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Carols by Candlelight, may 2011 be brighter

When both my girls were born, I followed all the advice given by my pediatrician and the baby books I had devoured on good parenting. Rain or shine, in sickness or in health, I made sure they got their shots on time. I followed the Australian and Malaysian vaccination schedule, believing that this ensured my children from contracting preventable diseases in Asia as well as in the western world. I also wanted to play my part in public health and herd-immunity.

My eldest daughter Maya received all her vaccinations from birth; I remember the Vitamin K jab on the sole of her foot when she was barely 5 minutes old. The Hep B jab when she was 3 days old whilst we were still in the prestigious Sydney hospital. And the booster shot 3 weeks later. I would go in to see the pediatrician when Maya was still on a yet another course of antibiotics or with another round of horrible rashes, yet I still held her down to receive yet another vaccination that we were assured would prevent her from getting anymore illnesses. Some we got in Malaysia and some in Australia. I kept meticulous records of each vaccination, I obtained the name and batch number of each vaccine given and got the doctor’s signature and date. 

The BCG shot is part of the Malaysian vaccination schedule, not in Australia. We all live with the BCG shots which were notorious for scarring many Asian women with it’s tell tale raised keloid scars on our left shoulders, so I opted to have it done on her little bottom instead. At that time, my biggest worry was for Maya to have an unsightly scar on her shoulder when all the other Australian kids didn’t have any, fearing the scar would brand her as different. Yes, that was our biggest worries then. 

At the same time, she received her MMR shots. Maya was also recovering from the flu at that time, she was on Panadol and flu medication. I signed the consent form without bothering to read it, thinking that I knew all I needed from the baby books which never mentioned the side effects or risks from vaccination. My ignorance of safe vaccination was apparent, I relied wholly on one source of information. 

The multiple load of viruses and heavy metals on a tiny human being who was ill, with a lowered immunity from fighting off the flu virus, could not withstand the multiple new viruses and toxic heavy metals. The Panadol we administered beforehand to spare her the pain of the jabs, what a load of crock! The shots were painful, no matter how much Panadol you give, especially the BCG shot. Not only that, Panadol (paracetamol) also lowers our glutathione levels dramatically. Glutathione being the mother load of our methylation pathways and detox system, is crucial. So administering a vaccine when severely depleted of glutathione leaves the body with virtually no defense against the assault. 

From birth, Maya developed normally and hit all her developmental milestones on time. She said her first word when she was 9 months old, by the time she was 1.5 years old she had a large vocabulary of at least 200 words. She could count from 1 to 20 and could recite the alphabet from A to Z, even backwards. She walked on the day she turned 12 months old. She was engaging, sociable and we have many videos to validate this. Her future was bright. 


Health wise, Maya had lots of rashes intermittently, prone to colds and flu and have been on several rounds of antibiotics by then. She used to have terrible colic, reflux and would cry for hours at night as a baby. How no doctor ever even considered that this was partly related to an intolerance to dairy and wheat makes me question their commitment. We were never told to give Probiotics after every round of antibiotics. Though never did it even crossed my mind that vaccines would play a part until years later.


When Maya was 1.5 years old, she received what was to be her last and final vaccination. The Meningococcal C is part of the Australian vaccination schedule, it is not available in Malaysia. We were living in Sydney at that time, I had just given birth to Yasmin so Paul took Maya to the local health center for her shot.

Climbing trees and lovin’ it!

We came back to Kuala Lumpur shortly after that and Maya slowly regressed after the Meningococcal C vaccine. She became withdrawn, lost many of her skills, she spoke less and less. She never progressed to constructing sentences even when her peers were already speaking well. She started having outrageous tantrums, meltdowns and horrible mood swings. However we assumed it was due to having to adjust to having a new baby sister who took up all our time and attention. Even through the haze of my post-partum blues, I was still concerned by Maya’s behavior and chronic constipation. When we brought it up to our pediatrician, we were assured that this is temporary and merely a behavioral tactic to  get our attention. Yes, the doctor even blamed the constipation on it. I mean, seriously? I must have been completely naive to fall for that line. 

Maya did not acquire any new skills for the next 1 year, she missed many developmental milestones and her behavior was more and more uncontrollable. Maya developed repetitive stimulatory behaviors such as staring out of the corners of her eyes, walking on tip toes, spinning in circles, she very rarely made eye contact, she was licking and mouthing objects constantly. She didn’t know how to play with toys, crowded places, certain noises and flashing lights were unbearable to her. Predominantly, she developed severe echolalia, where she would repeat certain words and sentences out of context again and again and again. She had no effective means of verbal or pre-verbal communication, except for screaming and crying. She would wake up in the middle of the night, either crying inconsolable or giggling inappropriately by herself for 2-3 hours. 

I started researching on all possible causes of Maya’s regression. The word Autism popped up as well as many other behavioral diagnosis. Yet, Autism struck a chord in me and I researched more into it. I questioned many pediatricians,  even asking outright if Maya has Autism. Many doctors said no, some even laughed condescendingly at me saying that I surfed the internet too often. Most doctors dismissed Autism because Maya did not flap her hands, because she still could say some words though out of context and she made very fleeting eye contact. Surely they should know that Autism is a spectrum, hand-flapping and total lack of speech is not the predominant diagnostic criteria for Autism. 

 When I replied that if it’s not Autism, what was it then? They didn’t have any answer for me. Dissatisfied by their response, I kept going until I found not 1, but 3 Malaysian doctors and professionals who finally diagnosed and confirmed Maya has Autism Spectrum Disorder in June 2008. Maya was 2y8m then, her future seemed bleak indeed. 

Fast forward 2 years later, with a combination of intensive biomedical treatments according to the Defeat Autism Now! Protocol and Applied Behavioral Therapy, Maya officially lost her diagnosis of Autism. As of June 2010, Maya is now recovered. To read more on Maya’s recovery, please read my blog www.mayaviktoria.blogpost.com Maya is now 5y3m, attending a mainstream kindergarten, she is no different from her other neuro-typical peers. Her future is bright again.
 
Maya was diagnosed with Autism when her little sister Yasmin was 1y3m. By that time, I had already read many accounts of the Autism and vaccinations link. Yasmin received all her vaccinations beforehand however, I stopped vaccinating her just before she received her MMR even though our pediatrician were pressuring us to give Yasmin the MMR jab. Even though at that time I had raised the possibility of Maya having Autism as well as vaccinations being one of the causative factors. Not only did he scoff at the idea of Maya having Autism, he adamantly stated that vaccinations are completely safe. If I had given Yasmin more vaccinations, she would have fully developed into Autism too.

Prior to vaccinating our children, every parent should read the accompanying literature closely before we sign the consent form. In many countries, doctors can only administer vaccinations upon a signed consent from the parent. Though how well it is practiced in Malaysia and other Asian countries, I am not sure. Read the list of ingredients whether it contains thimerosal (mercury being the 2nd most toxic element in the world), aluminum and other ingredients. Never vaccinate when your child is sick, has a fever, just recently recovered from an illness, is on antibiotics or certain other medications. It is not recommended to give Panadol (Paracetamol) also marketed as Tylenol (Acetaminophen) in the USA prior or after a vaccination, remember the importance of Glutathione. 

It is claimed that thimerosal has been taken out of the controversial MMR shot, however this mostly applies to developed nations such as the USA, Australia and the UK. Maya rceived her MMR in Malaysia. Many believe that old stocks of the thimerosal-containing vaccines have been shipped instead to developing countries such as in Asia. It is said that even several years after the manufacturers have pulled these vaccines off the shelves in America, the children in Asia and other developing nations are still the recipient of these rejected vaccines. Consider delaying the MMR until your child has hit certain milestones such as cognition, speech, walking and other developmental skills. In certain countries, you can request for single shots rather than the combined 3 in 1. Mercury-free vaccines are available in certain countries. It is my hope that soon it will be widely available in Asia too.

Take note that the flu shots and the H1N1 shots still contains thimerosal. My 2nd daughter regressed after contracting the Rotavirus infection and was hospitalized for 3 days. But a friend’s son regressed after receiving the Rotavirus vaccination. Another friend’s son received the Rotavirus vaccine, but was still severely infected with the virus months later and ended up hospitalized for 2 weeks.  So, 3 different  children, 3 unique outcomes. As a parent, how to choose whether to run the risk of infection or the risk of the vaccination? The quintessential Catch-22 situation….

Consider if vaccinating against Hepatitis B is indeed necessary, it is commonly transmitted through sexual contact or contaminated syringes and needles amongst drug addicts usually. Most children already acquire immunity from their mothers. This can be tested, check with your doctor prior to vaccination. Consider your lifestyle and the environment your child lives in and whether you think the risk of the supposed virus or infection far outweighs the risk of the vaccination. If your child develops symptoms, illness or seizures so
on after vaccination, please consult a doctor immediately. 

For expectant mothers, do not vaccinate yourself when you are pregnant. If you have dental amalgams (which is partly mercury) please have them removed safely prior to pregnancy. It is not recommended to do this whilst pregnant as you run the risk of reabsorbing the mercury into your body and your unborn baby during the process. 

It goes without saying, that I did not do any of these supposedly sage advice. I jabbed without question, without research nor hesitation. But we now live in an era where Autism is 1 in 99 as per quoted by the Autism Research Institute. The rules have changed in parenting, so keep up with the times everyone. We have been blessed with Recovery for Maya, Autism was a long and dark tunnel, with no light in sight. It took us many months and years, I hope that you too will find a way out of that tunnel.

   

Coming out of the tunnel smiling

For more information on vaccination and Autism, please refer to my favorite sites;  www.ageofautism.com , www.talkaboutcuringautism.org, www.autism.com. Just google vaccine damage and you’ll see the many parents and patients account, articles and news on not just the MMR, but also the for flu, H1N1 and cervical cancer vaccinations. Books such as Dr Kenneth Bock’s 4A Disorders: Autism, ADHD, Asthma and Allergies, Age of Autism: Mercury, A Man Made Epidemic, all 3 of Jenny McCarthy’s Autism books and even Dr Sears’ Autism Book explains it better than this ever mummy can. Dr Stephanie Cave’s vaccine book is illuminating.

I have no regrets, I place no blame. Autism is a complex and ugly disease, mainstream medicine and modern science is far from achieving the cure nor determining the causation. Vaccinations, environmental toxins, pesticides, pollution, viruses, genetics, food intolerance, over-usage of antibiotics in medical practice as well as antibiotics pumped into chicken and cows that we eat, genetically modified food sources, allergens, immune dysfunction, metabolic disease and mitochondrial disorders are only a few of the many causative factors. As a parent, it is our responsibility to ensure the health and safety of our children. Never underestimate your mother’s instinct. Autism is Treatable, but Prevention is even better.