Our slow but steady medical education
My wife and I are parents who believe in signs, like this eczema condition on our child’s body was trying to tell us something. Eczema comes from a Greek word which means to “boil over” or “to break out”. This made sense to us. Something in the child’s body was affecting her, was viewed by the body as a foreign invader, and the body was using its defense mechanisms to rid itself of these poisons (toxins). The skin eruptions happened to be the way for the body to protect itself. We concluded that it must have been caused by the vaccines, and so we stopped the vaccinations. In hindsight, we consider ourselves lucky, because the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine was one of the next vaccines they were supposed to administer, and this one has been reported in the news with possibly causing autism. Of course, the medical community says this is not true, and they have “studies” to prove it, but we decided not to take this risk.
Our doctor’s professed opinion was that eczema, and other common allergic conditions are not caused by vaccinations, which have been proven to be “safe and effective.” In our minds we had ruled out all the other potential factors, and our conclusion was that vaccinations had caused these conditions. Our doctor encouraged us to continue vaccinating so she would be protected from the other potential contagious diseases she would face in the world. It felt truly like a “damned if we do or damned if we don’t” scenario. Either continue with the vaccinations, thereby protecting her from contagious diseases, while also exposing her to more toxins from the vaccines and possibly worsening her allergic health conditions, or discontinue her vaccinations, exposing her to minor contagious diseases (she already had polio vaccine), and allow her body to detoxify from the vaccines. We decided at this time to give our daughter no more vaccinations, and to give her body a chance to heal from the damage which had been done.
It was our doctor’s opinion that eczema skin condition is common. Of course, I looked around when we were out and noticed other babies. Indeed, there were a great many babies that had this skin condition. After doing a little online research, I found that about 1 in 5 children in the US suffers from eczema. The fact that others were sharing in our pain and misfortune did not lessen the pain of our long, sleepless nights, and having our baby suffer continually with this condition. I wondered if these vaccines administered at such a young age and in such a rapid-fire succession were to blame for eczema, autism, and many of the other childhood diseases.
This got me thinking. This got me reading and researching anything and everything about these recommended vaccines and the ages at which they are given. My first discovery was actually from the baby books I cited earlier. It was a conundrum. And the topic was honey, nature’s perfect food. Basically, the book said that an infant’s body and immune system are not developed enough to handle honey, which poses no risk or threat to children over one year of age.
“Hmmm”, I thought, “If nature’s perfect food is not right for an infant, then why would all these vaccines, which are basically little soups of chemicals, be safe to administer to a child of such an age? Wouldn’t it be better and wiser to wait until the child’s system has developed and matured enough to handle these shots? Aren’t the doctors and the medical industry as a whole doing a disservice to children and their parents by administering these shots before the child’s body is ready for them?” Does this make sense to you? Well, it made sense to me. And I thought to myself, the damage to my child has already been done. Why bother thinking about it now?
The answer to that last question is obvious. I wanted to help my child cure her condition. I wanted to understand the cause of eczema. And if I could help her, then perhaps I could also help others with the information I learned. On planet earth here, we really are our brother’s keeper, and we should be looking out for each other. I write this story not just to bemoan the tragedy of my child’s eczema in youth we had experienced those years so long ago (QK is now 15), but to help provide a better understanding for those who are deciding on making these choices for their children in the here and now.
After a few years, when my daughter QK was around the age of 4, the eczema finally receded on its own. But there were flare ups, and they seemed connected with some of the certain foods she ate. Instead of being an everyday condition, with splotches constantly on her body, it became intermittent, like any allergic condition. We continued to use antihistamine for this eczema condition and have been using it as often as required ever since. In time, we learned through trial and error which foods would trigger an allergic reaction. In effect, we managed her eczema condition and allergies on our own. We continued to use fish oil, probiotics, and other supplements as the naturopath had suggested a few years back. She had said at the time that detoxification would be a gradual cleaning up of the system, and she had been right.
I had always thought vaccines were mandatory for school attendance. I was wrong. I was fortunate to be in the state of Ohio, where a philosophical objection to vaccines is allowed. If these vaccine related injuries had never arisen with my daughter, I would never have thought to ask if vaccines were required for attending school. None of the school forms which were sent to us indicated that there was a choice. The school district did not appear to want to provide this choice to parents or guardians of the children, but rather seemed intent on getting as many children vaccinated as possible. It appears the school district and state were doing a disservice to people who have children by not letting them know that vaccination for school is a choice, and not a mandate. This one fact alone by itself could be very important for children which appear to be extremely sensitive to the vaccines and their ingredients, as it could provide them a choice to opt out of these vaccinations, thereby saving more sensitive children which are vulnerable from suffering adverse effects from vaccines.
Over the course of time, our pediatrician retired. He was replaced by a younger pediatrician. The new one seemed nice enough, though perhaps a little inexperienced. And as usual, each time we came to the office, they asked us if we wanted QK to get any vaccinations, and we always replied “no, not at this time.” Years passed by in this way.
An interesting situation arose when QK was around 9 years old. We tried to schedule her yearly appointment, and the office manager said QK could not come in unless she was going to get caught up on her vaccinations. We thought that we, as parents, were in charge of if and when our child received her shots, that the situation was informed consent, that the doctor was supposed to provide us with information, then we could decide what to do. But apparently, I was wrong. It appears some pediatric offices take control of these decisions away from parents, and do not allow them to make decisions for their children. Their way or the highway. This is wrong. And if you tried to explain that your belief was that vaccinations may have caused your child’s eczema and allergies, they would then inform you of your own ignorance and stupidity, and sometimes in a not so nice way. This situation was unfavorable, and so we simply stopped going.
Back to the doctor’s office
My daughter was doing fine without seeing her pediatrician, but I did want her to see the doctor for a checkup. We still used the antihistamine as needed from time to time, and the doctor’s office was at least good enough to take care of writing this prescription for us. But I wanted her to see the doctor. I wanted some assurance beyond my own eyes and limited experience that she was well and was progressing as she should. I thought of a way to get back into the office to see the doctor.
My daughter was 12, halfway to 13, and we finally were able to get an appointment to see our pediatrician. As I stated before, we were unable to see him, because the office manager apparently had notes in the system which stated that we could not get an appointment with him unless we agreed to get up to date on the vaccines. I had to compromise with my conscience a little and utter a white lie to see him. I said we would like to get a vaccine, and then we were able to secure an appointment. It had been 3 years since our last appointment, and we wanted to make sure she was progressing on schedule, and to see if there may be any concerns from his perspective.
When we got to the office and then finally to our little office visit room, the nurse came in and did the usual things. First, check height and weight. Then, on to the eye test and blood pressure test. Then, after the blood pressure test, she slid a piece of paper in a clandestine manner to my daughter, and had her answer a couple of written questions. I wondered what it could be. I asked the nurse,“ What is that? May I see it?” And she quickly replied, “No. This is only for your daughter.” And then of course I was more curious. “We are her parents, and we would like to see it.” Then she turned to QK, and asked her, “Is it ok if I show them?” I thought all of this was rather strange. My daughter said, “Yes, it is ok.” Then I looked at the questions: 1> Have you lost any interest in any of the things that you like to do? And it had a 0 to 4 scale, from not at all (0) to completely (4). And question 2> Have you ever felt sad, hopeless, or depressed? Again, with the same scale. It was a psychological profile. Thankfully, my daughter had checked (0) on both of these, but what if she hadn’t? What if she checked (4) on both of these? Would this be then the beginning of the state intervening in the life of my daughter and family, and deciding what is best to do on my daughter’s behalf? Would there have been a mandatory referral to see a psychologist or psychiatrist on my dime to give her a full evaluation, and then perhaps a drug prescription for a real or some clinic created fictitious disease? Well, it was strange, to say the least. Then we went back to the small room and waited for our doctor.
In a later blog, I will elaborate and expand the subject matter on the above office scenarios, and how it felt to have a child who appeared to be under the control of her pediatric doctor and/or local authorities rather than under the control of her parents. This appeared to me to be a possible usurpation of parental authority by this office, and it did not seem to be normal or right. What I did not realize at that time was that I had only grazed the surface of this problem, and that the problems were far deeper and more problematic than I could have imagined.
Finally, the doctor knocked and then came into the little office. We were glad to see him. We liked this doctor. He was not our original doctor, who retired a few years back. It had been 3 years since we had seen this new doctor. He went through his question list, verified the information, went over the information the nurse provided him, then began asking about the vaccinations. Then I told him the truth in as plain a manner as I could – that we had been denied access to see him for the last couple of years because we did not agree to get caught up on the vaccinations. I told him how I had to lie, and say that that we wanted a vaccination just to see him. I asked him if he knew about all of this, and he replied that he did not. He stated that it was their company policy to have all children under their care up to date and current on their shots in compliance with the CDC guidelines. He stated that since he was a newer pediatrician and had inherited us from our previous pediatrician, that he could allow us not to be forced to get up to date on the shots. He stated that any new patient that came into his office would be forced to comply with the recommended vaccination schedule, or they would have to find a different office.
While I was happy that my daughter would not be forced to receive any vaccines that we did not want, I was also confused why this office policy was in place. Did the tentacles of the monster of Big Pharma enter even here, at my local pediatrician’s office? Or are these policies in place because those in charge of creating these policies believe that parents are too stupid to decide these things for themselves, and need to be told what to do to protect their children? In order to protect their office from liability, all I had to do was sign a waiver that stated that I have decided not to have my daughter get her vaccines, and that the decision to do so was mine, and the problems in the future from this decision not to vaccinate were mine also. Why couldn’t other families in this practice have this right also? We are not in a state which mandates vaccines for everyone, like some other states do. Am I not the one paying here? Aren’t they in business to provide a service for me and my family? It did not feel like it. How can they have the power to tell us what to do? It should be informed consent. They should explain the risks and benefits, then we as parents should decide what we want to do. This would make sense.
If you went to a restaurant and had money to buy food, then they gave you food you didn’t want, and then said to you: “Sorry, this is what you get. This is our company policy. If you want to eat here, you must abide by our rules and accept our decisions on what you get as final. You don’t have a choice. Please arrange for payment on your way out. Thank you.”
Who is working for who? Isn’t a pediatric office still a business? Being a business which serves the public, isn’t it unlawful for them to discriminate against their patients based upon their personal biases and/or beliefs? Isn’t this practice blatant discrimination? How can this practice even be legal? I am going to have to get to the bottom of this. Because obviously, there is something not quite right here. Something is awry.
Next Week: Answers to these questions, and how I arrived at Solution #1 and #2 in my book: Louis Pasteur Condemns Big Pharma: Vaccines, Drugs, and Healthcare in the United States.