Let me start by saying that *I am not antivaccine. *I firmly believe in vaccinating my kids, not only for their health and safety, but for yours as well.
Having said that, Elliott is due for his boosters. Three boosters to be exact, chicken pox, MMR and Polio.
This is where the problem or rather the concern comes into play. Elliott was hospitalized after his first MMR vaccine. He had a bad reaction and they thought he had actually developed measles. It was pretty scary. Did it cause his Autism? No it didn't. However, that doesn't mean I'm not concerned.
Maybe the first reaction was a fluke. There's no way to know. Maybe the reaction to the booster will be worse or maybe there won't be a reaction at all. There's no way to tell.
There is no way to see the future and my crystal ball is broken. The only thing I can do is discuss our concerns with the doctor and maybe have his current immunity levels tested to see if the booster is even necessary.
There is clearly risk no matter what decision is made. Is he more likely to contract measles, mumps or rubella than he is to have a bad reaction to the vaccine itself? The truth is that because so many people are choosing not to vaccinate their kids, the risk of contracting these diseases is much greater than it used to be. So there is a legitimate concern for his health if he doesn't get the vaccine.
Like I said, I'm not antivaccine. I think vaccines are extremely important to maintaining the overall health and safety of society as a whole. I'm totally aware that vaccines *can *injure some people and that is a tragic thing. My heart goes out to those injured by a vaccine as well as to their families. I have spoken with a few families that have experienced a vaccine injury and what I learned was enough to raise my level of concern and cause me to exercise a greater level of caution.
Having said that, I'm simply a concerned parent that has a legitimate reason to be concerned. Based on the reaction he had to the MMR vaccine the first time around, I have no idea what to do this time around. Does that make sense?
This part of parenting really sucks because the decisions I make along with my wife about our kids health, can dramatically impact them in an unexpected way.
I would love to discuss this issue without it turning into a flame war. Please be respectful of others opinions.
***Thanks for reading***
* -Lost and Tired*
*Please join our Community Autism Support Forum*
Posted from WordPress for Android so please forgive the typos. Auto-correct and I don't get along very well.
