Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Disgustipated.....

I can't shake how I'm feeling the past few weeks. Just so damn BLAH! I'm not usually one to slip into these states, but the recent events in the media have really taken a toll on me. Funny because it shouldn't. Nothing has changed. Life is the same in my house, your house, our friend's homes. Autism still rears it's ugly head. But this is more than that. I hate feeling this way....and I can't even describe the way I feel.

I feel dismissed. I am tired. I'm pissed off. I'm broke. Frustrated. I feel like the world thinks we are insane.

Every frigging day I add another new Facebook friend. Another parent (usually a Mom) who is struggling like the rest of us. Every damn day, I see another bunch of Autism Awareness stickers at stop lights and supermarket parking lots. Every single day someone makes a comment about my stickers, or my license plate, or my necklace. My heart is broken for them all. The checker in Publix the other day who has a brother with Autism. Or the woman Marshall's that has a granddaughter just diagnosed. Or the young girl at therapy who hasn't got a diagnosis yet for her little guy, but knows the drill already. For my crew of girlfriends here on The Treasure Coast. Women that I could never imagine life without. Some of the strongest gals I know. For my incredible Facebook family. A group of people I have never met, but am so connected with on so many levels, it's scary. You folks are what keep my head above water. Because you LIVE it. I have often said, "You don't really "get it" unless you've got it."

It's obviously not just me. We are all feeling down lately. By simply dismissing the Autism/Vaccine connection, the mainstream has, in essence, dismissed us....dismissed our children. I, for one, am not having that shit. Fuck the herd. Our children are not Collateral Damage. I know it is this funk that drives us, but dam it all to hell....I hate it. I completely fucking hate it. Our kids deserve better.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

They Gave Galileo A World of Shit, too....

I've been slacking on the blog, to say the least. Last post August. I'm going to try and be better about it. Life happens ;)

That said, I felt like logging in today to reflect on something I experienced last night. The past week has been rough. If you haven't heard, vaccines don't cause Autism! They are totally safe!! Anderson Cooper and CNN said so! Isn't that great news?? Hmmmm....ya don't say???

Bullshit. Pure and simple. I believe Dr. Wakefield and stand by him 110%. And I'm not the only one. There is an army of doctors, researchers, and parents who believe him to. To see the list of studies that back up Dr. Wakefield's findings see here (http://www.ageofautism.com/2010/05/peer-reviewed-papers-support-findings.html). He has lost everything because of this...his country, his medical license to practice, his job, and his good name. Dr. Wakefield has no children with Autism. He could have walked away from this shit a long time ago. But he didn't. He won't. Because it is the right thing to do. I have had the opportunity to meet the man himself on a few occasions and really talk with him. Not a quick handshake and photo op. Really talk. He is an incredible man. He will be vindicated of this. The Truth can't be hidden forever. To read Dr. Wakefield's statement on recent claims, see here (http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ageofautism.com%2F2011%2F01%2Fbreaking-news-statement-from-dr-andrew-wakefield-no-fraud-no-hoax-no-profit-motive.html&h=695b1)




Soooooo.....last night there was a Town Hall Lecture in Tradition (a town in the county north of me) given by one of the local pediatricians and a researcher entitled "Do Vaccines Cause Autism? Or Just Fear?" Brought to you by Martin Memorial Health Systems and the Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute of Florida. Yeah, I already know what I'm in for on this one. We actually heard about it a few weeks back, before the most recent wave of Wakefield bashing, and I was worried about going and then needing bail money. After this week's media assault, I knew it would be a Big Pharma pep rally, but my friends and I decided we would go. We had to go.

It was EXACTLY what we had expected. The majority of the audience were obviously VGTI employees. Patting each other on the back and pulling each other's peckers. They even served food and drinks. No Kool-Aid for me, thanks. I'll have a Heineken Light bottle.

We sat through slides and presentations by Dr. Rafick-Pierre Sékaly, co-director and scientific director of VGTI Florida and Dr. Michael Jampol, a local pediatrician. Each one made my blood boil a bit more. It killed me to sit there and listen to the bullshit (I'm allergic, ya know). Comments included "ignorant", "uneducated", "attending The Jenny McCarthy School of Google", as well as making snide comments about Great Plains Laboratory.

As soon as we questioned the presentation, Dr. Jampol cuts me off and says, "Well obviously you have your mind made up on this issue" with a smug ass attitude. I snapped back, "As do you!" No sooner, they had to wrap it up. Of course they did....

We spoke to a woman from a local paper and made our point. We are not psycho anti-vaxers. We are not ignorant or uneducated. We want a "Safety First" protocol when it comes to vaccinating OUR children. Clean that shit up and spread them out. Too much, too soon. It is NOT a one size fits all scenario. The studies HAVE been replicated. These children are in fact, sick. Not sick from a "psychiatric disorder" according to the DSM. They are suffering from gut inflammation, oxidative stress, food absorption issues, allergies, seizures, and a host of other ailments that are going ignored by mainstream medicine.

If you don't listen to us when we shout, we will shout louder.

"These children aren't going away. Their parents are not going away. And I'm not going away" AJW