So it has begun. We have been asked to leave our Pediatrician’s office. They have been telling us for a while that they needed us to have Nico “fully vaccinated” by 18 months old or we would have to leave the practice. I have been delaying the vaccines for several reasons, one being that every time we have an appointment he has been sick. But the other is the fact that I think vaccines may have contributed to Matthew’s autism and I don’t want to take a chance with Nico. I don’t want to say that I completely disagree with vaccines but I do think we are giving “Too Many, Too Soon”. And for us that just isn’t something we feel comfortable doing.
We are not anti-vaccine, so we acquired the split MMR vaccines, that is we have separate vials of Measles, Mumps and Rubella. Each has it’s own expiration date, so we need to work around that, in conjunction with the recommended alternate vaccine schedules that seem to meet our requirements. We looked into both Dr. Sears’ and Dr. Cave’s alternate schedules and came up with something that we felt took the best of all of these and included the expiration dates of our split MMR. With all of this in mind, we ended up having our Measles vaccine pushed out to Nico’s third birthday due to Dr. Cave’s suggestions and the fact that our Rubella has the earliest expiration date. (Dr. Cave suggests that Measles and Rubella be at least one year apart and that Measles and Mumps be 6 months apart, and Mumps and Rubella be 6 months apart.) The doctors in our practice did not approve of this schedule so they called us yesterday (a Saturday) and told us we needed to leave their practice. I can’t say I was surprised but I was mad. I knew their policy so I do intellectually understand why they asked us to leave, but emotionally it made me mad and very sad. We had put so much trust into these doctors. Over the 4 years we have been with them we have talked to them about so many issues and they have helped us take care of our children. But here they are abandoning us when we need the most support. This is not an easy decision and we are not in an easy position. Larry and I often feel we are all alone in our struggle to stop autism and recover Matthew. And now we worry about Nico regressing. It does happen and it is a huge, silent fear of ours.
There are not a lot of doctors out there that can really direct us. There aren’t a lot of agencies that can help you from diagnosis to recovery, soup to nuts, so to speak. You often have to do all the research yourself, make the decisions yourself, find the caregivers yourself and hope you are doing things in the right order; placing emphasis on the right things, and hope that you can still get your child into school without too much pain and anguish. I have seen too many children and their parents that have been vaccine injured to say that vaccines absolutely can not play a role in autism. There are just too many parents out there that have witnessed the change. I believe these parents, so Larry and I make changes and adjustments and hope that we can still do the best for our children. We struggle every day with every decision we make, hoping we are doing the right thing. But we never really know what the right thing is. If you are standing on the sidelines watching, you may believe you have all the answers; that you know the right thing to do. But believe me, when you are playing the game things are so much different. Nothing is as cut and dry as you may thing. No decision is simple and no one seems to have a copy of the playbook.
That leaves us looking for a new doctor. Someone that will respect our decisions and may actually have helpful advice. Armchair coaches and quarterbacks NOT welcome!
Maybe when people start looking at the research better, this Dr. will look back, and remember your views, and be glad you chose not to VAX in the way he suggested. I just wonder what all these people will think, and when? When willthey realize??? I think it’s just matter of time, but of course, the time is too late, isn’t it!?
I think you are correct. I keep thinking we are making history here. That some how we will be part of the great change when it comes. I won’t be remembered, our names won’t be in the history books, but we will have been part of it. I keep thinking that years from now med students will be reading about this in their text books, thinking how could we possibly NOT know this was part of the problem. I guess people really can’t see the forest for the trees, huh?
Pretty unreal, pretty unbelievable. I’ve read that autism is going to be called a disease of inflammation in the brain someday. But today, we are not treating it as such, and those that do, are being called lunatics. I’d much rather be called a lunatic and watch my child recover than be in the norm and watch my child get worse. I’ll take it anyday!