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Hi there
This is a long e-mail but I appeal to you to please read it. It was written with the intent of HELPING you and your family. Please read it and pass it on to the parents that you know. This e-mail was written by two friends, Katherine and Colleen.
Katherine’s story:
‘I have been diagnosed Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis. A mouthful, I know! (please see below in red from ‘Wikipedia’). It is a demyelinising, neurological disease. Over the past few months I have had Optic Neuritis (a loss of peripheral and colour vision in my left eye) and severe weakness, numbness, heaviness and pain in my legs. After many blood tests, MRIs and a lumbar puncture, they have discovered that I have an unnaturally high level of measles antibodies in my spinal fluid.
The reason I am writing to you about this is not for sympathy, but for awareness. We all know that it is necessary and important to vaccinate, however are we fully informed about side effects and what can go wrong? I had a measles vaccination about ten months ago. There was an outbreak of measles at Brescia (my daughter’s school), and we were all advised to take extra precautions. I thought I was doing the responsible thing by taking my daughter, Emily, for a booster measles vaccine. The nursing sister at the pharmacy said that I should also have the vaccine, for the following reasons: I have never had measles; I had not been vaccinated against measles for over 20 years; Measles is extremely dangerous in an adult. Accepting this as a good rationale, I had the injection. Needless to say, this injection has infinitely changed and ruined my life for the past few months. The neurologist is happy with my progress, although she did imply that I will never gain full vision in my left eye or full function of my legs again L. This is not the first time or the last time that vaccines have made people sick or exacerbated symptoms. However, we always believe that the advantages out way the risks. This is true for 99% of us. This is true if you have not had an adverse reaction to a vaccine. You never think it will happen to you or your children (see below about the mean age for my condition....). Yes, my condition is extremely rare, but, have you ever heard of it? Did you know a child/adult could permanently lose neurological function after being vaccinated? I am in no way advocating that one should not vaccinate. I am just asking you to research and be fully informed before you do. I just stuck out my arm for that nurse last year. A minute of my life I would do anything to get back!’
‘Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) is an immune mediated disease of the brain. It usually occurs following a viral infection but may appear following vaccination, bacterial or parasitic infection, or even appear spontaneously. As it involves autoimmune demyelination, it is similar to multiple sclerosis, and is considered part of the Multiple sclerosis borderline[diseases. The incidence rate is about 8 per 1,000,000 people per year. Although it occurs in all ages, most reported cases are in children and adolescents, with the average age around 5 to 8 years old. The mortality rate may be as high as 5%, full recovery is seen in 50 to 75% of cases. ADEM produces multiple inflammatory lesions in the brain and spinal cord, particularly in the white matter. Viral infections thought to induce ADEM include influenza virus, enterovirus, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella zoster, Epstein Barr virus, cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex virus, hepatitis A, and coxsackievirus; while the bacterial infections include Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Borrelia burgdorferi, Leptospira, and beta-hemolytic Streptococci. Measles infection also appears to lead to worse ADEM outcomes. Some vaccines, later shown to have been contaminated with host animal CNS tissue, have ADEM incident rates as high as 1 in 600....’
Colleen’s story:
‘Some of you know me, some of you don't. My story is really quite simple. I have always been very pro-vaccinations. I felt, and to some extent I still do feel, that it's the responsible thing to do. But I should have listened to my mother ... she had always told me that I had reacted badly to the early vaccinations I received as a child and as a result I never had been fully vaccinated. It should have come as no surprise that my child would maybe inherit this tendency to react badly to vaccinations, but it did. My son Gabriel didn't take to his vaccinations well. But we persevered, being responsible parents. When he was 2 and a half he had the MMR vaccine. I am very well aware that most medical opinion is that there is no link between the MMR vaccine and Autism ... except that there is an exception living in my house! Gabe developed Meningitis after he received his vaccination. Why, no-one knows. What we do know is that his body reacts so violently to vaccinations, the temperatures are so high, the viral load poses such a threat to his system that he literally shuts down and seizes. Repeated infections have left my son with Febrile Seizure Disorder, which he will outgrow, please God! The seizures created some learning issues, which he has by-and-large overcome. But, he may have been left with Asperger's Autism.
Why am I telling you all this?
Simple really. THINK before you vaccinate. Is there a history of bad reactions in your bloodline? ASK questions all the time. Don't get me wrong here, vaccinations save lives. No doubt about that. But I would caution you to separate the mutiple vaccinations out, and I would caution against over vaccination. I'm not a medical person. But I do regret that someone didn't suggest to me that I separate the MMR into 3 injections ... might have saved my son 6 years of hell.’
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