Some examples of official resistance to acknowledging and/or reporting adverse vaccine reactions

Sophie's Story

For weeks, Sophie lay in this semi-alert stage. She didn’t have the strength to feed properly, she wouldn’t smile. She couldn’t focus her eyes, and did little more than squint her eyes in pain and lay in that state for hours on end. This was not the child I knew. At 2 months, before the shot, my daughter would smile and laugh, she could bring her legs straight and try to stand on my lap when I held her.

After the shot, her legs had 2 hard baseball sized black and blue lumps. She could barely move them. She would have these fits of choking for weeks.

I called up the doctor many times to report what was going on, they REFUSED to see her saying that this was just her personality and I was over reacting to “simple coughs”.

After 3 months of this horrible lifeless state, my daughter would slowly regain more and more movement and consciousness. When she finally smiled again, I promised myself and her that she would NEVER endure that horrible pain again.

The doctors office was refusing to report her reaction to VAERS, or even to write it down in her chart!!!!! I was furious, so I reported it myself.

Richie's Story in A Shot in the Dark by Harris L. Coulter and Barbara Loe Fisher  

Janet asked the coroner why he could not state point-blank that Richie's death was due to a DPT shot reaction, when it was obvious.  She produced the Physician's Desk Reference (PDR) and read him the portion pertaining to pertussis vaccine reactions.  The PDR was one of the many medical references and scientific articles Janet had read since Richie's death.

"He (the coroner) said he couldn't write down on the death certificate that Richie had died from a DPT reaction because 'the state's standing on immunizations would be in an uproar'.  Besides, he said, it would be unscientific because the autopsy report was not specific enough about the cause of death.  At that point, we discussed the specific, scientific definition of SIDS.  Finally, he admitted that my son had died from 'irreversible shock' due to a 'probably reaction to DPT.'"

"We kept waiting for the state to send us an official death certificate and when we didn't get one, we called the town clerk's office and discovered that the official cause of death had never been filed by the coroner with the registrar.  After we gave the registrar the signed 'query of death' given to us by the coroner more than two months before, listing the cause of Richie's death, we received an official death certificate the next day."

Janet recently spoke to her county health commissioner and asked if the county was aware of the coroner's report and the official cause of Richie's death.  "The commissioner told me that she was not aware of the official cause of death, although she had heard that my son died soon after a DPT shot.  She admitted that there is no follow-up on the reports of adverse vaccine reactions or deaths immediately following immunization by state or county health officials,"  Janet said.

Amanda's Story

In October 2000 a very good friend of mine lost her one-year-old grandson within a week of receiving his MMR vaccination.  His doctor told his mother that he was in perfect health the day he gave him this injection.  The details of this case are very unsettling and of course vaccination is not listed as the cause of death for this child either.

These are two cases that I personally know of that you will not find in any of the statistics that claim vaccinations are almost always completely safe. You will not even find them listed as a possible reaction.  These two deaths of perfectly healthy children have been completely dismissed of any possibility of being caused by vaccination.  I have to wonder how many other possibilities have been eliminated from the statistics that I have read.

Chase's Story

The next day I received a call from the Pediatric Neurologist the one referred by Chase’s pediatrician. When I mentioned my fear of vaccine damage he stated, “The seizures are definitely not vaccine related but I can see no other reason for them (such as a brain tumor).”  When I reminded him of the ‘fact sheet’ he became very defensive and I was told, “If children are going to have seizures, they just happen to start around the time of vaccinations and this is just a coincidence.” When I pointed out I thought “coincidences” such as this should be addressed in a study, he became very aggressive and suggested I come to his office immediately so he could “educate me” on how wrong my vaccine damage theory was. Needless to say, I did not keep his “immediate” appointment. I requested a second opinion. The next doctor said, “Your son’s seizures are idiopathic (without reason) in nature and this should comfort you. It is best we can’t find a reason.” His official diagnosis code was 345.41. For those of you not familiar with coding, this number stands for partial epilepsy with impairment of consciousness. The 1 at the end of the code stands for “intractable or not easily managed seizures.”  

Cael's Story

Even after this first severe reaction, the doctors felt that we should go ahead and continue with his vaccines.  We did and Cael continued to have seizures after the shots. Around this time, we began seeing stories on the news about kids reacting to bad lots of vaccines, kids that were having seizures and other neurological problems.  We inquired through the National Vaccine Information Center and requested a packet of specific lot numbers from vaccines that had reports of reactions and deaths associated with it. We also requested a copy of Cael’s shot record from his doctor with the lot number from that DPT vaccine given on July 13, 1993.

When I received the packet of 900 lot numbers, I began scanning the columns.  Sure enough, there his was: a total of 152 reactions and four deaths reported within this lot for DPT shots given between October 1992 and December 1993. Of the 900 lots, this was the fourth largest group of reactions reported. What I found unbelievable was that three of the deaths occurred following shots given before July of 1993, when Cael received his!  How could this lot of vaccines not be pulled from doctor’s offices immediately after one death, much less three deaths?

I was appalled that my child was given a shot from a batch that was known to have caused reactions and even death!  Why are we allowing these vaccines from “hot lots" to continue to be given when there are clearly documented reactions to it? Is not one child’s severe reaction enough to justify pulling the rest from the offices of pediatricians?

This discovery was a turning point for us, as this was the moment that we realized our child had suffered a vaccine-related injury. Once we realized that there could have been some connection between the seizures and the DPT shot, we found information that allowed us to file a petition for compensation. The government acknowledged it immediately as a vaccine related injury and we were able to move forward with the compensation process. A lawyer and life care planner guided us through this process, which would take nearly four years to complete.  We now know that there are thousands of families out there whose child will never be recognized as having had a reaction to a vaccine due to information that is not available to parents.

Sharon's Story

I received my first shot (hepatitis B vaccine), I believe on March 5th, 1996, I can prove that if I need to, and had problems immediately following it. I had a fever, not high enough to be an emergency, but I had one, I had extreme muscle pain and shock like pains in my joints. I also had fatigue like I have never had in my life. I slept like the dead. All day, all night too. I can remember sitting in a chair to do the dishes, and resting my head on the counter, crying, from pain and exhaustion. THIS IS NOT AN EXAGGERATION. The doctor said I had the flu, but I had no nausea, and no vomiting, and no diarrhea. I just was tired and hurt so bad.

On March 30th, I returned to my doctors for my second shot in the series, still sick. I had a fever, and was visibly ill. I told the nurse that I had been sick since I had received the first shot, and told her I did not want the second one. She said that she didn't think it was a good idea either, but that she would speak to the doctor about the problems I had been having to make sure.

She came back a few minutes later and told me the doctor said that the hepatitis b vaccine had NO SIDE AFFECTS and was virtually THE SAFEST VACCINE ON THE MARKET and that there was NO WAY I WAS SICK FROM IT and that I HAD THE FLU.

I believed the doctor. I had my second shot. I needed to have the series for my job as an EMT, and seeing as how they told me it was SAFE, I let them give it to me.

My symptoms only got worse. I remember that I called the State of Maine Health Department and asked about side affects, they said there were NONE. I called the CDC, they said there were NO KNOWN SIDE AFFECTS.

I KNOW the hepatitis b vaccine is dangerous. My family knows it, and my friends know it. Matter of fact, although the doctors deny it's possible, one of the nurses at the local health center, stood there in front of me and told the doctor she believed me. She had seen it, watched my body change, my health decline.

Lyla Rose's Story

My daughter Lyla Rose Belkin died on September 16, 1998 at the age of five weeks, about 15 hours after receiving her second Hepatitis B vaccine booster shot. Lyla was a lively, alert five-week-old baby when I last held her in my arms. Little did I imagine as she gazed intently into my eyes with all the innocence and wonder of a newborn child that she would die that night. She was never ill before receiving the Hepatitis B shot that afternoon. At her final feeding that night, she was extremely agitated, noisy and feisty -- and then she fell asleep suddenly and stopped breathing. The autopsy ruled out choking, The NY Medical Examiner ruled her death Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

Margaret's Story

Margaret had the first Hepatitis B injection when she became a part-time dental nurse in Fareham. She was bedridden for a week after the vaccine and her husband called the doctor in, who declared "in no way was it related to the vaccine", and yet he visited her three times in a week to keep an eye on her. She was absent from work for three weeks or so. She then had knee problems and was diagnosed with arthritis - this has now spread to her hip and is very painful. Her employer said that the BDA said she must have the booster Hep B vaccination, she refused fearing being crippled even more with arthritis and so has lost her job. She is now employed as a part-time dental receptionist and earns less money and really misses her dental nursing job. She takes pain killers for her arthritis.

Gloria's Story

Gloria was vaccinated in January 1995---Engerix B --- she had a anaphylactic reaction to the vaccine and now suffers joint pains and ME/CFS - in October 1996 she started having problems with the right side of her body --- balance and co-ordination problems. She had neurological problems, and also has bladder problems. She had a year off sick. In October 1997 her contract was terminated. To walk any distance she needs a wheelchair. The NHS does not recognise her as a case for a medical pension.

Ben's Story

Ben was born full term and normal in every way. His birth was vaginal and without interventions or drugs. His Apgar scores were 9 and 10. All his reflexes were recorded as normal. He was very peaceful. Before discharge, Ben was immunized with Recombivax HB against hepatitis B virus. Neither I nor my husband recall receiving informed consent for this vaccine, nor do we recall seeing Ben get the shot, but it is recorded in his immunization record. No signed informed consent specific to the hepatitis B vaccine was present in the copy of Ben's medical record which we recently requested. Ben's fourth night in this world was his first at home, and we arrived there at about 5 PM. Five hours later, he had his first seizure. Frantic calls to the maternity staff and pediatrician on call fell on deaf ears. The extent of the medical advice we received was to put him on our clothes dryer and turn it on. No one mentioned the vaccine. No one expressed concern that Ben was turning blue, that he couldn't stop screaming, or that he appeared to be having tremors and full body spasms.

Ben had three more seizures, losing consciousness, in the next 8 days, as well as several episodes of arching screaming without losing consciousness. He was vomiting forcefully every day, had a recurring mild fever and eczema, was unable to remain asleep, soaked several diapers a day with glossy mucous and diarrhea, and cried constantly. No one thought any of this was out of the ordinary. I was told these things were normal for a breast fed infant. He was only 12 days old. The third time he passed out, he did not resume consciousness. His breathing was slow and shallow and he was cyanotic. At the emergency room, Ben was tested for several diagnoses and all were negative or inconclusive. He was observed overnight. After nearly losing him, we were sent home the next day with a shrug. No one knew what was wrong, no one mentioned the vaccine, no one expressed interest or concern for the events of the previous week, and no one advised us in any way about what appeared to be seizures and a struggle for Ben's life. Ben's medical record even states, in a gross understatement, that his first days of life prior to this admission via the emergency room were "uneventful". The same doctor who wrote this note privately admonished me for agreeing with the attending pediatricians to spare Ben the trauma of another spinal tap. Convinced Ben had meningitis, he said, "it's people like you who cause lifelong mental retardation." Ben's discharge note states only that he had "apnea", despite having tested negative for it. We entered the hospital hoping for answers, but we left with absolutely none.

Ben worsened with the second hepatitis B immunization at 4 weeks. It was at this moment that I realized he'd been given the shot at birth and that this may be causing his problems. At two months I asked Ben's pediatrician to postpone his immunizations. I asked only for a delay so that Ben could continue recuperating. I knew that accepted pediatric practice dictates that a sick child should not be immunized. The doctor refused my request. When I persisted, he told me we could either immunize Ben on schedule, which we had to do because it was the law, or we could call DSS. With this threat, Ben was immunized. All of his symptoms worsened. At four months, Ben was immunized again. At six months, I refused further shots and switched doctors.

Even though Ben had seizures like this when he was just a few days old, we were told they were breath holding spells which he consciously contrived in response to our over protectiveness. The doctors withdrew and not only became unsupportive, but blaming: They essentially told us we were causing Ben's seizures, odd behaviors, and developmental delays by bad parenting. I was told I "overnursed" him by one neurologist and asked "why I needed something to be wrong with my son" by a pediatric developmental specialist. I believe this is a grossly ignorant assessment of what may be grand-mal seizure episodes.

Lindsay's Story

Lindsay received the Hepatitis B vaccine two days before entering High School. The next day she seemed flu-like, the day after that so dizzy she couldn't stand-up without holding the walls. The following day she passed out. So our life goes, since August 1997. Lindsay has had syncopal & pre-syncopal episodes, her ability to stand was compromised for almost six months due to unremitting dizziness. Following our Drs. advice, unknown the vaccine was the culprit, Lindsay had the series of three. It was on the third shot Lindsay became so violently ill within two hours, that I knew the vaccine was the catalyst of her illness.

Kaelen's Story

Up until the day Kaelan had his shot he hardly ever cried and was always extremely happy. He received his shot at 3 pm and I was proud of him for not crying at getting it and oblivious to any potential problems. At about 6pm he started crying hard and continued to cry harder than I ever imagined that he could. By 8 pm he still was crying and nothing I did could settle him and although he wasn't running a fever his leg got quite swollen and about this time amidst his crying he's stop short his face would contort, he'd stop breathing, and his little body would go rigid for about 5 seconds. From this first one I knew he was having some sort of seizure so I immediately took him to the hospital here in town. The Dr there tried to convince me that he was just gagging because he was crying so hard and told me to go home and give him some tylenol. I convinced the Dr to watch his actions longer. Kaelan finally exhausted himself crying and fell asleep and even in his sleep the seizures would come and wake him and start crying all over again. The Dr admitted to never having seen "anything quite like it" before and agreed to send him to the Sick Childrens hospital in the city by ambulance. He continued to have seizures every 2-10 min for an 8 hr period. Even while he was in the emergency room at the sick childrens hospital the Dr's were trying to find out what else I could have given him that he would have reacted to and were talking about his next immunization. After giving him a lumbar puncture he was admitted under observation and released 2 days later with absolutely no conclusion as to what had happened. It wasn't until we saw the neurologist 4 weeks later (long story there trying to get an appointment in 1996) after he had another episode that it was agreed that he did indeed have "seizures" but she couldn't tell me what caused them. It will be months before he can have an EEG and a MRI done which will give her more information. Her only theory at this point was the 1/2 his brain is more developed that the other and that caused mixed signals, based on the fact that he shows a tendancy to reach with his right hand first and curls to the right when he's held a certain way.

Hayden's Story

Have you any idea what it is like to be unable to do anything for 10 hours while your baby screams and arches his back nonstop? In hospital we were very distressed that we could do nothing to help settle Hayden. I was in tears at times and asked staff why can't they stop the screaming! WE were told that this screaming was called "CEREBRAL SCREAMING" and that the vaccine had GONE TO HIS BRAIN. That was why he screamed and arched. Have you any idea how angry it makes me when Dr ....... defines Haydens reaction as a "LOCAL REACTION"? He was not there, I was, and that was no local reaction . His blood work in Hospital showed TOXIC NEUTROPHIL CHANGES PRESENT. QUESTION.... If a child has an allergic reaction to the DPT vaccine, red rash, swollen thigh 45 mins afterwards, screams non-stop and so violently that a hospital can't cope and send him to another hospital, all the above continues for 10 hours, then intermittently another 12 hours, doing what we are told by hospital personnel was a "CEREBRAL SCREAM", does this not indicate an "acute encephalopathic reaction? (A local Reaction!! My goodness do they take all parents for fools?)

At no point was any follow up done on Hayden , no evaluation or investigation on his neurological status. At no point did anyone report Haydens reaction To The Centre for Adverse Reactions Committee in New Zealnd. We know that Haydens vaccine reaction fulfills the medical dictionary definition of encephalopathy - ie 'An acute reaction of the brain to a variety of toxic or infectious agents, without any actual inflammation such as occurs in encephalities. I know there is a conspiracy of silence about DPT vaccine reactions. NO ONE wants to take responsibility for injuring a child with the pertussis vaccine.

Carlie's Story

My daughter was sick the whole month of February, 2001.  I noticed the change in her the day we came home from getting her 6 month shots.  Before that day, she was happy, smiling all the time, slept through the night and only cried when she was wet or hungry.  The very day we got home, I noticed she was awful fussy.  I thought this was the "normal" thing to expect after shots, even though she never acted this way before. I knew something was wrong because she did not sleep at all that night.  I don't know how she stayed awake, but she cried on and off all night.  I put her in the bed with me, because I was scared to let her sleep in her crib.  From that night on, she did not smile, laugh or seem at all happy.  She acted like she was severely depressed.  She did not sleep through the night that whole month.  She stopped eating like she had been.  She fussed on and off constantly and I cried every day.  (I knew in my heart this was a bad reaction to the vaccines, because I had read about them).  She got her shots on a Friday.  That Monday morning, I called the pediatrician and the MOA advised that I bring her in.  By Monday she was badly congested, wheezing, and running a fever.  The doctor advised that I give her Tylenol for the fever.  He said her lungs sounded clear.  I brought up the "reaction" I believed had taken place.  He sort of laughed and suggested he did not think it was that. He said she just had something viral and they hated to prescribe anything for it when they are as young as she is and we should just let this "run it's course".  We went home, needless to say, nothing changed, except for her fever; it did go down.  We took her back to this doctor 4 more times in the next two weeks.  I begged him to do blood work and a CXR on her.  I knew something was in her lungs because I could hear it rattling.  He would not.   The last time I took her to him, I was treated terribly.  (You know how people talk in a doctors office, they probably thought I was crazy).  The doctor again told me that what she had was probably viral and we would just have to let it run its course. He finally prescribed a nasal decon.  The last visit was on Saturday.  That next Tuesday, my husband and I had had enough.  Carlie had taken 2 ounces of formula since Saturday.  We took her to a Pediatrics Emergency Center (not associated with her previous physician).  This doctor spent 1 1/2 hours with her.  He did blood work, CXR, checked her ears, lungs, heart, everything.  My husband, my mother, and myself were in the room.  He said he could tell by her blood work that she did have a reaction to her vaccination, but that he was very surprised that it was not immediate and acute. She also had severe double ear infection, and bronchitis.  He prescribed Albuterol, an antibiotic and a different decongestant.  We took her home, gave her the medication and she slept that night for the first time in a month.  The next day, she played in the floor, smiled and started eating again.  The day after that, she was like my little girl again.  I cried and thanked God for her healing. 

I requested her medical records from the emergency clinic we took her to.  Guess what?  No mention of an adverse reaction to her shots.  So you tell me.

I consider my daughter to have been "severely and negatively affected" by the shots she received at her 6 month check.  I believe they caused her condition and everything associated with it.  My daughter has been wonderful ever since.  She has not, and will not ever get another vaccination.  If we have to, we will homeschool her to avoid it. 

Sean's Story

I went in the room, decided I would wake him up no matter what, and all I could do was scream. I will never forget that awful scene. My husband came running, Heather and Patrick ran in, we were trying to get them out of the room, my husband went running to the phone to dial 911 but deep down I think we both knew it was too late.

On October 17, 1986, exactly two months after Sean was baptized, we said our final farewell to our baby.

SIDS, was what the autopsy said. Ironically, the day Sean died, October 15, 1986, there was an article in USA Today about vaccines. I questioned the coroner about this, but got the response of, some babies just quit breathing with no explained reason, but vaccines cannot cause this.

We filed for compensation, our case was finally heard in April of 1997, 11 years after Sean died. We lost the case. I have nothing good to say about the Compensation Act. We were treated like terrible parents. They could not believe I did not call the doctor over some of the symptoms. But in all the forms the doctors give you after vaccines, these were expected reactions.

Tyler's Story

My name is Nancy Rodrigues and on 3/4/01 my 6 month old nephew died, just 3 days after his DPT vaccination.  My sister, Elizabeth Rodrigues, the mother of the baby is losing her mind.

On that day, the baby, Tyler,  was wide awake and let out a whine, when we looked at him he wasn’t breathing. He clenched his mouth and it looked as if he was having a seizure. We called 911, but 20 minutes went by and the ambulance never showed.  I grabbed Tyler, with intentions of running with him to the hospital and then saw two police officers driving down our street. They tried to administer CPR, and at the same time screaming into his phone that he needed an ambulance because Tyler had no pulse.  Another 20 minutes went by, and no ambulance, so the police officer then grabbed Tyler and rushed him to the hospital himself.

He had his DPT vaccination on Thursday evening 3/1/01 and he died on Sunday 3/4/01.  Not only did they give him the vaccination, but they gave it to him while he had a cold.

I e-mailed Dr. Mercola about two weeks after this happened and he gave me the phone # of a lawyer who would help my sister with her case.  After the lawyer looked over the autopsy report, he called my sister and told her he would take her case.  He stated he was disgusted by what he saw on the report.

The cause of death on the autopsy report states that my nephew died of a severe cold!!  Do you believe that?!?!?!  Have you ever heard of anyone dying of a severe cold?? And then the report states that he had cerebral swelling, blood spots in his liver, and he had an pneumonia - but yet the cause of death was a severe cold!!!!

Harlee and Ashlee's Story

"After the vaccinations I laid the children down for their naps. Harley woke first; his thighs were red. I heard Ashlee wake and then I heard a 'THUMP!' Ashlee fell flat on the floor. She cried out `Mommy, me no walk!' I checked her over and stood her up; there was no strength in either leg.

"I called the hospital and rushed Ashlee to the emergency ward. I left Harley with a responsible woman to look after him while we were away. At the hospital we waited more than 20 minutes for the doctor to finish his popcorn before he would check Ashlee. He never touched her, nor was she undressed. The official report stated that the child couldn't walk, 'no other problem.

"When we returned home, Harley was high-pitched screaming. The babysitter said it started more than one-and-a-half hours before. He was inconsolable. He finally screamed himself into exhaustion two hours later. I called the emergency ward. They recommended a warm bath and told me it was 'nothing to worry about.'

"For ten days Harley's behavior changed. He barely slept, hardly ate, and seemed to be getting worse. On  May 17, 1991, at 9:00 a.m., my husband got up, checked on Harley, and yelled out, `Bonnie, get up, call the ambulance. Harley is dead!'

"The state police and county coroner arrived with the ambulance. The coroner peered into the ambulance, never examined Harley, and stated, 'SIDS.' Harley was then rushed away. My husband and I didn't get to see him again for more than three days, until 1:00 p.m. on May 20, 1991 -- in his coffin!

"My adopted parents came to Harley's funeral. My father (I use that term loosely) screamed out: `Which one of you killed my grandson?' My husband's family stays away; they think we should stop mourning for Harley and get on with our life.

"I want to mention the following points:

* The attendant giving the vaccines never mentioned the  possibility of side effects when we were rushed through the signing of the releases.

* Ashlee has been to doctors since her paralysis. They never documented our verbal concerns regarding a connection to the vaccines.

* The autopsy lists Harley as a 5-week-old baby; he was 9 weeks old.

* The pathology department never received tissue samples. Also, Harley's blood arrived by U.S. mail after an eleven-day wait; it was not shipped on dry ice.

* The doctor never recorded the lot numbers of the vaccines. The manufacturers cannot help us without this information.

* An administrator at the Minot Air Force Base (where the vaccines were administered), told us: `Get on with your lives, drop this search. It's only a baby.'

* We were rejected for compensation through the Federal Vaccine Compensation Act.

Brandy's Story

After Brandy died, the police and the medical examiner never asked us any questions about what happened to her. I made several attempts within the month following her death to speak to the medical examiner and ask him what he found. The autopsy report said that her brain was mildly swollen, and all her lymph nodes were swollen. He told me that he had to file her death as 'Undeterminable'. When I asked why, he said that she could have been strangled, suffocated, or died from SIDS. I told him I knew that was a lie because if that were true there would have been bruises somewhere on her body and the police would have done an investigation, and I knew that at her age a child doesn't die from SIDS.

Jonathan's Story

Well, six days later, December 15, 1993, Jonathan died in his sleep. He had been a very healthy child and not a bit of trouble, a good baby. The medical examiner told me that Jonathan died of SIDS, but I don't believe that and I never will. I've tried talking to [authorities], but no one seems to care. To them Jonathan was just a number. To me he is life.

Shana's Story

Throughout this trauma no one ever suggested a connection to the vaccines. So our new doctor reinjected Shana with the shots. There was so much unrest during this time that I can't recall how much additional damage was actually done.

Ryan's Story

At two months of age I brought Ryan to the doctor for his well-baby checkup. He was given his first DPT shot. Within 24 hours he started to change. Ryan became lethargic and fussy, ran a high fever, and had a glassy-eyed stare. The doctor `reassured' me everything was okay. He recommended baby aspirin.

Several weeks later, after Ryan's 2nd DPT shot, his reactions were the same. He also had severe diarrhea, loss of interest in his bottle, choking, continued staring spells, and prolonged sleeping -- except when he was high-pitched screaming. Again I contacted the doctor and again I was `reassured' everything was okay. Soon thereafter Ryan developed a severe rash on his bottom. The doctor treated it as a diaper rash. I had three children previously and had never seen a diaper rash like this.

After Ryan received his 3rd DPT shot at 10 months of age, his father and I became very concerned that something was seriously wrong. Ryan's health was deteriorating rapidly. His reaction to this shot was much more severe. He ran a fever of 106 degrees. He screamed, stared, and had severe diarrhea. His hands and lips turned blue. The site of the injection leaked a clear fluid, and his thigh, from hip to knee, was red and hot.

Ryan's development was regressing. Although he walked at 10 months, at one year he was taking `a few steps.' What few words he previously uttered were lost. His speech just stopped.

At 17 months, on a particularly bad day, I called the doctor in the evening to tell him something was terribly wrong with my baby. He told me `I only handle emergencies at night.'  Four weeks later Ryan was hospitalized with a high fever and pneumonia. At the hospital I was told for the first time that Ryan's `choking' and `staring' that I had previously complained about were seizures. No one ever mentioned the vaccines as the cause.

Ryan's 4th DPT shot was given at the age of 18 months. He had the same reactions as before. The next day Ryan ran a fever of 106 degrees, had seizures, and screamed constantly through the evening.

One month later Ryan was again hospitalized with seizures. A C.A.T. scan showed an increase in head size. Still, there was no mention of what caused this.

"The medical and developmental problems continued. Ryan spent the first three years of his life in and out of hospitals. The diagnosis was made but the cause was never given.

When Ryan was two years old a major TV station ran a show called `Vaccine Roulette.' I saw this show and was astonished that Ryan's condition and health history were a mirror image of the vaccine damages. I began to read, ask questions, and started to piece together the truth. I was now convinced that with each shot that Ryan received he was becoming more and more damaged. I was angry with myself for not knowing to ask questions, and I was angry with the medical profession for their silence on the topic.

When I confronted Ryan's doctor (a neurologist) he gave me the standard `benefits outweigh the risks' speech. At this time we were also told not to give Ryan his last DPT  shot. This is like closing the barn door after the horse gets out.

Taylor's Story

On November 29 I questioned Taylor's doctor about her death. She didn't feel there was any connection between Taylor's death and the shots. She said that SIDS was very rare and they just don't know what causes it. She said this was only the third case she had seen during her medical career, and that they have given shots to many babies.

Spencer's Story

My dearest son, Spencer Joseph, died 10 hours after receiving his 4th dose of DPT, HIB, and oral polio vaccines. He was 20 months old.

I knew Spencer was dead when I heard my husband wailing like an animal. I grabbed Spencer's stiff and lifeless body and screamed, `God, No, Not My Baby! He Can't Be Dead!'  I administered CPR for 15 minutes, pounded on his chest, and yelled, `Come Back Spencer, Come Back, Come Back!'

Then I heard my father say over the phone to 911, `We've got a dead baby here.' Realization hit. I opened Spencer's eyes, and he was dead. I then hugged his stiff body and emitted sounds I didn't know any human being was capable of making.

I cannot adequately express my horror, anger, and ultimate suffering. My life turned upside down in one day, and each day that goes by I look at as one day closer to death, one day closer to Spencer.

Why? Because they told me the benefits outweigh the risks. What does that really mean, and why are these people allowed to play God? After educating myself  further [on vaccines], I realize I was lucky to have had Spencer for as long as I did.

Spencer's death certificate said, `Sudden and Unexpected Death; No Cause Found.'

I have met numerous times with [the pathologist] in an effort to have  [tests done to detect vaccine toxins]. He said he didn't take the blood in assayable [testable] conditions. I asked him to do an immuno-fluorescence test, and had him speak with Dr. William Torch [the medical researcher who found correlations between vaccines and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome], but [the pathologist] said it wouldn't yield anything. I asked him to do [another test], but he said they don't do that test there. It's maddening and frustrating BUT I WILL NOT GIVE UP. Spencer was so special and loving that his mama will not stop fighting until the day I die.

Spencer was my first and only child. My husband and I are completely devastated. Now I will channel all of my anger and my ultimate, unconditional love for my precious baby, into this cause. No one should have to feel and know this living nightmare.

Billy's Story

On the third day I called my doctor and said I was going to the hospital -- he could be there if he liked. Billy was admitted with pneumonia and treated for eight days. Despite my doctor's assurances that he would be fine, he has had difficulties from then on. Although a wonderfully happy child, he has had numerous allergies, difficulty digesting food, and is mentally retarded.

Since that time, I have learned the story of how this could happen, and how it continues to happen. During the same month that my son had this severe reaction, 15 babies in Illinois died from the DPT shot. The reason a moratorium on this vaccine hasn't been called immediately is a story of greed, corruption, and a fatal belief in our own technology. But the damage to children continues.

Our Friends' Baby's Story

Six weeks ago some friends of ours lost their 15 month old daughter. She died in her sleep during the night. She had been given her MMR vaccine the day before. The parents didn't notice any change in her behavior [prior to receiving the shot] and said she had a great time playing with their three other kids the previous evening. An autopsy was done, and 12 hours after the death the coroner came to their house and told them she died from a rare type of cancer that is hard to detect. Three days after the funeral the family doctor called to say the report was not true, and it was not the coroner's place to give them preliminary reports. The doctor said they now thought it was viral pneumonia. The family asked if the shot was responsible, but the doctor said reactions to vaccines don't usually happen within 14 to 16 hours; they usually occur 7 to 10 days after being administered. What do you think?