tetanus, whooping cough, mumps, etc on the 6:00 news, other moms can roll their eyes and condemn me as a negligent, idiotic mother. They will never break me again. Never. I did not lose my temper with that school nurse. I was armed with knowledge and experience of which she couldn't shake. Never again will I be intimidated or pressured into poisoning my children, and that is the most empowering feeling in the world. Call me crazy, call me negligent, call me anything you want. In the end, I know what damaged my child and thousands, millions just like him. I am secure in my choice, supported by an amazing doctor and strongly knit community of people like me. Together, we will change the perceptions of nonvaccinating families. I used to be afraid to talk about it in public. But I find that when I do, I actually get support. Regular people all over the country are genuinely curious about vaccines and have many questions. Instead of raging and scaring these people off, we must share our stories and our knowledge. Help them see what is happening to the current generation of children suffering from chronic illnesses. Perhaps we just may be able to save them without Pharma or government agencies changing their policies. WE have the power to save ourselves. One story at a time.
~Cheers!
Nicole
Anyways, Elijah's teachers are being moved to another school within the district, so I had to go through the registration process at the new school, including bringing in our newly acquired vaccine exemptions. We have that law requiring all three types of exemptions be signed by a doctor. Our naturopath decided we qualified for permanent medical exemptions for both kids. I love her so much for that. The state and federal governments will not ever be able to take that away from us (hopefully). Anyways, I brought in the signed and lawful exemptions along with the rest of the registration stuff to the new school office. The office staff called in the school nurse to verify the exemptions. She looked over them for a few seconds in silence and then the fun began.
Nurse: What medical conditions do they have that prevents them from being vaccinated?
Me: Elijah has suffered from a vaccine injury. The doctor believes Jazlyn had a mild one as well.
Nurse: A what?
Me: A vaccine injury. He had an adverse reaction to his shots when he was about a year old. He has autism as a result of encephalitis, demyelination and over toxicity in his entire body.
Nurse: *eyeroll* Oh.
Me: Yep, so no more vaccines for us.
Nurse: Well, was this signed by an actual doctor?
Me: Yes, Dr. A is a licensed ND. She even has a fancy "Dr." in her signature.
Nurse: Well, usually WE provide the exemption paperwork and then you take it to your doctor and bring it back.
Me: Well, she had the paperwork in her office. Saved a step.
Nurse: Why is this a photocopy? Where is the original?
Me: The doctor has the original. I can go get it if I have to.
Nurse: *sigh* This should be ok. Where is the additional form stating you are aware that should an outbreak occur, your children will be excluded from school until the outbreak is over?
Me: Um, that statement is already written on this official exemption sheet. Right above my signature.
Nurse: Well. I don't know if all this will be sufficient. I will take it and let you know if it's not.
Me: Thank you *walk out the door feeling the major eye rolls and overall bitchiness going on behind my back*
I was so ready to drink. Or fight. Or both. My goodness. Even with a LEGAL SIGNED exemption, I was given so much trouble. I did everything right. And still she tried to find a way around it and force my children to be vaccinated. The family who was being helped ahead of me was another preschool registration and the nurse had already been berating them for not having enough vaccines. The poor mother was almost in tears not understanding why her son needed more vaccines. "He has had SO many already," she said. I really felt for her. I looked at her son, smiling, healthy and happy. I pray he will stay that way. My son was not so lucky.
With so much pressure from doctors, media and even school nurses, it's no wonder so many parents blindly shoot up their kids, even when their instincts tell them not to. Unless you have spent the hours upon hours researching this topic, you really are lost on the whole subject. Your heart tells you its too much but since you are ignorant on it all, you just let it go and trust these people who tell you how perfectly safe it is.
One thing is for sure. The nurse can hate me all she wants, the mainstream doctors can browbeat and throw scary sounding statistics at me, the media can highlight every rare case of polio, measles, tetanus, whooping cough, mumps, etc on the 6:00 news, other moms can roll their eyes and condemn me as a negligent, idiotic mother. They will never break me again. Never. I did not lose my temper with that school nurse. I was armed with knowledge and experience of which she couldn't shake. Never again will I be intimidated or pressured into poisoning my children, and that is the most empowering feeling in the world. Call me crazy, call me negligent, call me anything you want. In the end, I know what damaged my child and thousands, millions just like him. I am secure in my choice, supported by an amazing doctor and strongly knit community of people like me. Together, we will change the perceptions of nonvaccinating families. I used to be afraid to talk about it in public. But I find that when I do, I actually get support. Regular people all over the country are genuinely curious about vaccines and have many questions. Instead of raging and scaring these people off, we must share our stories and our knowledge. Help them see what is happening to the current generation of children suffering from chronic illnesses. Perhaps we just may be able to save them without Pharma or government agencies changing their policies. WE have the power to save ourselves. One story at a time.
~Cheers!
Nicole
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Vaccines, before and after.
I wanted to update you all about my son Keanu.
We began seeing a local Natropathic Physician about 6 weeks ago. Keanu had been having bouts of OCD, hyperactivity and meltdowns that resulted in him hitting his own head and crying, *more than the usual amount... it was unbearable to endure as his mother. I prayed she could do something, anything to help him.
We walked into her office and he immediately began zinging all over the room, since he's not conversational, I thought to myself "hmmff, here we go, she will only see this wild behavior and not know how smart he really is" -- I was WRONG. He sat down in her chair, grabbed a blank sheet of her paper and her pen and started to articulate beautiful words and drawings relating to his favorite games and movies. She stood there in awe. She observed his amazing skills and, again, I was WRONG to assume anything about her.
She wrote down her observations and then said: Labs, we need to run labs on his stool and see what his yeast levels and bacteria levels are.
GREAT! I thought! We haven't run labs in about 2 years, let's see!
She also suggested we start some new supplements based on the lab results and off I went with all the tools I needed.
I submitted the lab and it came back with some VERY interesting information.
He is NOT high in yeast, he did however test positive for the Streptococcus bacteria. And we began immediate treatment with new supplements and antibiotics for it. I was very hesitant to use antibiotics as Keanu's never had them, and hes' 10 now, something I have been very fortunate to say. But, she was so intune with him she must know this protocol well. She was RIGHT, he immediately began to show far less OCD behavior and mood swings. He started to eat better, sleep better and the self injuring has significantly decreased!
Someone recently asked me if I saw him change after his infant/toddler vaccines, which ones and when?
The answer is YES.
What I had was a baby who had a tough beginning of life (lots of mercury exposure with his birth) then he started to progress, made all his developmental milestones until 12 months, began talking, made great eye contact, started eating a huge variety of foods, slept through the night - all to be LOST to an MMR vaccine given at 14 months of age.
I'm certain he was already affected by the building exposures to routine vaccines, but, the MMR is the one that affected him so terribly.
Please share this with anyone who is willing to listen.
Like most parents, I thought that I HAD to vaccinate my son. I was told that I had to do it; it was good for his health; and that it was bad parenting and illegal if I didn't have him vaccinated. My son was on track developmentally until he had that MMR. He woke up a few days later unable to; speak, recognize my face, tolerate noise, and had no concept of depth perception or danger. I have videos of him before his one year vaccinations-----that boy is gone forever. It breaks my heart to know that people in the CDC knew about these risks and still lied to the public about them. My son is 10 years old now, he suffers alot from gut bacteria, and gastrointestinal problems. Innocent children, like my son, are suffering because of the greed of money.
*Keanu before the MMR vaccine, and after.
We began seeing a local Natropathic Physician about 6 weeks ago. Keanu had been having bouts of OCD, hyperactivity and meltdowns that resulted in him hitting his own head and crying, *more than the usual amount... it was unbearable to endure as his mother. I prayed she could do something, anything to help him.
We walked into her office and he immediately began zinging all over the room, since he's not conversational, I thought to myself "hmmff, here we go, she will only see this wild behavior and not know how smart he really is" -- I was WRONG. He sat down in her chair, grabbed a blank sheet of her paper and her pen and started to articulate beautiful words and drawings relating to his favorite games and movies. She stood there in awe. She observed his amazing skills and, again, I was WRONG to assume anything about her.
She wrote down her observations and then said: Labs, we need to run labs on his stool and see what his yeast levels and bacteria levels are.
GREAT! I thought! We haven't run labs in about 2 years, let's see!
She also suggested we start some new supplements based on the lab results and off I went with all the tools I needed.
I submitted the lab and it came back with some VERY interesting information.
He is NOT high in yeast, he did however test positive for the Streptococcus bacteria. And we began immediate treatment with new supplements and antibiotics for it. I was very hesitant to use antibiotics as Keanu's never had them, and hes' 10 now, something I have been very fortunate to say. But, she was so intune with him she must know this protocol well. She was RIGHT, he immediately began to show far less OCD behavior and mood swings. He started to eat better, sleep better and the self injuring has significantly decreased!
Someone recently asked me if I saw him change after his infant/toddler vaccines, which ones and when?
The answer is YES.
What I had was a baby who had a tough beginning of life (lots of mercury exposure with his birth) then he started to progress, made all his developmental milestones until 12 months, began talking, made great eye contact, started eating a huge variety of foods, slept through the night - all to be LOST to an MMR vaccine given at 14 months of age.
I'm certain he was already affected by the building exposures to routine vaccines, but, the MMR is the one that affected him so terribly.
Please share this with anyone who is willing to listen.
Like most parents, I thought that I HAD to vaccinate my son. I was told that I had to do it; it was good for his health; and that it was bad parenting and illegal if I didn't have him vaccinated. My son was on track developmentally until he had that MMR. He woke up a few days later unable to; speak, recognize my face, tolerate noise, and had no concept of depth perception or danger. I have videos of him before his one year vaccinations-----that boy is gone forever. It breaks my heart to know that people in the CDC knew about these risks and still lied to the public about them. My son is 10 years old now, he suffers alot from gut bacteria, and gastrointestinal problems. Innocent children, like my son, are suffering because of the greed of money.
*Keanu before the MMR vaccine, and after.
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Mommyhood: Special Needs Style
Hey everyone. Keeping up on the blog is harder than I thought it was going to be. I think about writing everyday but I'm never sure what to say that constitutes a blog-length post. I'm pretty good at short, Facebook style thoughts :)
First off, the Yeast Beast has been up and down with Elijah. We went through the major die off stage and survived. Now, we are trying to just maintain balance, which is very hard. We are dealing with a pretty major flare up right now and it sucks. The itchy skin, the rash on his face, his legs and his diaper area, the increase in tics and OCD are enough to drive us all mad. I feel so bad for not keeping him balanced.
This leads to my main topic: special needs motherhood. I guess the timing is right with Mother's Day right around the corner. 2 birds, 1 stone.
Whether you have a child with food allergies, seizures, autism, ADHD, ODD, asthma, autoimmune disorders, etc, we all have our moments of feeling like complete failures in our ability to properly care for them. Not taking away a single thing from moms of "typical" children at all; they have their hands full of challenges too! I have a very mildly vaccine injured child, who is really only affected by slower speech development and the mild gut-skin issues, and she is a HANDFUL. However, let's throw in the special needs routine. The constant need to watch them to keep them safe, what they are eating, what they are wearing, the ungodly amount of supplements and medications, the constant verbal reminders and reprimands for things you have already said at least 4,000 times in the past hour, the meltdown control, the IEP meetings, the numerous doctor and therapy appointments, making sure your child has emergency medicine and access to someone trained to assist them at all times, and to be redundant, THE FOOD....and the list goes on and on and on. It's so very stressful and beyond any word to describe the exhaustion. It takes a physical and mental toll on every single one of us.
As mothers, we take on so much burden and worry in the care of our children. It's in our nature, it's what we are supposed to do. And when we drop the ball, even a little, the guilt consumes us. We will even blame ourselves when in all honesty, that seizure in the middle of the grocery store was not your fault at all. Or that meltdown at the restaurant. Or that damn stupid toy he just HAS to have at all times that broke this morning and now the world is just ENDING for him. Or that group of kids at school who refuse to play with him because he is "weird." We take it all. Every bit of pain and heartache our children suffer, we suffer double. And worse, we blame ourselves for it all. If only I had seen the signs of that seizure, if only I had ordered the right kind of chicken nuggets at the restaurant, if only I had bought more than 1 of that damn toy, if only I had put him in a better school with nicer kids. If only. If only I hadn't caused this disorder in the first place. If only I had known better. If only I wasn't such a crappy excuse for a mother. If only I hadn't let them harm my baby.
Moms, I'm not here to tell you to stop the guilt train. That would be hypocritical of me because I know that I ride it every single day and it will never stop until the day I die. If it's not the vaccine injury, it will be something else. It's what we do. But I do want you to remember that YOU ARE A GOOD MOTHER! That yeast flare up? Yep, my fault. I feel terrible for the crap he will have to endure before getting back in balance. But it wasn't malicious. And I want him to feel better. I don't close my eyes to the fact that this is a problem we will be facing forever. I won't just give up and let him just suffer the symptoms of his injuries. I will never stop fighting for his health and recovery. He will get better. If he never completely heals, at least he will be in far better shape than when we started. That, ladies, is good parenting. The blame and guilt will follow us, but we will not let it define us or our kids.
Every single vaccine injury is treatable because they are medical. I will not say they are curable. And every child needs a different set of supplements, meds and therapies to get better. But we are GOOD moms because we strive every single day to research, learn and implement our knowledge the best we can to help our sick children and often, other children and parents as well.
We are our own worst enemies and critics. Even on the good days with new milestones met, we tend to look at everything else that isn't right and feel bad. Let that sadness, guilt and blame drive you, don't let it conquer you. Keep your chin high and your wine glass even higher. Keep fighting the good fight. Happy Mother's Day you amazing women!
~Cheers!
Nicole
Elijah. Photo taken by Dana.
First off, the Yeast Beast has been up and down with Elijah. We went through the major die off stage and survived. Now, we are trying to just maintain balance, which is very hard. We are dealing with a pretty major flare up right now and it sucks. The itchy skin, the rash on his face, his legs and his diaper area, the increase in tics and OCD are enough to drive us all mad. I feel so bad for not keeping him balanced.
This leads to my main topic: special needs motherhood. I guess the timing is right with Mother's Day right around the corner. 2 birds, 1 stone.
Whether you have a child with food allergies, seizures, autism, ADHD, ODD, asthma, autoimmune disorders, etc, we all have our moments of feeling like complete failures in our ability to properly care for them. Not taking away a single thing from moms of "typical" children at all; they have their hands full of challenges too! I have a very mildly vaccine injured child, who is really only affected by slower speech development and the mild gut-skin issues, and she is a HANDFUL. However, let's throw in the special needs routine. The constant need to watch them to keep them safe, what they are eating, what they are wearing, the ungodly amount of supplements and medications, the constant verbal reminders and reprimands for things you have already said at least 4,000 times in the past hour, the meltdown control, the IEP meetings, the numerous doctor and therapy appointments, making sure your child has emergency medicine and access to someone trained to assist them at all times, and to be redundant, THE FOOD....and the list goes on and on and on. It's so very stressful and beyond any word to describe the exhaustion. It takes a physical and mental toll on every single one of us.
As mothers, we take on so much burden and worry in the care of our children. It's in our nature, it's what we are supposed to do. And when we drop the ball, even a little, the guilt consumes us. We will even blame ourselves when in all honesty, that seizure in the middle of the grocery store was not your fault at all. Or that meltdown at the restaurant. Or that damn stupid toy he just HAS to have at all times that broke this morning and now the world is just ENDING for him. Or that group of kids at school who refuse to play with him because he is "weird." We take it all. Every bit of pain and heartache our children suffer, we suffer double. And worse, we blame ourselves for it all. If only I had seen the signs of that seizure, if only I had ordered the right kind of chicken nuggets at the restaurant, if only I had bought more than 1 of that damn toy, if only I had put him in a better school with nicer kids. If only. If only I hadn't caused this disorder in the first place. If only I had known better. If only I wasn't such a crappy excuse for a mother. If only I hadn't let them harm my baby.
Moms, I'm not here to tell you to stop the guilt train. That would be hypocritical of me because I know that I ride it every single day and it will never stop until the day I die. If it's not the vaccine injury, it will be something else. It's what we do. But I do want you to remember that YOU ARE A GOOD MOTHER! That yeast flare up? Yep, my fault. I feel terrible for the crap he will have to endure before getting back in balance. But it wasn't malicious. And I want him to feel better. I don't close my eyes to the fact that this is a problem we will be facing forever. I won't just give up and let him just suffer the symptoms of his injuries. I will never stop fighting for his health and recovery. He will get better. If he never completely heals, at least he will be in far better shape than when we started. That, ladies, is good parenting. The blame and guilt will follow us, but we will not let it define us or our kids.
Every single vaccine injury is treatable because they are medical. I will not say they are curable. And every child needs a different set of supplements, meds and therapies to get better. But we are GOOD moms because we strive every single day to research, learn and implement our knowledge the best we can to help our sick children and often, other children and parents as well.
We are our own worst enemies and critics. Even on the good days with new milestones met, we tend to look at everything else that isn't right and feel bad. Let that sadness, guilt and blame drive you, don't let it conquer you. Keep your chin high and your wine glass even higher. Keep fighting the good fight. Happy Mother's Day you amazing women!
~Cheers!
Nicole
Elijah. Photo taken by Dana.
Saturday, April 6, 2013
"Official Stories" ~Liam Scheff
Happy 6th Day of Autism Awareness Month! Is it over yet? No? Damn.
Anyways, several months ago, Dana saw this Youtube video of a guy named Liam Scheff. He was doing these 3 minute "shows" about all these different topics from vaccines to GMOs to "conspiracy theories." His 3 minute video about vaccine moms caught her attention and she sent it to me. You can watch that video and all of his other ones Here. (Beware, language alert!) We were both floored. I'm pretty sure we laughed, cried and got a tad bit hysterical watching it. Someone who not only believes us, but is far more knowledgeable on the subject than we are; unashamed and boldly telling the world the way it is. Having advocates for us, while we are advocating for our kids, is something that really helps keep us going.
Turns out, he is kinda popular in our little subculture and he wrote a book called "Official Stories!" So, we bought it. We skipped ahead and read his chapters about the history of vaccines. Amazing, disgusting, sad, frightening. Just those chapters put me into a bit of an "information hangover" and I put the book down for awhile. Too much truth! Fast forward to now, I have finally picked it back up and am starting from the beginning. It is taking me awhile to get through it because there are so many facts and details, it can be hard to absorb it all with 2 toddlers destroying the house like little monsters. But you MUST.READ.THIS.BOOK. Even if you think you already know everything about his topics, you are wrong. He delves into the story of the JFK assassination, HIV, Shakespeare, the Big Bang Theory and so SO much more. You can find the book online at any bookstore, its also available on Kindle. So, here is the Amazon link to buy the book Here. Please take a look, open your mind and spread the word. Liam also does a lot of travelling for speaking engagements and is a regular on many health related radio talk shows. If you are interested in following his activity, you can find him on Facebook Here. Oh, and don't forget to check out one of his latest projects, the Genticals. A comic about the world's first vaccine injured superheroes. You can see that Right here!
Tomorrow, I promote The Thinking Moms' Revolution.
Real Autism Awareness!
~Cheers! Nicole
Anyways, several months ago, Dana saw this Youtube video of a guy named Liam Scheff. He was doing these 3 minute "shows" about all these different topics from vaccines to GMOs to "conspiracy theories." His 3 minute video about vaccine moms caught her attention and she sent it to me. You can watch that video and all of his other ones Here. (Beware, language alert!) We were both floored. I'm pretty sure we laughed, cried and got a tad bit hysterical watching it. Someone who not only believes us, but is far more knowledgeable on the subject than we are; unashamed and boldly telling the world the way it is. Having advocates for us, while we are advocating for our kids, is something that really helps keep us going.
Turns out, he is kinda popular in our little subculture and he wrote a book called "Official Stories!" So, we bought it. We skipped ahead and read his chapters about the history of vaccines. Amazing, disgusting, sad, frightening. Just those chapters put me into a bit of an "information hangover" and I put the book down for awhile. Too much truth! Fast forward to now, I have finally picked it back up and am starting from the beginning. It is taking me awhile to get through it because there are so many facts and details, it can be hard to absorb it all with 2 toddlers destroying the house like little monsters. But you MUST.READ.THIS.BOOK. Even if you think you already know everything about his topics, you are wrong. He delves into the story of the JFK assassination, HIV, Shakespeare, the Big Bang Theory and so SO much more. You can find the book online at any bookstore, its also available on Kindle. So, here is the Amazon link to buy the book Here. Please take a look, open your mind and spread the word. Liam also does a lot of travelling for speaking engagements and is a regular on many health related radio talk shows. If you are interested in following his activity, you can find him on Facebook Here. Oh, and don't forget to check out one of his latest projects, the Genticals. A comic about the world's first vaccine injured superheroes. You can see that Right here!
Tomorrow, I promote The Thinking Moms' Revolution.
Real Autism Awareness!
~Cheers! Nicole
Monday, April 1, 2013
Autism Awareness Month: Blue or Yellow?
Today is April 1st. The first day out of 30 where you will be bombarded with blue and fundraising and autism related studies. Most studies will be about genetics and how vaccines do not cause it. Well, whatever. I am not here to argue this insane statement. I am here to ask you to support Autism Awareness Month a little differently.
Autism Speaks. Please do not support them. You can go on Youtube and find some good videos that will tell you what they actually do with their money and just a quick glance at their website will tell you how they stand in the "finding a cure/prevention." They support services for autism, which is great. But their money rarely goes into that category. It mostly goes into paychecks, advertising and genetic link studies. If you want to support families living with autism, please find a local group. FEAT is an organization found in many western states. You will find many like that in your own communities. Dana and her husband started a local one called It Takes A Village. That is where my donation goes.
Along with not supporting Autism Speaks, this also comes with not supporting their campaigns. Awareness is great and dandy, but they aren't doing it right. How will wearing blue tomorrow do anything for our kids or the future? They are making people aware and then pushing it back into the dark corner once April is over. If you want to make a stand, try wearing yellow for the Canary Party. Please check out The Canary Party here.
Their mission is "a movement created to stand up for the victims of medical injury, environmental toxins and industrial foods by restoring balance to our free and civil society and empowering consumers to make health and nutrition decisions that promote wellness."
I like that mission, don't you? They fight for all of us in the vaccine injury community. Please take a minute to research them and give them your support. I will be sporting yellow tomorrow for them. The real fighters for autism.
Happy Autism Awareness Month everyone! If you have a child on the spectrum, do your own awareness campaign. Put up a snippet of insight into your world, a random fact about autism or statistics, vaccine links to autism, whatever each day on your facebook or twitter page. Spread the info, spread the awareness.
~Cheers, Nicole
Autism Speaks. Please do not support them. You can go on Youtube and find some good videos that will tell you what they actually do with their money and just a quick glance at their website will tell you how they stand in the "finding a cure/prevention." They support services for autism, which is great. But their money rarely goes into that category. It mostly goes into paychecks, advertising and genetic link studies. If you want to support families living with autism, please find a local group. FEAT is an organization found in many western states. You will find many like that in your own communities. Dana and her husband started a local one called It Takes A Village. That is where my donation goes.
Along with not supporting Autism Speaks, this also comes with not supporting their campaigns. Awareness is great and dandy, but they aren't doing it right. How will wearing blue tomorrow do anything for our kids or the future? They are making people aware and then pushing it back into the dark corner once April is over. If you want to make a stand, try wearing yellow for the Canary Party. Please check out The Canary Party here.
Their mission is "a movement created to stand up for the victims of medical injury, environmental toxins and industrial foods by restoring balance to our free and civil society and empowering consumers to make health and nutrition decisions that promote wellness."
I like that mission, don't you? They fight for all of us in the vaccine injury community. Please take a minute to research them and give them your support. I will be sporting yellow tomorrow for them. The real fighters for autism.
Happy Autism Awareness Month everyone! If you have a child on the spectrum, do your own awareness campaign. Put up a snippet of insight into your world, a random fact about autism or statistics, vaccine links to autism, whatever each day on your facebook or twitter page. Spread the info, spread the awareness.
~Cheers, Nicole
Friday, March 29, 2013
Candida: The Yeast Beast, Plan of Action
This is for all vaccine injuries!
We all know what yeast is. We've heard of yeast infections and thrush in babies. But what does it have to do with vaccine injured kids? Just about everything! Here is a very basic overview. To really get into this topic, you need to sit down and do hours of research and decision making.
What is Candida overgrowth? Candidamd.com describes it as:
"Candida (technically called Candida albicans) is a microorganism in the category of yeast, fungi and mold. It is normal for it to live in small amounts in the digestive system and on other body surfaces. However, under certain circumstances it will invade into deeper tissues and organs where it doesn’t belong, such as the liver and kidneys, and become very abundant. Once it gets that far, it entrenches itself as fungi do (think of how hard it can be to get rid of athlete’s foot or a fungal toenail). The yeast produces certain chemicals and affects cell functions in ways that create many symptoms, some of which can become serious.
Do you have any tips or advice that have worked well for yourself or your child? Please share in the comments or write out a guest blog post and email it to me at isis915@hotmail.com. If you have things to share, we want to hear it.
Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor. Ask yours if yeast killing is right for your child.
We all know what yeast is. We've heard of yeast infections and thrush in babies. But what does it have to do with vaccine injured kids? Just about everything! Here is a very basic overview. To really get into this topic, you need to sit down and do hours of research and decision making.
What is Candida overgrowth? Candidamd.com describes it as:
"Candida (technically called Candida albicans) is a microorganism in the category of yeast, fungi and mold. It is normal for it to live in small amounts in the digestive system and on other body surfaces. However, under certain circumstances it will invade into deeper tissues and organs where it doesn’t belong, such as the liver and kidneys, and become very abundant. Once it gets that far, it entrenches itself as fungi do (think of how hard it can be to get rid of athlete’s foot or a fungal toenail). The yeast produces certain chemicals and affects cell functions in ways that create many symptoms, some of which can become serious.
The term “Candida” refers to the general overgrowth of various fungi and yeasts in the body, which flourish under certain circumstances to the point of causing illness. Candida albicansappears to be the most prominent of these microbes."
Candida overgrowth is a common problem in most of the population of the United States. It is linked to everything from depression to thyroid issues. Many studies have shown that children with autism and ADHD have high levels of yeast in their gut. This is a problem for them because it can trigger OCD, meltdowns and other behavioral issues. It is also linked to that pesky study from Dr. Wakefield regarding "leaky gut." He found vaccine strain measles in the linings of the inflamed intestinal tracts of many children with autism. His work has since been recreated many times. He was not crazy and he was not wrong. And it makes sense when you think about how hard it can be for so many of our kids to pass regular bowels movements.
So how do we stop the yeast from growing and spreading? We stop feeding it. Yeast feeds on sugar and gluten. This is why so many of us follow a gluten free diet. Overgrowth is also connected to taking too many antibiotics. Got an ear infection? Put some garlic oil drops in and infection will be gone within a day or 2 and you'll smell like a salad dressing :)
There are a lot of great resources out there regarding this topic. This is a great place to start your research about yeast overgrowth. There are a ton of books about combating yeast and other dietary tips for kids with Autism, ADHD and other disorders. If you have a child with severe allergies, chances are, you're already following a yeast free diet. If your child has asthma, it might be worth looking into as well; there have been links made to asthma and gluten intolerance. To put it simply, we can pretty much treat all vaccine injuries in much the same ways.
Personally, we have been doing a poor job of fighting the Yeast Beast. I thought we were doing so well with just cutting sugar and gluten from our diet. Technically, this should help a lot, and it did. However, let's be real. He is a 4 year old kid with autism and sensory issues. He only eats so much and I can get pretty desperate just to make the kid eat. We slip up a lot. A LOT. We need more help.
So here is our new challenge and I want to document it with you all as we go with weekly updates. We will be trying some new methods of yeast prevention and killing. Killing the yeast and bad bacteria in the gut is not a fun process. It will make meltdowns, OCD, etc. get worse before it gets better. The road can be a very long and exhausting one for the entire family. I am praying our stubbornness and willpower will survive this journey. I am starting with all gluten free food and cutting out dairy and sugar. I will also be using probiotics and grapefruit seed extract. So here we go!
Wish us luck! We will need it!
~Cheers!
Nicole
~Cheers!
Nicole
Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor. Ask yours if yeast killing is right for your child.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Lost at Sea
Have you ever felt "lost at sea?" - I mean, your brain is lacking all sense of direction.
That was me, for a solid week now and counting.
It started with a dear friend of mine interviewing me for her college class. She wanted to hear what a typical "day in the life" of an autism mom was like.
I thought hmm.. piece of cake!
UNTIL that is, it came time to explain autism.
Sure, I can tell my son's story and what life was like after his diagnosis, and how a day usually unfolds for me.
But when she asked me specific questions about autism, I sorta felt paralyzed. It's very hard to generalize a child with autism, as for me, I think no 2 are the same. Sure, they may have similar communication, social and behavioral challenges - but, underneath it all, my son is sick. He is medically sick.
When he was a baby, about 12 months old, he started to eat all sorts of baby foods that you would introduce at that stage. Mashed bananas, puddings, rice, steamed broccoli with fish, oatmeal... all kinds of textures and flavors. Then his MMR vaccine (and a flu shot shorty after) changed all of that.
He never wanted to eat much again. I mean, not just those foods, sadly, most all foods.
I have been immersed in the world of biomedical therapies for autism ever since. Yet, my son hasn't responded the way I had hoped he would. He still struggles with so many things, eating, his language, his hyperactivity, and his OCD seem to be getting worse, and that controls alot of his neurological breakdowns.
I am NOT giving up though. I am still working on healing his gut 24/7. We are seeing a Natropath and hope to resume CEASE Homeopathy when we can financially afford to.
But, what really happens in my "typical day" is alot of frustration, anger, sadness and isolation for my son, his sister and myself.
I was given respite funds for him from DDD (Department of Developmental Disablilites) but, the trick is to find someone who is reliable and makes a good connection with your child.
I would love to get my typically developing daughter in sports or extracurricular activites, but, with my husband gone for work, and no extended family in the area I live in, and still no reliable helpers for him, it's been unsuccessful. My wish would be for them BOTH to have arts or sports to look forward to weekly, but, Keanu is still unable to follow along with any type of organized sports. He is good at swimming, but I've yet to find something that fits his abilities.
So, a whole weekend of feeling this disconnect from the outside world took it's toll on me emotionally.
Non-autism families -- can wake up in the morning, and get their kids off to their games' and gatherings with friends and family, I am just, well, lost at sea.
Don't get me wrong, I know I am blessed in so many ways. I never want anyone to think that I am not grateful for the life I have, my children or husband. But, it gets emotionally draining trying to tune out what everyone else is doing and the fact that we aren't.
In May, I will be attending a huge autism conference in Chicago, "AUTISM ONE" -- I hope to gain more insight of therapies which may help my son. I have an open mind and will always try things that I think may help him - I hope to connect with other parents of children who are like my son. All I want is to know that he is getting better.
regards, Dana
That was me, for a solid week now and counting.
It started with a dear friend of mine interviewing me for her college class. She wanted to hear what a typical "day in the life" of an autism mom was like.
I thought hmm.. piece of cake!
UNTIL that is, it came time to explain autism.
Sure, I can tell my son's story and what life was like after his diagnosis, and how a day usually unfolds for me.
But when she asked me specific questions about autism, I sorta felt paralyzed. It's very hard to generalize a child with autism, as for me, I think no 2 are the same. Sure, they may have similar communication, social and behavioral challenges - but, underneath it all, my son is sick. He is medically sick.
When he was a baby, about 12 months old, he started to eat all sorts of baby foods that you would introduce at that stage. Mashed bananas, puddings, rice, steamed broccoli with fish, oatmeal... all kinds of textures and flavors. Then his MMR vaccine (and a flu shot shorty after) changed all of that.
He never wanted to eat much again. I mean, not just those foods, sadly, most all foods.
I have been immersed in the world of biomedical therapies for autism ever since. Yet, my son hasn't responded the way I had hoped he would. He still struggles with so many things, eating, his language, his hyperactivity, and his OCD seem to be getting worse, and that controls alot of his neurological breakdowns.
I am NOT giving up though. I am still working on healing his gut 24/7. We are seeing a Natropath and hope to resume CEASE Homeopathy when we can financially afford to.
But, what really happens in my "typical day" is alot of frustration, anger, sadness and isolation for my son, his sister and myself.
I was given respite funds for him from DDD (Department of Developmental Disablilites) but, the trick is to find someone who is reliable and makes a good connection with your child.
I would love to get my typically developing daughter in sports or extracurricular activites, but, with my husband gone for work, and no extended family in the area I live in, and still no reliable helpers for him, it's been unsuccessful. My wish would be for them BOTH to have arts or sports to look forward to weekly, but, Keanu is still unable to follow along with any type of organized sports. He is good at swimming, but I've yet to find something that fits his abilities.
So, a whole weekend of feeling this disconnect from the outside world took it's toll on me emotionally.
Non-autism families -- can wake up in the morning, and get their kids off to their games' and gatherings with friends and family, I am just, well, lost at sea.
Don't get me wrong, I know I am blessed in so many ways. I never want anyone to think that I am not grateful for the life I have, my children or husband. But, it gets emotionally draining trying to tune out what everyone else is doing and the fact that we aren't.
In May, I will be attending a huge autism conference in Chicago, "AUTISM ONE" -- I hope to gain more insight of therapies which may help my son. I have an open mind and will always try things that I think may help him - I hope to connect with other parents of children who are like my son. All I want is to know that he is getting better.
regards, Dana
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
New Numbers
Last night, I logged onto Facebook and found that the CDC would be releasing new autism numbers this morning. My outrage, despair and helplessness has been almost paralyzing. I have been working on a blog post this week regarding yeast and Candida. Instead, I must face this issue before it consumes me.
Our newest number is now 1 in 50 school aged children with an autism spectrum diagnosis. At this exact time last year, we were just given the 1 in 88 number. The year before that, they gave us 1 in 150. They are changing so fast, its getting hard to keep up. The first thing that came to me was complete outrage. I am still shaking with unvented rage. 2% of our population under the age of 18 is suffering from autism and NO ONE SEEMS TO THINK THIS IS AN EMERGENCY. I'm absolutely sick with anger at the complete and utter lack of concern from the people telling us these numbers. "Nothing to see here, folks! Just know the signs and make your April donation to Autism Speaks!" Lightbulb!! April is Autism Speaks Month (Autism Awareness Month). They dropped the 1 in 88 numbers right before April last year, too. Good timing for lining their pockets, isn't it? You can rest assured that your $5 donation will go directly into someone's paycheck or into a fund for studying genetic links to autism. Yay!
Now, where did the numbers come from? How were they compiled? The 1 in 88 number came from a study done in 2008 on 8 year olds in only 14 states. I'd say that is not an accurate representation of the entire country, wouldn't you? These current numbers were compiled from a survey done over the phone with 95,000 parents. Hmm. Probably not the most accurate representation again. So, what are the REAL numbers?! Some believe it's closer to 1 in 29. In some states, that IS the number. At what point do we start, you know, giving a shit?
Autism is real. Autism is medical. Autism is treatable. Autism is not 100% genetic. Autism is preventable for many. For some reason not a single one of these statements is recognized by our pharma or governmental officials. Why not? Why are our children being pushed into the spotlight for fundraising campaigns and news updates on the growing need for special education services but when we ask the questions of "why" and "how," they are pushed back into that dark corner and labelled as medical mysteries? They are here, they need help but we aren't going to truly do anything beyond "awareness." What gives, guys? Oh yeah. The truth is scary and forbidden. The billions of dollars to be lost, the complete crumbling of public trust and compliance. I guess their livelihoods and peacekeeping would be at stake.
If these numbers were applied to anything else, can you imagine the pure panic? Imagine if 1 in 50 children right now had the flu, measles, chickenpox, etc. All temporary diseases that are treatable with low chance for long term effects. But here we are with 1 in 50 children suffering with bowel issues, inflammation on the brain, speech problems, OCD, anxiety, seizures, frustration and on and on and on. Real pain, real suffering, real lives halted or stopped completely.
Now, I have to share an experience I had with someone a few days ago. A friend of a friend and I got into it on FB a little over the "over diagnosing" of autism and ADHD. There seems to be this stereotype of us from outsiders that we are lazy parents who look for the easy way out by getting a diagnosis of autism or ADHD. Ok. Let me tell you something. This is exactly what I told her:
I am getting quite tired of seeing the assumption of outsiders generalizing all of us as "taking the easy way out" by getting our kids these "overused" diagnosis'. You think we are finding these doctors who just hand them out willy-nilly without evaluations and testing? Nope! Pediatricians and school specialists cannot diagnose these disorders. You have to get on a long waiting list with a specialist and go through several evaluations (most insurance companies don't cover) and essentially pay out a few thousand bucks. Then if you get a dx, you go through this giant list of therapy and treatment options, again, insurance doesn't cover ANY of. So you realize, damn, you aren't going to be able to afford these therapies and just pray your local school district can give as much support and resources as possible to help your child. Then you realize how much diet plays a roll in treatment and find yourself dropping $200 a WEEK in organic, gluten free foods not to mention the hundreds of dollars in supplements to help regulate their bowels and inflammation. And this does not even skim the matter of biomed treatment options. Yeah, easy way out.
I have met hundreds and thousands of parents here on FB who are in this world. They are all the most hardworking, educated, passionate people I've ever met in my life. They not only take on their personal battles with it, but they put in hours and hours and hours into fighting the government, medical facilities, insurance companies, pharma, etc for the future generation. They are real warriors and they suffer daily from the stress and heartbreak of their stories and the stories of people who support them. I don't know how most of them get the strength to wake up in the mornings and face the same day on constant repeat. They are the hardest working moms I've ever seen and it repulses me to see them labeled as "lazy, ignorant moms with no clue." They are far, far beyond that.
If you are a person reading this without an autistic child, without a vaccine injured child, or without children at all, thank you. You are taking time to read and support a growing population of struggling families. If you think this epidemic doesn't concern you and hasn't touched you, you are so wrong. This effects every single American. The long-term financial repercussions of autism and the ever growing numbers will devastate our economy and our healthcare system. 1 in 50 children will be 1 in 50 adults sooner than you think. And by then, the numbers for the children could be 1 in 20, 1 in 10? Who is going to take care of them? With what money and what resources?
We NEED you. We have made a whole hell of a lot of noise in just our little community, but they can barely hear us. We need unity. We need each and every American on board to raise some hell and demand some answers and action to fight this epidemic. It is not just our children who are being left behind and lost, we all are. Please. Whether you have a child on the spectrum or not, spread the word. Demand some attention and action from our leaders. Our children cannot wait. Where is the outrage?
~Cheers!
Nicole
Our newest number is now 1 in 50 school aged children with an autism spectrum diagnosis. At this exact time last year, we were just given the 1 in 88 number. The year before that, they gave us 1 in 150. They are changing so fast, its getting hard to keep up. The first thing that came to me was complete outrage. I am still shaking with unvented rage. 2% of our population under the age of 18 is suffering from autism and NO ONE SEEMS TO THINK THIS IS AN EMERGENCY. I'm absolutely sick with anger at the complete and utter lack of concern from the people telling us these numbers. "Nothing to see here, folks! Just know the signs and make your April donation to Autism Speaks!" Lightbulb!! April is Autism Speaks Month (Autism Awareness Month). They dropped the 1 in 88 numbers right before April last year, too. Good timing for lining their pockets, isn't it? You can rest assured that your $5 donation will go directly into someone's paycheck or into a fund for studying genetic links to autism. Yay!
Now, where did the numbers come from? How were they compiled? The 1 in 88 number came from a study done in 2008 on 8 year olds in only 14 states. I'd say that is not an accurate representation of the entire country, wouldn't you? These current numbers were compiled from a survey done over the phone with 95,000 parents. Hmm. Probably not the most accurate representation again. So, what are the REAL numbers?! Some believe it's closer to 1 in 29. In some states, that IS the number. At what point do we start, you know, giving a shit?
Autism is real. Autism is medical. Autism is treatable. Autism is not 100% genetic. Autism is preventable for many. For some reason not a single one of these statements is recognized by our pharma or governmental officials. Why not? Why are our children being pushed into the spotlight for fundraising campaigns and news updates on the growing need for special education services but when we ask the questions of "why" and "how," they are pushed back into that dark corner and labelled as medical mysteries? They are here, they need help but we aren't going to truly do anything beyond "awareness." What gives, guys? Oh yeah. The truth is scary and forbidden. The billions of dollars to be lost, the complete crumbling of public trust and compliance. I guess their livelihoods and peacekeeping would be at stake.
If these numbers were applied to anything else, can you imagine the pure panic? Imagine if 1 in 50 children right now had the flu, measles, chickenpox, etc. All temporary diseases that are treatable with low chance for long term effects. But here we are with 1 in 50 children suffering with bowel issues, inflammation on the brain, speech problems, OCD, anxiety, seizures, frustration and on and on and on. Real pain, real suffering, real lives halted or stopped completely.
Now, I have to share an experience I had with someone a few days ago. A friend of a friend and I got into it on FB a little over the "over diagnosing" of autism and ADHD. There seems to be this stereotype of us from outsiders that we are lazy parents who look for the easy way out by getting a diagnosis of autism or ADHD. Ok. Let me tell you something. This is exactly what I told her:
I am getting quite tired of seeing the assumption of outsiders generalizing all of us as "taking the easy way out" by getting our kids these "overused" diagnosis'. You think we are finding these doctors who just hand them out willy-nilly without evaluations and testing? Nope! Pediatricians and school specialists cannot diagnose these disorders. You have to get on a long waiting list with a specialist and go through several evaluations (most insurance companies don't cover) and essentially pay out a few thousand bucks. Then if you get a dx, you go through this giant list of therapy and treatment options, again, insurance doesn't cover ANY of. So you realize, damn, you aren't going to be able to afford these therapies and just pray your local school district can give as much support and resources as possible to help your child. Then you realize how much diet plays a roll in treatment and find yourself dropping $200 a WEEK in organic, gluten free foods not to mention the hundreds of dollars in supplements to help regulate their bowels and inflammation. And this does not even skim the matter of biomed treatment options. Yeah, easy way out.
I have met hundreds and thousands of parents here on FB who are in this world. They are all the most hardworking, educated, passionate people I've ever met in my life. They not only take on their personal battles with it, but they put in hours and hours and hours into fighting the government, medical facilities, insurance companies, pharma, etc for the future generation. They are real warriors and they suffer daily from the stress and heartbreak of their stories and the stories of people who support them. I don't know how most of them get the strength to wake up in the mornings and face the same day on constant repeat. They are the hardest working moms I've ever seen and it repulses me to see them labeled as "lazy, ignorant moms with no clue." They are far, far beyond that.
If you are a person reading this without an autistic child, without a vaccine injured child, or without children at all, thank you. You are taking time to read and support a growing population of struggling families. If you think this epidemic doesn't concern you and hasn't touched you, you are so wrong. This effects every single American. The long-term financial repercussions of autism and the ever growing numbers will devastate our economy and our healthcare system. 1 in 50 children will be 1 in 50 adults sooner than you think. And by then, the numbers for the children could be 1 in 20, 1 in 10? Who is going to take care of them? With what money and what resources?
We NEED you. We have made a whole hell of a lot of noise in just our little community, but they can barely hear us. We need unity. We need each and every American on board to raise some hell and demand some answers and action to fight this epidemic. It is not just our children who are being left behind and lost, we all are. Please. Whether you have a child on the spectrum or not, spread the word. Demand some attention and action from our leaders. Our children cannot wait. Where is the outrage?
~Cheers!
Nicole
Friday, March 1, 2013
Dear Dr. F
First off, welcome back! Thank you for all the views and love. We are excited to see we've been viewed not only here in America, but in several other countries as well. Thank you, thank you!
It is March, which means we are one month away from "Autism Awareness Month." I'd like to defy the crap out of this month and light it up yellow! Forget blue! Let's make this a month of action! Let's don our yellow Canary Party colors and represent!! More on that topic later. Now, let's get to business!
This is a letter I've been dying to write for over a year. It feels so good to let it out, even if she never actually reads it. So here I am, please indulge my little piece of therapy. The last post of Elijah's story tore me up. I need this ;)
Our upcoming posts will start becoming more outward driven and less "about me." I have some guest bloggers lined up to share some information and stories as well.
Dear Dr. F (abbreviated out of what little respect is left for her),
Thank you.
Thank you for showing outstanding ability to fit right into your niche profession as a westernized pediatric doctor. You are a stellar representative of everything the AAP stands for, they really should give you an award or something.
The day we met (I'm sure you won't remember this, as it was 4.5 years ago and lord only knows how many hundreds of patients you've been with since that day), was my son's first day of life. We were still at the hospital and you came to visit, nice and early to make your rounds with your new little patients. I was so excited to meet you and very eager to entrust his health to you. All you had to do was smile and make small talk and bam! I was you new biggest fan! By the time we met, Elijah had already had his first vaccine after his less than safe entrance to the world. I think you looked him over for about 3 minutes and declared him perfectly perfect, aside from the strange birthmarks on his leg that no one could identify.
Our first well child visit was only a few days later. I had more time to really think about the "whole vaccine thing" and you quickly dismissed my reservations with the memorized "it's perfectly safe, absolutely nothing can happen, autism and vaccines are not linked" spiel. Thank you for putting my mind at ease.
Thank you for continuing to put my mind at ease over the next year and a half when I brought up my reservations and concerns about his regression. You made me feel much better every time we shot him up. Thank you for helping me sleep better during those long nights.
Thank you for finally recognizing Elijah's issues at 18 months old. Thanks for shrugging it off as a common issue and scribbling down a number at the school district to get him enrolled with Early Intervention. Thank you for making it all someone else's problem immediately. Thank you for putting us on a 9 month waiting list with Seattle Children's to get screened for autism. Autism. The scary word I mentioned before that you scoffed at. The word you couldn't even help me understand. Thank you for addressing the issue just long enough to get it off your own shoulders. Thank you for making us wait 9 grueling months of little answers, little help and little hope.
Thank you for finally showing your true colors. Thank you for leading me away from modern pediatrics. It was actually quite a relief to walk into that naturopath office knowing I'd never be pushed to vaccinate, medicate, fluoridinate, or lose complete control of my children. Thank you for paving the way to this new lifestyle before you maimed both of my children. Thank you for helping me realize Dana was right. The things she taught me on the side. The "crazy conspiracy" stuff. The gateway into the world of biomed, healing, community and most importantly, TRUTH. The vaccine injury world has saved my sanity and it will save my son.
Thank you for not even noticing we left. Thanks for not ever calling to check in on us when we didn't show up for several months. Or for checking in when Seattle Children's accidentally sent you Elijah's results instead of the new doctor. Thank you for your support, your concern and your care.
Truly, Dr. F. Thank you for the vaccine injuries, the lost faith in modern medicine and for the autism.
Thanks for nothing. Thanks for everything.
Sincerely,
Nicole
~Cheers
Elijah a few weeks after his official diagnosis
It is March, which means we are one month away from "Autism Awareness Month." I'd like to defy the crap out of this month and light it up yellow! Forget blue! Let's make this a month of action! Let's don our yellow Canary Party colors and represent!! More on that topic later. Now, let's get to business!
This is a letter I've been dying to write for over a year. It feels so good to let it out, even if she never actually reads it. So here I am, please indulge my little piece of therapy. The last post of Elijah's story tore me up. I need this ;)
Our upcoming posts will start becoming more outward driven and less "about me." I have some guest bloggers lined up to share some information and stories as well.
Dear Dr. F (abbreviated out of what little respect is left for her),
Thank you.
Thank you for showing outstanding ability to fit right into your niche profession as a westernized pediatric doctor. You are a stellar representative of everything the AAP stands for, they really should give you an award or something.
The day we met (I'm sure you won't remember this, as it was 4.5 years ago and lord only knows how many hundreds of patients you've been with since that day), was my son's first day of life. We were still at the hospital and you came to visit, nice and early to make your rounds with your new little patients. I was so excited to meet you and very eager to entrust his health to you. All you had to do was smile and make small talk and bam! I was you new biggest fan! By the time we met, Elijah had already had his first vaccine after his less than safe entrance to the world. I think you looked him over for about 3 minutes and declared him perfectly perfect, aside from the strange birthmarks on his leg that no one could identify.
Our first well child visit was only a few days later. I had more time to really think about the "whole vaccine thing" and you quickly dismissed my reservations with the memorized "it's perfectly safe, absolutely nothing can happen, autism and vaccines are not linked" spiel. Thank you for putting my mind at ease.
Thank you for continuing to put my mind at ease over the next year and a half when I brought up my reservations and concerns about his regression. You made me feel much better every time we shot him up. Thank you for helping me sleep better during those long nights.
Thank you for finally recognizing Elijah's issues at 18 months old. Thanks for shrugging it off as a common issue and scribbling down a number at the school district to get him enrolled with Early Intervention. Thank you for making it all someone else's problem immediately. Thank you for putting us on a 9 month waiting list with Seattle Children's to get screened for autism. Autism. The scary word I mentioned before that you scoffed at. The word you couldn't even help me understand. Thank you for addressing the issue just long enough to get it off your own shoulders. Thank you for making us wait 9 grueling months of little answers, little help and little hope.
Thank you for finally showing your true colors. Thank you for leading me away from modern pediatrics. It was actually quite a relief to walk into that naturopath office knowing I'd never be pushed to vaccinate, medicate, fluoridinate, or lose complete control of my children. Thank you for paving the way to this new lifestyle before you maimed both of my children. Thank you for helping me realize Dana was right. The things she taught me on the side. The "crazy conspiracy" stuff. The gateway into the world of biomed, healing, community and most importantly, TRUTH. The vaccine injury world has saved my sanity and it will save my son.
Thank you for not even noticing we left. Thanks for not ever calling to check in on us when we didn't show up for several months. Or for checking in when Seattle Children's accidentally sent you Elijah's results instead of the new doctor. Thank you for your support, your concern and your care.
Truly, Dr. F. Thank you for the vaccine injuries, the lost faith in modern medicine and for the autism.
Thanks for nothing. Thanks for everything.
Sincerely,
Nicole
~Cheers
Sunday, February 17, 2013
The road to injury, the path to recovery.
I know it's a bit inappropriate to take such a long hiatus between posts, especially after the debut. We could blame it on writer's block but honestly, I think it's pure terror. I know Dana was traumatized after reliving Keanu's story. This is far from an easy thing to do but we want nothing more than to be perfectly honest, open and real. We want to do our part to change the world, but also to be there for other parents who have been traumatized in a similar way. The only way to do that, is to face the demons of the past and relive it everyday, every minute. So here I am to share the road to Elijah's injury. Please bear with me, this is not easy.
Elijah was born in July 2008. I had a normal first pregnancy. I avoided the right foods, didn't medicate myself when I was sick, I worked until it wasn't safe anymore (dog boarding/daycare facility), and we walked at least 10 miles a week during my third trimester. I even managed to avoid getting a flu shot despite it being pushed on me at every OB visit. Giving the flu shot to pregnant women was a brand new concept in 2008, so the OB didn't even have any in stock, they just kept telling me to go to the pharmacy and get one. Well, I'd never had a flu shot before and I wasn't about to get one now. So, the afternoon of July 24th, I went into labor and after a quick labor with a heavy dose of epidural, Elijah made his appearance at 11:22 PM. I wish I could say he was perfectly healthy upon delivery, but he was in distress. His first apgar score was a 2 and he was quite blue. The nurses were able to revive him fairly quickly and his second apgar score was a 7, then 9. It was just a frightening moment they said. He is fine. And he was. He was perfect. He received his very first vaccine immediately. Hep B.
.JPG)
Elijah was born in July 2008. I had a normal first pregnancy. I avoided the right foods, didn't medicate myself when I was sick, I worked until it wasn't safe anymore (dog boarding/daycare facility), and we walked at least 10 miles a week during my third trimester. I even managed to avoid getting a flu shot despite it being pushed on me at every OB visit. Giving the flu shot to pregnant women was a brand new concept in 2008, so the OB didn't even have any in stock, they just kept telling me to go to the pharmacy and get one. Well, I'd never had a flu shot before and I wasn't about to get one now. So, the afternoon of July 24th, I went into labor and after a quick labor with a heavy dose of epidural, Elijah made his appearance at 11:22 PM. I wish I could say he was perfectly healthy upon delivery, but he was in distress. His first apgar score was a 2 and he was quite blue. The nurses were able to revive him fairly quickly and his second apgar score was a 7, then 9. It was just a frightening moment they said. He is fine. And he was. He was perfect. He received his very first vaccine immediately. Hep B.
.JPG)
Elijah at birth
I didn't get to nurse Elijah until after his vaccination. He didn't want to latch. I attributed it to my ignorance and lack of experience. But this continued to be a problem for weeks. After one infection after another (and antibiotic after another), I gave up and just started pumping. I pumped for 13 months, probably the only right thing I did the entire first year of his life. By the end of 2008, he had 16 doses of 6 vaccines: Hep B, Rotavirus, DTaP, Hib, Polio, and Pneumococcal. Yes, by 5 months old he had taken as much poison into his body as I had my entire life.
His sleeping habits were normal until about this time. Then they went horribly crazy from then up until he was 4 years old. Aside from that, he was a very normal baby. He drank well from the bottle and loved his pureed baby food when we started those around 7 months old. He started crawling on time, he was walking at 10 months old. By 12 months old, he had a few words. When he turned 1, he had 28 doses of 10 vaccines: we add in more Heb B, more Rotavirus, more DTaP, more Hib, more Polio, more Pneumococcal and started our first rounds of MMR, Varicella, Hep A and a flu shot. At 15 months old, we added another round of DTaP and Pnueomococcal. **Please remember the MMR and DTaP are 3 in 1s so they count for 3 doses per shot.** So 32 doses by 15 months old.
Me with Elijah (10 months old) He loved the water before
we lost him. Now, he hates it.
Elijah the day before his 1 year well child visit
Elijah one month after his 1 year child visit. The light wasn't out
completely yet, but we noticed the change.
Elijah at 21 months old. 6 months after his 15 month shots. The light is gone.
This is when we lost him. This complete onslaught of vaccines in such a short time was the end of our normal, healthy child. This is when we saw the switch in his brain go off. Perhaps his traumatic birth put him at risk for this. Perhpas his brain was already predisposed to autism. What I DO know, is he was never evaluated for that risk. He was blindly jabbed to the point of near oblivion. He stopped eating, sleeping, talking, playing and interacting. He started to go into himself. This is when his OCD tendencies began along with meltdowns.
I could go into a very detailed description of just what he went through, but autism parents reading this already know. The list could take days to describe so we will leave that for another post. To say the least, the effect this had on me was devastating. I can't describe the emotions and heartbreak of watching my son regress into himself. Into an angry, hurt and sick person. You shouldn't have to sit by and watch your child stim or hit themselves out of pure frustration.
In 2010, we had him evaluated for early intervention with our school district as recommended by the pediatrician. His complete change in personality didn't seem to bother her a bit and was perfectly normal by her standards. Perhaps they were normal by her standards. How many hundreds of kids had she done this to? Elijah qualified for many areas of developmental delays and was quickly enrolled in the program.
Still, we vaccinated. One more round of Hep A, Hib, and Pneumococcal. It was at this appointment that the pediatrician decided it was time to get him on the 9 month waiting list at Seattle Children's Autism Center for evaluation. This was the last time we saw her. By now, I had met Dana and learned what I had done to Elijah. The rest you could say, is history. He was diagnosed in March of 2012. But we knew a year before. We knew when we saw the light go out at 15 months old. But we pushed the damage further.
2012 saw many great milestones. His new preschool teachers and therapists worked wonders. Coupled with a huge diet change and a year of no more vaccines, we saw our son start to come back to us. In April, I went on a road trip with the kids and my mom to Las Vegas for my sister's wedding. Elijah loved it so much. We discovered he loves to travel. He flourished. When we got home, even his teacher noted the change in him. He was starting to speak and interact with other students. That June, we went on another roadtrip with my husband to California. Again, he thrived. Ever since then, its been a progression of complete progress. His IEP goals are being met and he tries to play with other kids now instead of just watching or following them around imitating them. I'm so incredibly proud of him. We have a very, very, very long road ahead of us but I feel that we are on the right path towards recovery. Perhaps someday, we will see a full recovery. It's a long shot of a dream, but I dare to dream it.
Elijah January 2013
Cheers! ~Nicole
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Immunity
Ahh, immunity, we all want that for ourselves and children right? A life free of serious illness or disease....
But, what is so ironic is that the products we are sold for immunity.... have a different form of immunity themselves - they are immune from any responsibility should their product be harmful to us, or worse, deadly.
My son Keanu was diagnosed with autism in 2005.
I can only speak for him, I can only tell you what happened to my child, and I can tell you with no uncertainty, that he changed after every vaccination, and he changed for the worst.
He was a bright, babbling 1 year old baby, he was learning new words, he waved "bye bye" to my husband every time he left for work, he played hide and seek with me all over the house, he mimicked me when I taught him where his eyes, nose and mouth were, he ate a wide variety of foods, he slept through the night, his digestive tract was fine.....until his MMR vaccine at 14 months of age, and a flu shot shortly after (recklessly given to him while he was sick).
He was never the same baby again. But, I continued to follow the recommended vaccine schedule until he was 2 years old, not knowing that vaccines were injuring him neurologically, and he continued to regress in health and development.
He stopped eating, he stopped sleeping through the night, he lost eye contact, never again responded to his name, never mimicked me again, or waved bye-bye, and began a plethora of new, odd behaviors we had never seen before.
I want to tell you that in 2004, when these issues began, I didn't know what Google was, I wasn't on Facebook or Twitter, I had an AOL account for email, I watched the nightly news.... but I never saw any other babies with autism, I had no idea what autism was, because I never knew any kids with autism growing up !
I honestly thought that all baby boys' were this hard, this fussy. I was a new mom, living in a new town with no friends with small kids to compare my toddler with. He had a little cousin who was the same age, but, I thought boys were just so different to girls. She was so much more advanced and I attributed it to gender.
I could see he was sick - but, I had no idea why or what to do.
I became pregnant with our daughter, and he was up all night, so I never slept either, he barely ate, I was so distressed - I was exhausted and pregnant and watching him spiral out of control.
When I gave birth to Jasmine, my Mother came to help us, it was she who researched his symptoms for me, she was the first to suggest the word 'autism' and it terrified me, I had no idea what it was or what it meant. As frightened as I was, I knew it was true, he showed every sign.
We quickly began our quest for information on how best to help him (with a 2-week old baby in tow) my Mother found the Generation Rescue website, it explained the connection between vaccines and autism - and we headed straight for a DAN!
Doctor to help us.
(Physicians who dedicate their practice to helping children injured by vaccines or other environmental insults.)
I believe highly in Biomedical treatments, we have only been able to do them on/off with Keanu due to the financial costs.
It was in 2008 that I was given the name of an Attorney in New York who's son was also affected by vaccines and autism. He was accepting cases for children like my son, at no cost to the families. I called him immediately.
He agreed that my son had a "very strong case" - but, always maintained that even PERFECT cases will be rejected. We proceeded anyway. We both spent hours of time preparing documentation, I gathered every shred of medical records from the time he was born, all vaccine records, school records, therapists' notes, lab test results stating his high levels of heavy metals (found in vaccines) I got testimonials from every Physician who examined my child (was even escorted OUT of the office of the Dr. who gave him the flu shot.)
I drove all over town getting written statements from many people - I did long phone consults.
This went on from 2008-2013.
We are officially done and we have officially LOST.
My son is now 10. He still has a damaged gut, he still barely eats, he is considered moderately autistic, he is also considered non-verbal. He has no sense of danger, he needs so many therapies, NONE of which are covered by our health insurance.
We are still in the process of being approved for a medicaid waiver for some limited therapies, no approval yet.
So, to think now, all of this from his vaccines, a life so drastically altered forever, from those vaccines. And the vaccine makers are IMMUNE from all liability of damage they caused him.
Please research vaccine safety.
Please research vaccine adverse reactions.
Please do the work that I wish I had done, now that you have the tools and the information.
I will leave you all with this quote by Ginger Taylor (co-author of the book VACCINE EPIDEMIC) as I believe it sums it up perfectly;
"The vaccine industry is a 27 billion dollar per year business. It is as near as you get to the Federal Reserve and the Treasury as a license to print money. Vaccines are marketed and purchased by the US government and vaccine makers are immune from any financial or any other kind of liability when their vaccines kill or maim the American people. If you had a product line that you didn't have to advertise, that every child in the country had to buy (several times) and that you could not be sued for, and that even when one of your products was known to cause widespread death and damage, you could STILL go a decade or more with out having to go to the expense of updating it... how hard would you fight to keep that golden goose a'layin'?"
But, what is so ironic is that the products we are sold for immunity.... have a different form of immunity themselves - they are immune from any responsibility should their product be harmful to us, or worse, deadly.
My son Keanu was diagnosed with autism in 2005.
I can only speak for him, I can only tell you what happened to my child, and I can tell you with no uncertainty, that he changed after every vaccination, and he changed for the worst.
He was a bright, babbling 1 year old baby, he was learning new words, he waved "bye bye" to my husband every time he left for work, he played hide and seek with me all over the house, he mimicked me when I taught him where his eyes, nose and mouth were, he ate a wide variety of foods, he slept through the night, his digestive tract was fine.....until his MMR vaccine at 14 months of age, and a flu shot shortly after (recklessly given to him while he was sick).
He was never the same baby again. But, I continued to follow the recommended vaccine schedule until he was 2 years old, not knowing that vaccines were injuring him neurologically, and he continued to regress in health and development.
He stopped eating, he stopped sleeping through the night, he lost eye contact, never again responded to his name, never mimicked me again, or waved bye-bye, and began a plethora of new, odd behaviors we had never seen before.
I want to tell you that in 2004, when these issues began, I didn't know what Google was, I wasn't on Facebook or Twitter, I had an AOL account for email, I watched the nightly news.... but I never saw any other babies with autism, I had no idea what autism was, because I never knew any kids with autism growing up !
I honestly thought that all baby boys' were this hard, this fussy. I was a new mom, living in a new town with no friends with small kids to compare my toddler with. He had a little cousin who was the same age, but, I thought boys were just so different to girls. She was so much more advanced and I attributed it to gender.
I could see he was sick - but, I had no idea why or what to do.
I became pregnant with our daughter, and he was up all night, so I never slept either, he barely ate, I was so distressed - I was exhausted and pregnant and watching him spiral out of control.
When I gave birth to Jasmine, my Mother came to help us, it was she who researched his symptoms for me, she was the first to suggest the word 'autism' and it terrified me, I had no idea what it was or what it meant. As frightened as I was, I knew it was true, he showed every sign.
We quickly began our quest for information on how best to help him (with a 2-week old baby in tow) my Mother found the Generation Rescue website, it explained the connection between vaccines and autism - and we headed straight for a DAN!
Doctor to help us.
(Physicians who dedicate their practice to helping children injured by vaccines or other environmental insults.)
I believe highly in Biomedical treatments, we have only been able to do them on/off with Keanu due to the financial costs.
It was in 2008 that I was given the name of an Attorney in New York who's son was also affected by vaccines and autism. He was accepting cases for children like my son, at no cost to the families. I called him immediately.
He agreed that my son had a "very strong case" - but, always maintained that even PERFECT cases will be rejected. We proceeded anyway. We both spent hours of time preparing documentation, I gathered every shred of medical records from the time he was born, all vaccine records, school records, therapists' notes, lab test results stating his high levels of heavy metals (found in vaccines) I got testimonials from every Physician who examined my child (was even escorted OUT of the office of the Dr. who gave him the flu shot.)
I drove all over town getting written statements from many people - I did long phone consults.
This went on from 2008-2013.
We are officially done and we have officially LOST.
My son is now 10. He still has a damaged gut, he still barely eats, he is considered moderately autistic, he is also considered non-verbal. He has no sense of danger, he needs so many therapies, NONE of which are covered by our health insurance.
We are still in the process of being approved for a medicaid waiver for some limited therapies, no approval yet.
So, to think now, all of this from his vaccines, a life so drastically altered forever, from those vaccines. And the vaccine makers are IMMUNE from all liability of damage they caused him.
Please research vaccine safety.
Please research vaccine adverse reactions.
Please do the work that I wish I had done, now that you have the tools and the information.
I will leave you all with this quote by Ginger Taylor (co-author of the book VACCINE EPIDEMIC) as I believe it sums it up perfectly;
"The vaccine industry is a 27 billion dollar per year business. It is as near as you get to the Federal Reserve and the Treasury as a license to print money. Vaccines are marketed and purchased by the US government and vaccine makers are immune from any financial or any other kind of liability when their vaccines kill or maim the American people. If you had a product line that you didn't have to advertise, that every child in the country had to buy (several times) and that you could not be sued for, and that even when one of your products was known to cause widespread death and damage, you could STILL go a decade or more with out having to go to the expense of updating it... how hard would you fight to keep that golden goose a'layin'?"
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Inflammation Nation: Wake up, America
Today, we're going to discuss inflammation. It is the bane of the human body. Let's first look at what inflammation can do, and this is just barely scraping the surface. And then, I'm going to rant. Fair warning :)
Inflammation= Skin issues. Eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis.
Inflammation= Stomach issues. Leaky gut, gastroenteritis, yeast overgrowth, bowel problems.
Inflammation= Severe food allergies.
Inflammation= Swollen kidneys.
Inflammation= Lung issues. Asthma, chronic croup, chronic RSV.
Inflammation= Chronic ear infections.
Inflammation= Joint issues. Arthritis of all types (osteo, rheumatoid, gout)
Inflammation= Autoimmune issues. Lupus, Chrohn's, Celiac, Fibromyalgia, Guillain-Burre, Graves, MS, etc, etc, etc.
Inflammation= Brain swelling. Encephalopathy/Encephalitis. Encephalopathy= seizures, myelin damage, SIDS, Autism, ADHD, Shaken Baby Syndrome, major physical and developmental disorders and delays.
As I said, this is just a small sample of inflammation related disorders. Now tell me, how many of these issues can you attribute to your own child? Chances are, at least one or two. Why? Why are we a nation full of inflammation in our bodies? Can we really sit here and say it's "normal" or "genetic?" Did you suffer from these issues as a child? Did your parents? Did their parents? Doubt it.
It's time we realize where all this inflammation is coming from. It comes from gluten, aluminum, preservatives, MSG, pesticides, thimerosal, aspartame, formaldehyde, fetal bovine serum, human diploid cells (aborted fetus), yeast protein and so, so much more. Everything I just listed can be found in either our current food supply or in the ingredients were are shooting our kids up via vaccinations. You can find the CDC's list of vaccine ingredients Here. Scary stuff, am I right? Oh, and lets not forget the organ damage from all that tylenol we're pumping our kids with for every tiny fever.
Have you taken a look at our current CDC vaccine schedule? It's quite insightful. I'm willing to bet it's at least double or more the size it was when you were a child. I was a 90's child. Graduated high school in 2005. My vaccine records show 16 doses of vaccines total. My son had 37 doses of vaccines by the age of 3. Yes, his brain sure did react to those inflammatory ingredients. Your child's body probably has, too, if not in his or her brain, then in other areas. Every single disease and disorder I mentioned above is a common "vaccine injury."
So what are you going to do about it? Well, that's up to you. But here comes my rant. Are you ready?
RANT: It's time to start taking personal responsibility for what we put in our bodies, especially our childrens' bodies. Stop shifting that job onto pediatricians and other doctors. They don't care or possibly even realize that all this inflammation is connected. It's not their job to make these decisions for you, so stop letting them. Don't make the mistake of having complete trust in doctors and government officials who profit from the pushing of these vaccines and poisoned food. The CDC cannot be unbiased in their job of promoting vaccines and being in charge of vaccine safety. Conflict of interest? Chya, big time.
It's time to put our big girl and boy undies on, open up some vaccine inserts found Here, and do our OWN research. KNOW what you are putting in these tiny bodies and what can happen when you do it. I cannot make you do this. I cannot spoonfeed the risks and death numbers into your brain for you. It's tedious, it's frightening, it's maddening and you will want to run away from it. Don't. Almost every child in America is dealing with the effects of our refusal to see the truth. Almost every child is dealing with inflammation somewhere in their precious bodies. Save them.
Inflammation Nation, we must change. 1 in 88 children on the spectrum and growing. They cannot wait.
Cheers. -Nicole
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Cheers! Please join the vaccine injury awareness party!
Welcome to our party! I'm Nicole, I'm 25 years old and married to my best friend, Daniel. We have 2 beautiful kids, Elijah and Jazlyn, and a wonderful Pit Bull named Trinity. I'm very excited to start this blog project with my amazing friend, Dana. We have been trying to come up with some ideas for several months on just how we can share our stories and mission and connect with other parents. We have huge plans for this blog. We're hoping to share our personal stories of vaccine injury as well as others'. We also want to share photos, information/statistics, knowledge, recipes and treatment options for various types of vaccine injuries.
How did this all come about? I will try to give the short story. I met Dana through a mutual photographer friend of ours in 2011. Her son, Keanu, had long since been diagnosed with autism. My son, Elijah was 3 years old and already in early intervention with our local school district. From the time I was pregnant, I had a "bad feeling" about vaccinating but was too young and lazy to do the research. I just wanted to trust the doctors. Don't we all? So by the age of 3, we had already witnessed his major regressive traits, which I will go further into in an upcoming post. He was completely non-verbal at this point and the thought of autism was in the air. I casually mentioned this to Dana and she bombarded me with information. She taught me what a vaccine injury was. All this time, I thought my reservations about them were unfounded and ignorant. Oh, how wrong I was. Lesson #1, mother instinct IS usually right.
Dana saved us. She never made me feel like a failure or forced herself on me. But she opened my mind and it led me to not only read what she had to share, but also do my own in depth research. I was appalled by what I learned. We are not alone. I stopped going to the pediatrician completely, for Elijah and for my younger daughter, Jazlyn. My sweet, intelligent girl had been showing signs early on of advanced development. And then she also slowly started to regress. But I stopped her vaccine schedule by the time she was 12 months old and spared her too much damage. Her speech is now a bit behind at the age of 2.5 but I can still see the light in her eye and I know she is still with us. Elijah was too far gone to be saved completely but Dana saved us from damaging him any further. She convinced me to get him evaluated for autism and look into an autism friendly diet. We also now see a naturopath doctor who is 100% on our side and has our best interest at heart. I cannot thank Dana enough for everything she has done for us. Elijah received his diagnosis of PDD-NOS in January of 2012. He is now in his second year of preschool and has gone from being completely non-verbal to speaking in partial sentences. His other symptoms are still there and will probably never go away but we will never give up. I know he has a bright future, all thanks to Dana.
This new found knowledge sparked a fire in me. As I did the research and read the stories from other parents and compared my own story to theirs, I truly went through the 5 stages of grief. I felt every emotion in the book as I recounted our pediatric experience to that point. Anger was the greatest emotion. I've never been so angry in my life. How could this happen? Why are our childrens' generation so much sicker than ours? How can I sit here and be passive about these people taking my son away from me? I couldn't and I wont. I will fight. Not just for my son but for your children and your future children and your future grandchildren. This general poisoning of our population will not stop unless we stand up against it.
And so here we are. We will share our stories and yours. We will share our steps towards healing, acceptance of things we cannot change and the things we can. We will share our day to day struggles and our triumphs. We are not English majors or skilled writers but we have a passion for truth and love. We also like to have champagne or wine in the evenings after our long days battling the autism demons. Please join us over a glass and spread the word. We want to start a movement of awareness. Vaccine injuries ARE real and we are the voices for our children. Let's take on the world!
Elijah Age 4
Dana and Nicole
How did this all come about? I will try to give the short story. I met Dana through a mutual photographer friend of ours in 2011. Her son, Keanu, had long since been diagnosed with autism. My son, Elijah was 3 years old and already in early intervention with our local school district. From the time I was pregnant, I had a "bad feeling" about vaccinating but was too young and lazy to do the research. I just wanted to trust the doctors. Don't we all? So by the age of 3, we had already witnessed his major regressive traits, which I will go further into in an upcoming post. He was completely non-verbal at this point and the thought of autism was in the air. I casually mentioned this to Dana and she bombarded me with information. She taught me what a vaccine injury was. All this time, I thought my reservations about them were unfounded and ignorant. Oh, how wrong I was. Lesson #1, mother instinct IS usually right.
Dana saved us. She never made me feel like a failure or forced herself on me. But she opened my mind and it led me to not only read what she had to share, but also do my own in depth research. I was appalled by what I learned. We are not alone. I stopped going to the pediatrician completely, for Elijah and for my younger daughter, Jazlyn. My sweet, intelligent girl had been showing signs early on of advanced development. And then she also slowly started to regress. But I stopped her vaccine schedule by the time she was 12 months old and spared her too much damage. Her speech is now a bit behind at the age of 2.5 but I can still see the light in her eye and I know she is still with us. Elijah was too far gone to be saved completely but Dana saved us from damaging him any further. She convinced me to get him evaluated for autism and look into an autism friendly diet. We also now see a naturopath doctor who is 100% on our side and has our best interest at heart. I cannot thank Dana enough for everything she has done for us. Elijah received his diagnosis of PDD-NOS in January of 2012. He is now in his second year of preschool and has gone from being completely non-verbal to speaking in partial sentences. His other symptoms are still there and will probably never go away but we will never give up. I know he has a bright future, all thanks to Dana.
This new found knowledge sparked a fire in me. As I did the research and read the stories from other parents and compared my own story to theirs, I truly went through the 5 stages of grief. I felt every emotion in the book as I recounted our pediatric experience to that point. Anger was the greatest emotion. I've never been so angry in my life. How could this happen? Why are our childrens' generation so much sicker than ours? How can I sit here and be passive about these people taking my son away from me? I couldn't and I wont. I will fight. Not just for my son but for your children and your future children and your future grandchildren. This general poisoning of our population will not stop unless we stand up against it.
And so here we are. We will share our stories and yours. We will share our steps towards healing, acceptance of things we cannot change and the things we can. We will share our day to day struggles and our triumphs. We are not English majors or skilled writers but we have a passion for truth and love. We also like to have champagne or wine in the evenings after our long days battling the autism demons. Please join us over a glass and spread the word. We want to start a movement of awareness. Vaccine injuries ARE real and we are the voices for our children. Let's take on the world!
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