http://www.canoe.ca/LondonNews/01n2.html
February 3, 2002
By MARISSA NELSON
-- London Free Press
The lawyer for the grandfather charged in the death of his
twin granddaughters will ask the Crown to investigate whether childhood
vaccinations caused their deaths.
Jerry Kerrigan, 56, of Grand Bend, was charged with criminal negligence
causing death after three-month-old Shaniece and Angel Kerrigan-Kinahan died in
a Thunder Bay motel last week.
Kerrigan had been halted there by car trouble as he returned from Alberta
to Ontario after winning custody of the twins and their 21-month-old brother,
Tanis.
While Kerrigan and his lawyer, Robert Sutherland, await medical documents
to determine whether the children were ill when given the vaccinations, against
protocols, Kerrigan's friends in Grand Bend were rallying behind him.
Two funds to help Kerrigan pay his legal bills, which his lawyer estimates
could hit $50,000, were launched in the town yesterday.
Wayne Medlar, who only met Kerrigan twice when he delivered pizza to
Medlar's home, has started a petition of support.
"Why was Jerry Kerrigan not notified by some professional group of
the true condition of his grandchildren before leaving on such a long trip to
Grand Bend," states the petition, addressed to Health Canada in Ottawa.
People are also posting Medlar's signs in their car windows, saying:
"Please help Jerry in his time of need."
Kerrigan's friend, Tony Bendel, said the fund he has set up, with the
consent of Kerrigan's family, will help pay legal costs. Any money left over
will start an education fund for Tanis, who remains in foster care in Thunder
Bay.
"People are donating like crazy,' he said.
The jar at I'm Starv'n Restaurant in Grand Bend is also filling up. That
fund will also help pay Kerrigan's legal fees, with the remainder going toward
battered children.
"We want Jerry to be able to come back to Grand Bend and hold his
head high," Robert Allen, owner of I'm Starv'n, said yesterday of the fund
he started.
Next to the donation jar is a card for people to sign that will be given
to Kerrigan when he returns home this week.
"We don't want this to cost him anything out of his pocket . . .
everyone in town is upset about this," Allen said. "It could happen
to anyone."
That's why he wants to show Kerrigan how many people are behind him, so
he isn't afraid of returning to his small town. "We want Jerry to come
back. He should be a hero."
The twins' family is still reeling from the news of their deaths.
In a rare interview, the twins' mother, Shaylynn Kerrigan, said she's
angry the babies were vaccinated because child services didn't ask permission,
check for known allergies or determine whether the babies already had the
shots.
"They were too young to handle (the shots)," Shaylynn said,
pointing out the babies were both underweight at 12 pounds each. "It's
pretty upsetting . . . I believe that shot triggered it."
Had they called to ask permission, Shaylynn said, she wouldn't have given
it.
"Because we're native, my family doesn't believe in shots like
that."
Kerrigan said when he received the children, he was given a note stating
they were given vaccinations. That note was later seized by Thunder Bay police.
Robert Sutherland, Jerry Kerrigan's lawyer, said yesterday he will ask
the Crown attorney to investigate the vaccinations as a possible cause of
death. Sutherland also will try to obtain copies of pertinent medical files.
Though she did not address the Kerrigan case specifically, Dr. Bryna
Warshawsky, associate medical officer of health and director of communicable
disease services at the Middlesex-London health unit, said the general rule is
to wait to immunize children if they have anything more than a cold. Many
illnesses, including colds, are viral.
"If they had pneumonia or a serious fever, you would wait," she
said. "You just want to wait for them to get better."
The main reason, she said, is that if the condition worsens there is no
confusion about the cause of the child's illness -- doctors and parents are
clear it's the illness and not the vaccination making the child sick.
It is not clear when the twins became ill or if they were ill when they
were vaccinated.
But Shaylynn said the twins and their brother were sick when they arrived
home for a visit Jan. 22 in the custody of Jerry Kerrigan. The twins had colds
and Tanis was vomiting.
When Jerry took the children to see a doctor before heading back to
Ontario, the children were prescribed Pediatrix, a drop form of acetaminophen,
she said.
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INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR
GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE
KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED
AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE. THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO
VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU
ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.