Shelly Walker’s heartwrenching story made the front page of The Spokesman-Review newspaper on December 22, 2007, with the provocative headline, "Did vaccines kill?"

The headline shook up many residents here as they prepared for Christmas with their families. The story highlighted Shelly’s shock when she discovered her son Vance in his crib unresponsive and limp. Blood was crusted under his eyes and a bloody foam was coming from his mouth onto the blanket lying beside him.The following is from The Spokesman-Review story:

"My baby was so healthy," said Shelly Walker, 39, of Hayden. "He was extremely full of life, energy and vitality.

"In the early morning of Sept. 15, less than three days after Vance Vernon Walker received a round of vaccines at Lakeside Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine in Coeur d’Alene, his mother awoke to a parent’s worst nightmare. "It was about 5:15 a.m. I woke up and thought, ‘He’s not making any noise!’ " Walker recalled. "I went to pick him up and then I screamed.

"Her 16 1/2-pound boy was warm and his lips were still pink, but he wasn’t moving. Blood was crusted beneath his eyes and his clothes and toys were covered with a bloody froth. As her husband, Brian, 46, called 911, Walker worked frantically to resuscitate their child. But in the emergency room at Kootenai Medical Center, doctors said Vance had been dead for several hours."

Brian and Shelly Walker had waited several years to have their first child. They were proud and doting parents who were absolutely thrilled with each developmental milestone Vance achieved.

Shelly had worked for many years at Pilgrim’s, a local health food store. Over the years, many well-meaning customers had exposed her to the vaccine controversy, but it never dawned on her that vaccines could actually be deadly and wouldn’t necessarily protect her son from infectious diseases.

The Walkers were planning a trip to Mexico in October so she got a passport for Vance, the youngest child to receive a passport in 2007, according to Shelly. Naturally, the Walkers reasoned, receiving "protective" vaccines would be important while traveling to a country having a lower standard of living than Americans are used to.

Vance received a shot of Pediarix, a 5-in-1 shot for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B and polio; a shot of Prevnar, seven pneumococcal viruses plus diphtheria toxoid and; Rotateq, the new rotavirus vaccine given orally and containing four viruses associated with infant diarrhea. That adds up to 19 different pathogens given to a four-month-old infant in less than 15 minutes when you consider that Pediarix contains three polio strains.

When Brian and Shelly were in the emergency room still in a state of shock, Shelly blurted out, "It was the vaccines, wasn’t it? Was this from the damn vaccines?"

When her desperate plea for confirmation was met with denial and attempts to comfort her, a seed was planted that has since grown into a force that has become public health’s worse nightmare – more and more parents speaking out as a result of their own tragic experience with the devastation caused by vaccines.

KXLY, a Spokane television station, publicized its airing of "The Vaccination Debate" for a week prior to the February 5, 2008, short, five-minute news broadcast in which Shelly’s tragic experience was highlighted.

News reporter Kalae Chock interviewed Shelly, their attorney in Virginia, David Terzian, who filed their case with the national Vaccine Injury Compensation Program and Spokane pediatrician Bob Maixner. The Vaccination Debate was aired on the morning news, evening news and late evening news that day and is still posted for viewing online.

Leading up to the showing of this news segment, Kalae Chock, also a new mom, had added Vaccination Debate segments to her ongoing internet blog. As of this writing, there are nine Vaccination Debate blog spots that have allowed concerned parents and others to voice their opinions in an open forum. For many parents, having this forum provided by our local news station is BIG news.

Karen" stated the following on the blog: "Kalae, you took a very controversial subject and did a wonderful job showing both sides. Giving your children shots is not so cut and dried as we are led to believe. 23 years ago when my child had her first shots, I was a young mom that didn’t know very much. I didn’t know that my baby was having a seizure. My mom had to tell me that babies don’t usually roll their eyes like that and shake. I was so angry and scared that my baby might not be okay. Luckily, she is, but I wish I had known the most important thing: I had a choice. I didn’t have to have her go through that. The ‘authorities’ make parents think it is mandatory and the law that your kids have to have shots. I hope that every parent that saw your series will realize that they do have a choice, a personal choice that does not have to be defended to anyone. I wish the slogan would be ‘Shots: Your child, Your choice.’

"Great job and thank you!"

Kalae Chock’s ninth blog on Vaccination Debate states that the original purpose for the Vaccination Debate report was "to share Shelly Walker’s story and to explain the government’s compensation program for vaccine related deaths and injuries."

It is clear from her comments that she had no idea how controversial the vaccine topic had become.

In the meantime, Shelly Walker is one mom on a mission – sharing her story as a means of alerting other moms to the real dangers inherent in all vaccines. She has made several copies of an article by Dr. Tedd Koren, "Crib Death or Vaccine Death?" in which he cites that SIDS is the second most common cause of infant death with 10,000 deaths annually. On top of the article she has links to the FDA warning on the intravenous use of vitamin K injections for newborns followed by a link to Vaccination Liberation’s Model Birth Plan letter.

Following this article she presents information on the national Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Her cover sheet has a picture of Vance followed by a quote from Scripture (Ephesians 3:17-19) and a short summary of her story.

Shelly writes, "I hope and pray that this tragedy never occurs in your family. With the knowledge I have acquired since his death I can firmly say that I will never vaccinate a child under the age of 24 months again, if at all. I lacked knowledge to make the best choice. I hope this empowers you to combat the darkness and seek the knowledge necessary to make the best decision."

We second Shelly’s sentiments and pray that people will "investigate before they vaccinate" since the only "informed" choice is complete avoidance and refusal. We are extremely grateful for Shelly Walker for taking the tragic loss of her only child and sharing what she has learned with others, passionately and publicly.