That dang vaccine debate crept up on me this morning and if
you have autism in your life this is a topic you can almost never avoid. I
personally am on the fence of the debate watching people get mad at each other
from both sides and the interesting part is both sides are right.
On the
one hand you have the vaccine this people with a big middle finger up and on
the other hand you have the vaccine or die people with another middle finger
up. Are either of them wrong for feeling the way they do? No, not at all. To
many vaccines to fast could have a highly toxic effect on a complicated immune
system and the CDC has stated they do this to simply make sure children get the
vaccines. Then again not vaccinating realistically could carry the risk of
potentially deadly disease, so either way there is risk.
The
problem is not necessarily to vaccinate or not to vaccinate. The problem is
conflicting, lack of, or incorrect information. One day we hear mercury has
been taken out of vaccines and a year or two later we discover that wasn’t
exactly true. We turn on the news and the media has reported deaths from
influenza or H1N1 so if you are pregnant you must go directly to the local
clinic and get vaccinated or your unborn child could die. We do it because we
are afraid but then we see reports of high mercury levels in that first round
of vaccines. It’s fixed now but back then it slipped by the CDC…oops.
I will
never forget the day I went to the clinic to get my Swine flu vaccine. I was 7
months pregnant and some of you are actually already gasping at that sentence.
I received a call from the county nurse telling me they received enough
vaccines that day for the elderly and pregnant women, who we were told were
highest risk. That we all know was a true statement. I hurried down and while I
sitting in the lobby another woman was sitting across from me also 7 months
pregnant. This women and I started chatting and she asked me if I was there to
get my Swine flu vaccine. I said yes and she looked me dead in the eye and said
to me…”You’re crazy, no way would I do that right now”
I had
no idea why she said it at the time but now boy do I understand her comment and
then some. Now that my son is three and has autism, which has forced me to gain
more knowledge then I ever knew I would have, would I tell a woman who is 7
months pregnant to go get a flu vaccine, Swine Flu vaccine, H1N1 vaccine, or
take Tami flu? The answer is no I sure would not. I am not a medical
professional and don’t know a whole lot but I do know the unknowns and open
ends are frightening for a parent. I actually ended up with the flu anyway
while pregnant right along with high fever and to boot gestational diabetes.
All of which science has tried to point to in regard to autism. So I can’t say the
vaccine did anything dangerous to my child because I don’t know.
We need
to fix these unknowns! We have science that can grow a human ear on the backside
of a mouse but we can’t lock down answers we need. We can get online and find
hundreds of articles saying a vaccine is dangerous and then we can find
hundreds that say they are not. All of which seem to hold some truth but no
firm clarity. Science can create a virus that hits our population like a
freight train, Swine flu man made by the way, but can’t seem to treat it in a
way we feel 100% confident in.
The
point to my blog today is no matter who holds what opinion always try to
remember everyone holds a bit of wrong and everyone holds a bit of right. Hopefully
someday science can give us that clarity we all need and until then we know we
can always get an extra ear if we need it!
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