Wednesday, April 14, 2010

vaccines....revisited.


Vaccines. Hmmm. I don't particularly like discussing this topic for a couple reasons: 1: vaccines are a very personal thing, everyone has an opinion. 2: whatever I say, there will be people out there who want to argue. However,this topic has been requested so regardless of what anyone will say, I am going to comment. With that in mind, if you have a dissenting view, remember that it is your point of view and you are free to relay that on your blog. Not mine. Thanks.

Vaccines came up a few times last week, ironically, because I hadn't really thought about them lately. We are past the baby stage around here. First, I got a letter from the schools saying that 6th graders are now going to be required to get a few vaccines to enter that school year. Uhg. Then , I got an email from a sweet mama, miss Abigail's mom, who had a very heart wrenching story to tell; stemming from her experience with vaccines. Right after that, I had an email asking that I please blog about vaccines again. To top it off, Miss Terri posted an article about vaccines. I guess it is time to have a little discussion on the subject.

What are my feelings? I can say that through the course of studying and reading testimonies from hundreds of parents who learned the hard way, my feelings on vaccines have changed over the years. I did give vaccines to my kids, although I did give them a little more spread out than normal. My oldest have far fewer vaccines than they now have but the last one , unfortunately, did have them all, up until his 5 year old vaccines. If I only understood them before Mr. Tate was injected....if only.
I know there has been much good come from many of these vaccines. I get that. What I don't get is why America, unlike most other countries, subjects their kids to at least 3 times as many vaccines as other countries. Why after repeated studies and requests that the vaccines are still loaded with junk. Also, why or why is there so much cover up going on even when there is overwhelming evidence that kids have been directly affected? I am sure there has lots to do with money. Lots.

You may not want to believe it. You may want to think it is all OK and just puffed up stories, but, the fact is that being in this world of Autism that I live in, I meet real moms with real stories. Real kids that were fine until the moment they received an MMR and suddenly lost all speech. Kids that are full of aluminum and mercury for no apparent reason. You never know if your child will have adverse reactions. It is a game of Russian Roulette. What I suggest is that you make vaccines a personal decision. NOT your physicians decision. Not my decision. You research, you read books like the great book from Dr. Sears on vaccines. Books that will give you options and help you understand that there are responsible ways to go about it. If we don't, we are at risk. Our babies are at risk. We are responsible and until we stand up and take control, nothing is going to change. But.....don't take my word for it. Listen to Miss. Abigails story:

"I know vaccines are a hot topic now-a-days, and they also happen to be a very emotional one for me. My intent in posting this is not to offend anyone in any way, but merely to share my story and what I have learned through my experience with my daughter's vaccinations. I haven't shared this story with more than 2 people since it happened, but a friend of mine just posted something on her blog about vaccines and she inspired me to share. Her post made me realize how I wish I would have had more information on vaccines before I made my daughter's first doctor's appointment, so I would like to share with you why I made the decision not to vaccinate my children, and to provide you with resources where to find more information on the topic if you are interested in doing your own investigating.


Abby at 12 months, a few weeks after her appointment

Abby was always very bright and had started speaking very early- at 9 months she was saying as many words as Stryder is now at 18, and she was holding full conversations at 11 months. She was incredibly curious, self motivated, and could sit in her room for 2 hours all by herself looking through her books.

Like any first-time mom, I tried really hard to be a perfect Mommy: I read books on how to be a good mom, and followed everything to a tee. I went to all her doctor appointments with a list of questions to ask. There were so many things I was worried about, and vaccinating Abby was not one of them. I had never questioned vaccinations, or even thought about the option to refuse them. After all, why would I want to? I had been vaccinated as a child, and all the parenting books I read said they could save my daughter's life if she ever comes in contact with any of those horrible diseases. After all, they are harmless, right?

After Abby's 12 month check up, everything changed. For some reason, she hadn't received all her 6 month vaccinations, so the doctor sat down with me at the appointment (with a concerned look on his face) and asked my permission to 'double her up'. I said, "Sure, they won't hurt her, right?" "Of course not," he assured me. "She might have a mild fever tonight and be cranky for the next few days, but that's completely normal." I held her little legs tightly as they administered 7 different shots and my baby cried out in pain.

We left the doctor's office around 1pm, and she seemed fine. She was her happy, talkative self. As I was preparing her snack at around 3pm, it started. She walked into the kitchen, started to whimper, and threw up. For the next hour or so I carried her around, and she would point to the kitchen sink every time she was going to be sick. I would hold her over the sink as she vomited, over and over. Then things got worse. Much worse. She rapidly became weaker and less responsive. I laid with her in my bed all night with towels underneath us, as she had become unable to lift her head or even wake up to vomit. Her fever measured in at 102. I called the doctor's office. I explained the situation to the doctor on call and said she was having a bad reaction to her vaccinations and asked what I could do. The doctor assured me that it was a "coincidence" and that there was no way her vaccines would have caused that reaction. This infuriated me.


6 1/2 Months

As mothers, many times we have to trust our instincts. Sometimes we just KNOW. In this situation, I just KNEW, and it blew me away that the doctor not only didn't draw a connection, but refused to even acknowledge the POSSIBILITY of a connection.

Abby stayed sick for 2 days, but it was when she began to feel better that I immediately knew something was wrong. She wasn't herself. She seemed 'spacey' and had lost some of her vocabulary to name the most obvious changes. I thought she would come out of it, but days passed, then weeks and she stayed in a daze. Eventually she began to learn her words again, and she became better at staying focused on stories, but I felt as though she had been knocked back several developmental months. In a way, I felt I had lost who my baby girl was.


13 Months

I knew her reactions had something to do with vaccines, but I didn't know why. After all, they were harmless, right? About 6 months later, when I was trying to decide whether to take her in for her shots at 18 months, I received my Parenting magazine in the mail. It had a story in it about a mom and her son with Autism. Her son had a similar reaction to Abby's after receiving vaccinations at his 18 month check up. However, he remained in a daze, and just grew worse and worse. The part that really caught my attention was that the doctor claimed it had nothing to do with the vaccinations, but this mom KNEW differently.

I started researching more articles and stories about kids with Autism, and I was amazed at what I found. We are told that studies prove no connection between vaccines and Autism, but the one similarity I found between all the stories was that the changes in the children became apparent within a week or two following the vaccinations, and all the mothers KNEW it was a reaction to the vaccines even though their doctors said it wasn't. If you have ever had an experience with your own 'Mother's Intuition,' you know all those mothers can't be wrong, I don't care what the scientific studies find or the doctors say.

Then I looked for books on Amazon to see what others have found. If you read the reviews, many people provide references to the best books on the subject. That's how I found this book: Vaccines: Are They Really Safe and Effective by Miller (click on the link to find it on Amazon). Neil Miller is a medical researcher who started looking into private vaccine studies when he was deciding whether or not to vaccinate his first child. I like his perspective because he is not anti-medicine or anti-drugs, and he examines each vaccine individually- the severity of the disease it prevents, how it is created, its efficacy and known side effects. Here are a few things I learned:

1. Vaccines aren't tested to determine their safety. We test baby shampoo before it is released on the market, but not vaccines?! Crazy!

2. All the major drug companies have stock holders on both the FDA's and CDC's Board of Advisors, and they frequently use the leverage to their advantage.

3. Vaccines are created in batches of millions of shots (billions of dollars in product). Sometimes certain batches of vaccines are deemed to be 'Hot Lots,' which means that unusually high incidents of 'severe reactions' have been reported (severe reaction= coma and/or death) among the children who have received the vaccination. Keep in mind that a certain number of severe reactions are expected with every batch (What? Expected?!?), but these batches have UNUSUALLY high numbers. When a batch of vaccinations is deemed to be a 'Hot Lot,' the drug company that created it is not required to notify the doctors or pull the vaccinations from the shelves. Not one of the many 'Hot Lots' reported have been pulled from the market, which means the remaining millions of shots are currently being administered to children all over the world. It also means there is no way of knowing if your child has received or will receive one of these shots.

4. Many of the vaccinations we receive are truly unnecessary, as the diseases had become virtually non-existent BEFORE the vaccines were ever created. Other vaccines (like MMR) have been created for diseases that are either easily treatable or virtually harmless and were previously known as common 'childhood' illnesses, like the Chicken Pox.

5. Drug companies themselves have found vaccines to be ineffective before the age of 2. Before the age of 2, the body's immune system is too immature to process the vaccine. That's why they have Boosters, which are also ineffective. It's amazing to read in this book the studies that have been done of outbreaks- almost all of the children who contracted the diseases had been vaccinated for them.

6. ALL of the studies that have been done that show "No connections between vaccines and Autism" were funded by the drug companies themselves. There are many private studies that DO show a connection with Autism, as well as ADHD, Cancer and SIDS.

7. When a child is injected with a vaccine, their body reacts to the 'foreign agent' in a similar way to any disease: their immune system attacks and causes a fever, vomiting, diarrhea, etc. as their body tries to purge. Some reactions are more severe than others, and that depends on each child's genetics. One commonly reported reaction to vaccines is that the brain swells and the mylenation around the brain stem deteriorates. This is the reaction that is believed to cause changes in the brain and can lead to Autism, ADHD, and more. Swelling can occur at all different levels of severity: mild (like Abby's) up to severe. In the more severe reactions, brain swelling can cause coma and death within a few hours. How do you know how your child's body will react? Every child is different, and you don't know until it's too late.

8. I was astonished to read in this book how little we actually know about the immune system and how it functions. We are learning that the immune response begins the moment bacteria or viruses enter the body, and by the time they get to the blood stream the immune response is in it's final stages. With this knowledge, it's no wonder that people continually contract diseases they had previously been vaccinated for: by injecting dead viruses into the blood, there is no way the body can generate an effective immune response because it hasn't gone through all the steps. It's even less likely that the body will be able to fight off the disease in the future.

And my favorite...The Flu Vaccine.
9. I have to quote from Miller's book, because he explains it better than I ever could: "To understand why flu vaccines are so problematic, it is important to know how authorities try to control this unpredictable virus. Production of each new flu vaccine, to be distributed in fall, usually begins in January. Therefore, officials must guess one year in advance which mutated strains of the flu virus will circulate throughout society. If they guess right, the vaccine is thought to be about 35% effective at temporarily preventing that year's flu in the elderly. If they guess wrong, as often occurs, or the circulating strains mutate again between January and the end of the year, which is likely, the vaccine may be worthless.

For example, in 1994 flu "experts" predicted that the Shangdong, Texan, and Panama strains would be prevalent that year, thus millions of people received flu shots containing these strains. However, when winter arrived the Johannesburg and Beijing strains were circulating. In 1995, health officials modified their predictions and created a flu vaccine that contained the Texas, Johannesburg, and Beijing strains. Again, millions of people were vaccinated. However, when winter arrived, the Wuhan strain predominated. During the 1997-1998 flu season, officials once more had to admit that "the flu shot did not make a dent in flu cases because the strains included in the vaccine did not match the strains that actually circulated that year." The vaccine was 0% effective." (p. 85)
Generally, authorities know several months in advance that their vaccine won't be effective, but they frighten the public by predicting a deadly flu season to use up their costly vaccine. Another quote from Miller: "Even when there is a good match between the viral strains in a flu vaccine and that year's circulating flu virus, immunity from the shot is short-lived because antibody levels begin to decline within months, and are often low one year after vaccination. Permanent immunity to a particular strain of flu is only possible by contracting the disease naturally..."For example, in one influenza outbreak in a Minnesota nursing home, 95 % of the residents, and 72% of the staff members with direct patient contact had been vaccinated 4-8 weeks prior to the outbreak. Authorities were baffled when they learned that the viral strain isolated from the outbreaks was 'antigenically identical' to the one contained in the vaccine. In other words, the vaccine was a 'perfect' match for that year's circulating flu virus, yet it was a complete failure. Authors of the study concluded that, "despite widespread vaccination... influenza outbreaks continue to occur...""


13 Months

So basically, what I have learned from this book and others is that vaccines are not only harmful, they are ineffective in preventing the diseases we use them to prevent. There is so much information out there on this topic, and so many parents with stories like ours, and worse. If you are trying to decide whether to vaccinate your child, I recommend reading as much as you can on the subject before making that first appointment. Also, if you are like me and the information came too late, you can always look into Chelation. Chelation Therapy is the administration of chelating agenst to remove heavy metals from the body. For the most common forms of heavy metal intoxication- those involving lead, arsenic, or mercury." (From Wikipedia) It is theorized that some children's bodies have a more difficult time detoxifying themselves, and it is the buildup of these toxic metals that causes the brain to react differently than normal: ie Autism. Chelation has helped tremendously in many Autism cases and some have found that when combined with the right diet, Autism can actually be cured.

Today, Abby is doing well. She is still incredibly intelligent, does well in school and is just about perfect in every way. I still notice that she has difficulty focusing at times, but all in all, we are incredibly blessed that she has healed. Would she have been smarter had she not received the vaccines that caused her reaction? That question keeps me up at night, and I guess I will never know the answer.




P.S. If you are curious about the links that have been found between vaccines and cancer, I recommend you visit www.OurAlexander.org and read their Letter to Congress in the upper corner of the page. The two parents/medical professionals have found an amazing link between the Polio vaccine and brain cancer.

A friend just responded to this post on Facebook with a book recommendation: Dr. Robert Sears The Vaccine Book. Click on the title for a link to the book on Amazon. This was a book that I have had my eye on for quite some time, but have never had the chance to read. Thanks, Leeanna, for the recommendation!

Another great book that provides insight into how the Immune System works is The Sanctity of Human Blood : Vaccination is Not Immunization by Tim O'Shea. My friend Tara, who is incredibly versed in Homeopathic medicine, got me into this one, and it is an eye-opening read."

Thanks for sharing, Krista. Krista is working hard to help her daughter who has overcome so much but is still facing heavy metal issues and gut problems. She is a mother warrior.

And, if that isn't enough, you can check out Terri's post on the MMR controversy here.

Then, develop your own opinions. Until the vaccine companies start vaccinating responsibly, we are out. If you do vaccine, pick and choose the ones that are most important. Never, ever give them to even a slightly ill child or one who has been on antibiotics at all in the past few months and never give Tylenol with them. And read about each vaccine first, do we seriously need a STD shot given to our little children? Seriously. If your 10 year old gets an STD, you have a lot more to worry about than the disease itself.

There you go.










23 comments:

Becky said...

What great information. Thank You Shari! I have heard about tylenol being bad once before, but I am not sure why. I have stopped using it for my kids recently, but I am not sure why. Can you shed more light on it?

Trisha said...

Thank you for your thoughts on vaccination, it just helps to have an informed opinion! I believe tylenol is not good with sicknesses that affect the liver ie the flu, because it is excreted through the liver, where ibuprofen is excreted through the kidneys. Also if your using it for a fever, fever is the bodies fighting response (if there is nothing affecting the brain) I believe the best fighting temp. is 104, but sometimes I just can't watch my kids suffer. Just my two cents

Tirsa Baker said...

Nice job on a touchy subject. I am a pediatric physical therapist and I hear far too many stories from parents. The best words that stick with me from a mom of a child with Autism is "Your child, your choice." I think it is always good to look who is providing the research. A lot of it is the drug companies. Money is an issue here. Oh I could go on. Anyway, good job.

Jilynn said...

Awesome! I learned so much! I just have a question. None of my kids are in school yet but I know that vaccines are required, right? So how does it work if you choose not to vaccinate your kids?

The Glenns said...

Shari,

I believe our boys have chicken pox this week. 1 or 2 were vaccinated for it, and got it anyway. The 2 year old was not vaccinated.

I almost started backing down from my feelings about not vaccinating. I was thinking I would go ahead with MMR.

Baby #6 had 6 shots at 18 months old (with a fever at the time of the vaccinations). Our bright, happy, talkative little man spent the next 6 straight months sick. By age 2, I had him evaluated for developmental and speech delays. Our family hasn't touched vaccines since. #7 and #8 are happy, thriving little people. #6 is getting better all the time. #2 has serious digestive and attention issues. #3 had speech and attention issues. All received heavy doses of antibiotics when they were very young. I never knew to question the doctors as they prescribed medication after medication.

I appreciate your boldness about the issue. I almost caved on MMR, and it goes against my better intuition.

You know Dan is a firefighter. Medication has it's place in the world, and I am not opposed to using it when necessary, but it is so over-prescribed.

Keep posting. Sure, it offends some, but for those of us who experienced the problems first-hand, it's a good reminder to make informed decisions.

Beth

Shari Goodman said...

School vaccination policies vary by state but I know in AZ, you can sign a religious waver, have a dr. sign a note or you can have a titer screen worked up that measures their antibodies. It is a cheap test and is helpful if you are trying to get out of the boosters required in Jr high, or now in 6th grade. I did have a problem with my kindergartner since I had already immunized him before. They told me that since I had been pro vaccine before, I could not change my mind now. It made no sense. In hindsight, I would have just never brought in an immunization record and just signed a waiver. I have a Dr.'s note for my younger son. It really should be our choice.

Shari Goodman said...

Beth,

I totally agree that there is a time and place for medicine and thank goodness for it when that time comes! Sorry to hear about your experiences. Glad you are holding off. Better safe than sorry.

Anonymous said...

I do not think there is enough information b/t the time "autism" shows up and vaccines.

Being just a homemaker and NOT MD or medical professional...you need to be careful what you say and write- not leading people astray by "your" experience. Very dangerous and foolish for those who read your blog!

RPH said...

Thanks for sharing. Great job addressing such a sensitive subject. You are so great.

Shari Goodman said...

anonymous,
there is more than enough evidence to back it up but unfortunately it is being covered up by the MD's and FDA researchers. It is up to us "homemakers" who have had first hand knowledge of what can happen. Regardless of what you may believe, it really does happen. You can't tell me that you can take a perfectly healthy , verbal child to a Dr. appt and then hours later after a shot they stop talking and have no correlation. I strongly believe that there are multiple reasons that autism happens in a child but for some, it absolutely does begin or is contributed by the MMR shot. There are very many professional studies and findings to back it up. It is not just my opinion. It is up for everyone to decide on their own. There are plenty of books out there by professionals to help "homemakers" to decide. No one has to base it off my opinion. Go vaccinate your kids. It is a choice and always a hard thing for mothers to have to worry about. We need vaccines to be cleaned up. Period. We need food cleaned up. Period. If we don't have a voice and take a stand, it will never happen. It is homemakers that can make it happen. Not those paid to make claims. We have all heard your story before. Please tell the rest of it on your blog.

Shari Goodman said...

Tylenol lowers the glutathione levels in the body which is a detoxifier in the system that helps get the "junk" out of the body, especially in the case of vaccine ingredients. Not only does the Tylenol administered then leave a child more suseptible to harmful side effects from of these ingredients, studies are now showing that it is causing the vaccines to be less effective as well. Additionally, fevers are the bodies way to fight infections. I always let a fever run it's course unless we are sitting at over 104 for a period of time. Once again, this is not my opinion. There are MANY studies on this subject.

Shari Goodman said...

Oh, and one more final comment, I was first told about vaccine controversy not by a crazy homemaker but by an my actual MD who advised me against further vaccines and signed a note to excuse my son from vaccine requirements. My naturopath also signs off. It is not just us. Most Dr.'s don't even know the ingredients in the shots. They just administer them because that is what they do. Many will give them to sick kids and double up like on Abigail. I am calling for responsibility in vaccines, not irradication.

wendilee said...

Thank you for this post. Shari. I really needed it right now as I am struggling with the decision to vaccinate my kids. I had heard so many pro and cons both ways. Now I know what books to read and where to go to be more educated. I am registering Porter for kindergarden on Friday and now I know just what to do. I have to admit that I almost felt like a bad mother for not vaccinating my sons but now I know I can be armed with great information and feel like a good mother. Thank you again for all your knowledge and time spent researching.

Shari Goodman said...

Wendi,

Miss you guys so much! We need to set up ichat! If you do want to give some immunizations to your boys, just make sure that you pick the important ones to you and get them from a naturopath that orders the vaccines that are free of many of the fillers. Hard to find. It is such a hard choice and honestly, I am so glad I don't have to think about it much anymore. Good luck. Like I have said, I don't think they are all bad, you just need to be informed.

Anonymous said...

I love the way the naysayers always hide behind anonymous. Thank you for your post Shari. I have decided on a revised immunization schedule as well for my baby boy. My pediatrician just rolls his eyes but it is my child, and my life. We mothers need to stay strong and fight for our children.

Anonymous said...

I adopted my two children and was required to immunize by the state. I didn't question it as my total focus was to do whatever it took to get those babies!

I really am not sure what I would have chosen regarding immunizations eight years ago. But, I know now that if I had to do it over again I would choose not to immunize or at least space it out and have less.

My kids are healthy and doing fine. They are doing even better since we have started on the path to a more "healthy food" lifestyle (less sugar, processed junk, etc)!

Thank you for all of the information you share. It really is helpful. Don't listen to the naysayers. Everyone has their own opinion which they are entitled to. I'll never understand, however, why those with dissenting views can't simply express those in a nice and respectful way...or just not at all.

I also find it interesting that some readers of your blog would think that other readers of your blog could be "led astray" by what you write. Readers of your blog are intelligent enough to know that this is your experience and your belief. Readers of your blog are intelligent enough to know how to make informed decisions for their own health, their own lives and their children's lives.

I do a lot of personal research, prayer, reading others experiences, reading lots of pros and cons, etc. I know how to make an informed decision and it doesn't ever come from just one source.

Again, thanks for all you do and share with others.

johnson six said...

I was amazed that there was such a push in the public school system to have all the kids get H1N1 09 vaccination. As I researched I found that the vaccine had been "fast tracked" to make sure it was out in time . The term fast tracked means very little or no testing, this particular shot also came with "fast tracked" legislation, meaning that the Government gave the drug companies that were making the vaccine total protection against being sued because there was no time to test. So basically if your child was vaccinated, then had adverse reactions, even in the future you would have zero recourse. I actually called some of the drug companies making and distributing the vaccines to the schools and asked if there would be a letter informing the parents that they would have no recourse if adverse reactions occurred, they said no, but that you could file a report of adverse reaction that would go for future research!! I read further reports from a neurosurgeon who had followed the H1N1 strain as it hit other countries in their peak flu seasons before ours. His finding were that the strain was far less devastating than had been previously warned. Also he went into past flu seasons and vaccinations, the reports of fatalities since widespread flu vaccination was instated has more than tripled. Also, since so much money was fronted from the government (yes our $) to make billions of doses, everyone including schools and Dr.'s were scared By the CDC into pushing the vaccine. I am not saying that H1N1 was totally harmless, but this strain was very similar to any other strain. This neurosurgeon also stated research that getting this or any other flu vaccine can actually increase you risks of catching the flu because of what it does to the immune system. Within two month of the distribution at least 800,000 of the H1N1 vaccines, just for Az. were recalled, and deemed ineffective. I wonder how many kids got vaccinations with absolutely zero benefit and unknown risk with no recourse if a reaction occurred.

Abby Runyan said...

Shari, Loved the post & all the great info you are sharing.

* One note, in the state of AZ you don't have to even have a reason not to vacinate. It's your choice the schools will try to scare you but legally they can't make you do it. You just have to be willing to take you kids out of school if there is an outbreak.

* Also, I loved how us Housewives no nothing on the subject. Funny how there are plenty of MD's out there that fill the exact same way as us & frankly I trust my instints way more then some Dr who doesn't know my child.

* thanks for sharing, I'm so glad Tate is doing so well. JoJo has made some great gains this year & we are so proud of him. Still no words but he is doing awesome!!

hyrum♥chelsea said...

oh the fun topic of vaccinations :) i'm so not excited for when my boys go to school & i get to fight the fight. great post!

CandiShack said...

I'm so glad you write this blog! And I'm glad I found it...I can't even remember how I did. Anyway, thanks for all the great information you share. I totally agree with your views, and I just wish everyone was more informed as well, so we could help prevent much devastation.

Ruthanne said...

Good job on doing the research and taking and active role in your childs health. But I'm gonna say BS on an 11 month old holding a full conversation, and all 5 year olds have trouble holding their attention....they're 5. Vaccines are a good thing, medicine is a good thing. What you do with your child is your business, but why do you act like these people are out to get you? Do you know how many millions of lives have been saved because of vaccines and other drugs? You should'nt try to scare parents like that.

Shari Goodman said...

This story is not my story so I can't tell you what her child was doing. And, I do believe vaccines have done great things and am not against them. I am , however, against the irresponsibility of how they are administered and what is in them. Until they clean them out, I am sitting out. There is a better way to do it but until we revolt, it won't be changed. People are uninformed about what is in the vaccines. Unfortunately, it takes a wake up call for many to understand this. I have never been against them, I just want people to get the whole picture and choose for themselves. Choose which ones they want not be told they have to have the entire lot of vaccines.

Krista Jones said...

Ruthanne,
This is Abigail's mom. Thank you for voicing your opinion, and I do want to comment on it. You don't have to believe my story- I understand it's one of those things that can be difficult to believe unless you see it. That is why I have kept quiet for a long time. However, I did not make anything up. At the age of 11 months, Abby was frequently mistaken for a 2 year old, and she and I would hold conversations regularly throughout the day. Our conversations were not nearly as advanced as the conversations we hold now, obviously: she was only 11 months old. But she did have an extensive vocabulary and was putting 5+ word sentences together. Not everyone could understand what she was saying, often mothers are the best interpreters. However, she understood me and I understood her. All that went away after her shots. We were back to single words.
Also, about the attention thing, you would have to know Abigail to understand I guess. I have worked with children for many years, and yes, I know that 5 year olds have difficulty holding an attention span. However, it's different with Abby. She goes into a 'daze.' Sometimes she even runs into walls, chairs, and other stationary objects because (it seems like) she just doesn't see them.
And she has been plagued by gut issues, among other things. We are about to start treatments with a Doctor out here that Shari recommended and I am excited to see how things will change for her. I will keep everyone posted.
And thanks, Shari, for the great recommendation!