Man, that must have been SO hard for your parents. And you, not trying to downplay your emotions at all, but since becoming a parent myself I see things so differently now. I've heard the arguments for live-virus vaccinations vs dead-virus ones, so crazy to have it happen within a day? It definitely makes me wonder about a delayed vaccination schedule for Claire. Although I do agree with you in that the probability of it happening is very slim. Makes you wonder though, what are the triggers? Is there some sort of co-relation between certain genetic genes and autism? I hope you didn't take offence to my post. I definitely won't want to try and play down how devastating this must have been for your family. Thanks for answering my question though! Funny how the MMR is given there at 18 months. Here it is 12 months, and then another vaccine at 15 months. Looking forward to reading the rest of your replies!
In regards to the whole MMR vaccine thing, while I'm sure there are valid cases and arguments that it does not cause autism, in my brother's case, we cannot see how it could not. My brother's paediatrician, after working with my brother through the period where the vaccine was administered, and ever since, has reviewed his stance on the vaccine, and has written a paper establishing (at least) a slight link between the two. Before 18 months of age (when he had his first of three MMR vaccinations, as per normal in NZ), he was a very intelligent baby. His first word was 'birdy', and he had a few others. He had just said 'dad' a few days before his vaccination. We've got photos at home of him playing with another baby around the same age. The other baby is sitting there, completely disinterested, sort of 'lazy', while my brother is pushing a ball towards him, trying to get him to push it back. It looks like my brother is trying to 'teach' this other child. At this age, my brother was not given to characteristic 'autistic' behavior, such as repetitive motion. My mum would tell you that he was the smartest of all her children. Then he got the MMR vaccine. The next day, he started to tell my mother that he was sick, actually saying "I sick". He began to get a fever and a rash, so we took him to the doctor. He had actually contracted the measles, from the vaccine. I doubt you've actually seen the measles, but it happens very fast, and with intense symptoms. The fever was so intense, that the doctor, without using any jargon, said that it had actually 'fried his brain'. He survived the measles (he could easily have died), but was not the same. He lost all speech and mental capability, although retained all physical ability he had at that stage (walking, chewing, etc.). However, he also has all the textbook symptoms of a low functioning autistic. His official diagnosis is that he is severely intellectually disabled and severely autistic. I suppose one could say that the vaccine may have given him the measles, which gave him an intellectual disability, and the autistic symptoms are coincidental. I'm not a doctor, but my brother's doctor is, and he says that the conditions are separate. The fever was so high that he got the intellectual disability, but he says that it is entirely possible that, if the fever was lower, he would have remained a high-functioning autistic. He establishes this in his paper, of which we have a copy at home. I don't understand it, as it delves into neurology and so on, but I can tell you that there is a link between the MMR vaccine and autism. As to whether I'm going to vaccinate my future children, well I first want to know how the link occurs. Is it my brother's genes? If my children carry the gene beleived to be responsible, then no, they will not be vaccinated. Otherwise, yes. Should MMR be stopped? No, it has done wonders in combating these diseases. We just need better research. I am of the opinion that doctors seek to avoid mass panic about the MMR vaccine, by stating (despite the evidence), that there is no causal link between it and autism. There is, but there is no cause for panic. The probability, according to my brother's doctor, is something like one in 2 million. So, in my entire country, there is perhaps one other person who has autism as a result of the MMR vaccine.
