An Open Letter to Arkansas Pro-Vaxxers

I like to use this blog to talk about many things. From time to time I come here to vent. This is one of those times. I suppose that's one of the great things about having your own blog.

I'm in Arkansas. Yep. The state that is currently claiming to have a Mumps "outbreak". Cheese and crackers, okay let's take a look at something here. According to Arkansas Population 2016 there are 2,989,573 (ish) people living in Arkansas. **I'm only throwing an "ish" on there because I'm sure more people have been born since this number was taken. OKAY, so we have a couple of different/conflicting reports on how many ACTUALLY have the mumps, within 4 hours it went from:
"There are now four confirmed cases of mumps and 48 reported cases in Northwest Arkansas, according to the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH).
That brings the total of reported mumps cases to 52."

to:
Friday, Springdale School District reported 11 more students had mumps symptoms, bringing the total number of infected students to 27. The district also reported two teachers have shown symptoms."

Basically some are showing symptoms, may or may not have it. Either way, let's say 60 indeed have the mumps out of approximately 2,989,573 people...you consider this an outbreak? Seriously?

1 in 68 children in the U.S. have Autism. ONE IN SIXTY EIGHT. 
More than 3.5 million Americans live with an autism spectrum disorder

So let me get this straight. This is NOT considered troubling to you? But some MILD DISEASE is? This is so baffling to me.

Or how about the fact that between 2004 - 2015 there have been 108 deaths from the measles vaccine, but ZERO deaths from measles?!

I truly wish people would RESEARCH before popping off about vaccines. The HATEFUL comments I've seen floating around about this so called "outbreak" of mumps is ridiculous. And some of these people refer to themselves as Christian.

I do NOT care if you agree or not with another parent when it comes to their decision about vaccines. If you vaccinate, that's YOUR choice. I do hope that you did all your research and you aren't solely relying on a 5 min convo with a pediatrician. Read the ingredients, vaccine inserts (no, not the "what to expect" little sheet the nurse/doctor gives you, I'm talking the actual manufacturer insert, easily found on the FDA website) etc. If you haven't done that yet, please do. At the end of your extensive research, if you still feel vaccinating is what is best for your child...still your choice and I'm not going to judge you. At least you reached your decision after informing yourself.

If you don't vaccinate, that's YOUR choice as well. I've found through experience from meeting others that when people aren't vaccinating, they aren't for one of two reasons. 1) They have a vaccine injured child and decided to stop. 2) They did their research PRIOR to having a child and decided it wasn't in the best interest of their child.

People, you have to understand this. The government DOES NOT OWN YOUR CHILDREN. PERIOD. You need to understand that we ALL have the RIGHT to make medical decisions for our child/children. You don't have to agree with us, but you don't have to be hateful. (No, not everyone is being this way, some people genuinely respect us either way. I sincerely THANK YOU for that.)

I'm absolutely sick of seeing people say things like "I would rather my child be Autistic than dead". I can't begin to explain what a true slap in the face this is. Do you seriously think Autism is something easy to deal with, like it's a common cold? It's NOT. It's hell. Plain and simple, it can be pure hell for all parties involved. It doesn't stop at Autism. Some of these kids have other chronic issues that go with it. Seizures, delayed speech or no speech at all, sleep disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, behavioral challenges...the list goes ON.

I wouldn't wish Autism on ANY child/family. I do not enjoy watching my child struggle on a daily basis. Struggle because he can't figure out how to appropriately communicate his feelings, which leads to him becoming extremely overwhelmed and melting down. Melting down like it's the end of time, all because we try to introduce a new food and try for the umpteenth time to get him to take a BITE of a vegetable. Being screamed at, having things thrown at us, doors slamming, watching your child slap themselves because again, they can't seem to communicate how they are feeling and they can't handle the overwhelming feeling that comes with that. I watch my son and I can see it. The words are there, I can see his brain trying to process what he wants to say, but it's not working the way he wants. Having your 7 year old say through his tears, "I don't understand why I'm this way. I don't understand why I get so angry and I'm mean." It is truly heartbreaking.

I can sit here and spill my guts out to you how it is having a child with Autism, but until you LIVE it daily....YOU'LL NEVER UNDERSTAND THIS LIFE.

I honestly do NOT care if you agree with me when I say my son is vaccine injured. Your opinion on the matter means THAT little to me. You WEREN'T there when he DRASTICALLY changed after his last set of vaccines. WE WERE THERE, NOT YOU. We are NOT the only parents who have seen changes in our children after they've been vaccinated. PLEASE, someone explain to me what we have to gain by making these claims? We've lost friends, we've lost doctors. We've gained lots of laughs, being called crazy, conspiracy theorists, idiot, don't deserve to be a parent, hope your child dies, the list of HORRIBLE things goes on.

Do you honestly think parents come out and say "hey, my child changed after vaccines" just to deal with the hellish, hateful backlash that comes with that? I'm sorry, if you think that's why we do this, you are seriously delusional.

**Yes. I'm very aware that not every parent with a vaccinated Autistic child believes vaccines caused their Autism. Yes. I'm very aware that there are non-vaccinated individuals who still have Autism. I'm not discussing those issues today, so that argument can be saved for a later date. 

And NO, Autism is NOT the only reason parents don't vaccinate. So stop with that argument. There are other vaccine injuries besides Autism. Do some of you seriously not understand that vaccines are NOT a one size fits all?

And BEFORE anyone brings up "that one scientist/doctor who lied", PLEASE educate yourself.
Dr. Wakefield NEVER said vaccines cause autism.
Dr. Wakefield is a gastroenterologist. He saw a number of children with gastrointestinal problems who also happened to be diagnosed with autism. Dr. Wakefield reported his observations. He never claimed that the MMR “caused” autism. He merely reported that a number of children he had seen had BOTH gastrointestinal problems AND autism, and according to parental report, these issues developed within a short time of when the children received the MMR vaccine.

And BEFORE you come at me with the same thing I always hear...."but...but...but....vaccines are why we don't see all these diseases anymore. vaccines eradicated disease." EDUCATE YOURSELF AGAIN on how disease was on the DECLINE prior to the introduction to vaccines. Yes, PRIOR.

I don't get it. The information IS available to you to research, yet I see so much misinformation and blatant lies being spread. People, please. Just do your research. Those of us who choose not to vaccinate can't continue to do the research for you. You're an adult, do it yourself. We do not owe you anything, we don't have to prove ourselves and our decisions to you. Take the time and actually RESEARCH.

Since I'm pretty sure the majority of you won't even bother looking into ingredients, here ya go...
This is a list I compiled, breaking down ::some:: of the ingredients:

Formaldehyde: Embalming fluid - yep, what they put into the deceased as a preservation fluid. A colorless, flammable, strong-smelling chemical that is used in building materials and to produce many household products. It is used in pressed-wood products, such as particleboard, plywood, and fiberboard; glues and adhesives; permanent-press fabrics; paper product coatings; and certain insulation materials. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies formaldehyde as a human carcinogen.

Fetal Bovine Serum: A common component of animal cell culture media. It is harvested from bovine fetuses taken from pregnant cows during slaughter. FBS is commonly harvested by means of a cardiac puncture without any form of anesthesia.

Recombinant Human Albumin: Human albumin is a protein found in blood plasma and recombinant means it’s genetically engineered. When this is injected, it’s been known to cause chills, fever, nausea, increased heart rate, and difficulty breathing.

Hydrolyzed Gelatin: This is collagen collected from the bones of animals, including cows, fish, poultry, and rabbits. It contains free glutamic acid (MSG) and aspartic acid, two amino acids that can negatively affect neurological health.

WI-38 Human Diploid Lung Fibroblasts: The WI-38 cell line was developed in July 1962 from lung tissue taken from a therapeutically aborted fetus of about 3 months gestational age.

MRC-5 Cells: A cell line that was developed in September 1966 from lung tissue taken from a 14 week fetus aborted for psychiatric reason from a 27 year old physically healthy woman.

Flu Vaccines -
On November 20, 2012, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the use of Flucelvax, which is the first U.S.-licensed (trivalent inactivated) influenza vaccine manufactured using cell culture technology.
The first two ingredients listed for Flucevax are Madin Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cell protein, MDCK cell DNA. Did you catch that? CANINE, from a female Cocker Spaniel.
Influenza (Flublok): baculovirus and host cell proteins, baculovirus and cellular DNA. What's that? Insect. Yeah, this particular flu vaccine was made using an insect cell/virus line.

Vaccines are grown and strained through animal or human tissue, like monkey and dog kidney tissue, chick embryo, insect cells, calf serum, human diploid cells (the dissected organs of aborted fetuses), pig blood, horse blood and rabbit brain. 

All this info is available to you on your favorite source, the CDC. And if you are comfortable injecting this into your children, that is your choice and your right as their parent. But STOP bashing those of us who decide NOT to. 

OKAY....sorry, back to the "outbreak". There has YET to be any sort of confirmation that non-vaccinated students have contracted and/or are showing symptoms of the Mumps. In fact, straight from the school, the non-vaccinated do NOT have the Mumps. 

Please explain to me how a child who is NOT sick with said illness can spread it? Oh wait....they can't. STOP blaming people who don't vaccinate for the inefficient vaccines that are being injected into your children. STOP telling us our children are going to or are infecting others. Children are NOT born with all these diseases lying dormant in their bodies waiting to spread to others.

From the Arkansas Department of Health "Two doses of MMR vaccine is 88 percent effective in preventing mumps, meaning there is no guarantee it will actually "work". It is a live virus vaccine and is not recommended for pregnant women or patients with a weakened immune system" DID YOU CATCH THAT? 88, not 100, but 88% effective. LIVE VIRUS. 

What does this mean? The MMR does NOT offer 100% immunity to the Mumps. A LIVE VIRUS means it CAN SHED. Are you connecting the dots yet? If you have been vaccinated with a live virus, you can walk around sharing it with others. Gee....could it be that the mumps "outbreak" is actually being caused by the very people who were vaccinated for it? Looks to be that way, the school has already commented that the non-vaccinated were NOT sent home for having mumps.

WAKE UP people.

And oh my lanta....PLEASE stop saying ignorant comments like "your kids shouldn't be allowed in public school unless they are vaccinated". Do you stop every random child in public places and make sure they are up to date on vaccines? I mean...let's be honest here, you would be kind of crazy if you did.

Are you up to date on vaccines? According to the CDC adults are largely unvaccinated. So please...tell me again how a non-vaccinated child is putting others at risk?


Another post that might interest you with more links: Find it here

Vaccines: I've held my tongue long enough.

This is definitely the longest blog entry I've written to date. And if you follow through to the very end, thank you for taking the time to read it. I encourage you to read the links also! Will this bring about a debate? Wouldn't surprise me, at all. I've seen it all over my news feed, much like I'm sure you have. Will I lose friends? Perhaps. I'm sorry my son is more important than any "friend" out there. So if that happens, it happens. 

I've held my tongue long enough. All of this Measles talk and now that there is a report that a child in Arkansas (where we live) is being tested...people are already starting to freak out. Who am I kidding? People have been freaking out since the first mention of this "outbreak". Not sure this would really qualify as an "outbreak". Think about how many people actually live in this world and then the LOW number of people who have the measles. Just my opinion though. Anyway...and :most: of them tend to act so ugly about it. I will give credit when it's due, there are some people who completely disagree with our decision to not continue vaccinating our son and they are SO respectful and polite about it. So no, not everyone acts ugly when it comes to vaccine debates. However, I'm well aware of the way some people view us and I don't care.

And I will say this, I totally understand being worried about your kid/kids. I truly, truly do. I worry about my son too, but in a different way than you. While you're worried about your child being around my son who isn't fully vaccinated, I worry about my son being around your child who just received his/her MMR. A live virus. That they can shed. I've seen argument about this not being possible. Okay. So if it's :not: possible to shed a live virus, why would St. Jude Children's Hospital say it is? Here's a link to go with the screen shot, feel free to check it out! And I actually came across this information in a really great article Don’t Vaccinate to Protect My Cancer Kid, I would highly recommend you read it. It's long (like my entry isn't though?), but definitely worth the read.

Some people are so uneducated about those of us who choose to not vaccinate. Supposedly we make our decision not to, based on Jenny McCarthy? That's laughable. Our child was vaccinated. We ignorantly didn't question anything. Why? Well because we were vaccinated, they said it was safe. We thought we were protecting our child. It wasn't until his last set of vaccinations (which he received his first dose of MMR) that we finally WOKE UP and realized what we were doing. After seeing a dramatic change in our child, YES dramatic, I knew something wasn't right. We watched our healthy, developing "normally" baby boy dramatically change in front of our eyes. I relive those moments often in my mind. They were hard. It still can be hard.

He developed severe sleep issues, behavioral issues, sensory problems, speech problems, dietary problems. It became an extremely emotionally/mentally/physically exhausting road. We had no idea what happened to our son and it's not like he could communicate with us what was going on. You seriously have no idea. I've told bits and pieces on Facebook, but you have no idea exactly hard it has been. We took him to the doctor at least 6 times for his sleep. And every time the doctor wrote us off, "oh that's normal". I'm sorry, but his sleep patterns were FAR from normal. The last time we took him in, (before my husband's first deployment) I was so desperate for help. I was so exhausted, that I'm still unsure how I was even functioning. Thank God, his doctor was out of the office that day and we saw a different doctor (which isn't uncommon when you see doctors on base). He not only genuinely heard our concerns but had his own concerns about Ronnie's behavior. It was then he recommended we have Ronnie evaluated. Which is what got OT (occupational therapy) started and eventually a diagnosis of Autism from a psychologist.

By the time we made it to the step of being evaluated for Autism, we already suspected that's what it was. I had been doing research for quite some time about Autism, which eventually lead me to researching vaccines. There's a huge debate in the medical field and the Autism community whether or not vaccines have anything to do with Autism. Believe it or not, there's a portion of the Autism community that believe vaccines had nothing to do with their child having Autism. Anyway, I dove head first into researching. What vaccines our child had gotten and what ingredients were in those vaccines. I was in shock and angry, at myself mainly.

The one question I have been asked numerous times by other Mom's or new Mom's to be...Do I think vaccines are the cause of Ronnie's Autism? I truly believe it contributed in some way. Whether it was a trigger or the main cause, I don't know. And I do think it's possible that there could be genetic factors that might make some kids more susceptible than others. I think for some children, vaccines could be a trigger. But in all honesty, it's a question that I will never have answered and it's something I have to live with every day. Every single day. Our decision to not move forward with vaccinations had nothing to do with Jenny McCarthy, us being uneducated, selfish, careless, being a hippie, being part of some new movement or anything like that. It came after a very long time spent researching and PRAYER. As it got closer to his 4 year vaccines, something left me so conflicted. You know, that Mother's intuition that most of us have. I prayed and prayed and prayed and ultimately felt like it wasn't in his best interest to move forward. And after we finally reached our decision, there was this huge weight lifted off of me. I felt, at peace. Thankfully his doctor respected our wishes and never tried pushing it on us.

And to every person who has asked me if I believed vaccines caused Ronnie's Autism, I've told them exactly what I stated above. I have no idea, but I feel like it had something to do with it. I highly encourage them to research BOTH sides, research the vaccines and their ingredients and PRAY and then make an informed decision. This is my advice to everyone. Don't just have your kids vaccinated because their doctor says to or because the government says it's safe. At least do your research first. I wish we had done that.
I have nothing against those who choose to vaccinate, not vaccinate or delay schedule, because I honestly believe that no matter what a parent decides in this situation....they are doing what they think is best for their child. I bite my tongue with a lot of things I've seen shared lately, hateful comments I've read. I respect that not everyone has the same opinion about a topic like this, but that respect :should: go both ways. Until you've lived a day in our life, have experienced our own personal journey with Ronnie...just keep the hatefulness to yourself. Please and thank you.

A few questions you may want to ask yourself.

1. If vaccines are :safe: why is there a need for a National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program? That's such a serious question too. I hear so many people preach that vaccines are in fact SAFE. If they are "safe", WHY do we need a compensation program? Here's some information on how many people have been compensated: http://www.hrsa.gov/vaccinecompensation/statisticsreport.pdf
According to the National Vaccine Information Center, "by 2009, nearly $2 billion had been awarded to vaccine victims even though two out of three plaintiffs are denied compensation and there was a nearly $3 billion surplus in the VICP Trust Fund." That's quite a bit of money for something that is so safe, don't you think?

2. Do I want to live in a world where medical decisions are (or could be) being FORCED on my family? You should never lose your right to decide what you want :medically speaking: for your family. If we make the decision to not inject our son with human diploid lung fibroblasts, which is lung tissue taken from a therapeutically aborted fetus of about 3 months gestational age, THAT'S OUR RIGHT. I'm seeing more and more states jumping in proposing bills that would take away the right to file vaccine exemption for personal or religious beliefs. I can't even begin to express how wrong this is.

3. Why does a child need 69 doses of vaccines? "Children today receive 69 doses of vaccines for 16 different viral and bacterial illnesses which more than doubles the government childhood schedule of 34 doses of 11 different vaccines in the year 2000.  A vaccine exemption is filed regardless of whether the exemption is filed for one dose or all doses. 35 doses and 5 more unique vaccines have been added to the schedule in the last 15 years. Those supporting forced vaccination are being dishonest by not acknowledging the exploding vaccine schedule while sounding alarms over small increases in overall non-medical exemptions." Don't you think that's an insane amount of toxins to inject into a child?

Some helpful links that I encourage everyone to check out:

HERD IMMUNITY:

http://www.greatmothersquestioningvaccines.com/herd-immunity.html?m
http://www.vaccinationcouncil.org/2012/02/18/the-deadly-impossibility-of-herd-immunity-through-vaccination-by-dr-russell-blaylock/
http://www.wellwithin1.com/herdimmunity.htm
http://thepeopleschemist.com/chemist-says-media-left-horrifying-facts-measles-shot/

VACCINE PACKAGE INSERTS:
http://www.immunize.org/packageinserts/
http://www.merck.com/product/usa/pi_circulars/m/mmr_ii/mmr_ii_pi.pdf
http://www.vaccinesafety.edu/package_inserts.htm
http://www.greatmothersquestioningvaccines.com/vaccine-package-inserts.html
http://www.fda.gov/downloads/BiologicsBloodVaccines/Vaccines/ApprovedProducts/ucm101580.pdf

VACCINE INGREDIENTS:
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/B/excipient-table-2.pdf
http://vaxtruth.org/2011/08/vaccine-ingredients/

OTHER:
http://globenewswire.com/news-release/2015/02/02/702199/10118172/en/Studies-Show-that-Vaccinated-Individuals-Spread-Disease.html
http://tenpennyimc.com/2015/02/17/measles-2015-a-tempest-in-a-teapot/
http://www.vaccinationinformationnetwork.com/merck-scientis-claim-merck-forced-them-to-falsify-vaccine-efficacy-test/
https://medium.com/@therebootedbody/bringing-much-needed-sanity-to-the-vaccine-debate-e143f089bfd1


Do you ever ask yourself what is causing the high rates of Autism in children? How about childhood cancer? It seems as if I'm seeing more and more people posting about their children having cancer. And it's so heartbreaking. Could it possibly be the large amount of toxins that are constantly being injected into them? I think so. You can't sit here and say there aren't any possible side effects from having Formaldehyde, Thermerosal, MRC-5, DNA, MRC-5 Cellular Protein, Human Serum Albumin (4 different ingredients), Glutaraldehyde...just to name a few. Not sure what those are? Well I would highly suggest you research those too. Check out the Vaccine Ingredient links I've included. And if your Pro-Life, you should definitely check out ingredients.

The purpose of this entry is NOT to sway anyone from changing their stances on this matter. I'm not speaking for all "anti-vaxxers". I am speaking for our family. Again, no matter what decision you make for your child, I respect you. I may not agree with that decision and I definitely feel bad for your child/children, but I respect you. I believe you're truly doing what you think is best for your kiddo/kiddos, but please keep in mind, I'm doing the EXACT SAME THING for my son.

Thanks Y'all and God Bless!