From the May 2002 Idaho Observer:

Amy's story

I never questioned vaccines until my kids were in preschool. Carrigian was four, Michael was three, and I was pregnant with baby #4 at the time. We received a letter saying they were due for their shots and I instantly got sick to my stomach. I talked to my husband about it and he said I was over reacting. So I put them off. Then our baby was born at a whopping 9 lb., 15 oz. -- healthy, vibrant and beautiful.

My regular pediatrician was out of town so I had a substitute pediatrician that my midwife recommended. He came in on the day we were to be released and commented on how healthy she was and that he WOULDN'T be giving her the hepatitis B shot because of the mercury scare. At the time, I was shocked. My husband is an auto technician and said, “Amy, what is he talking about?” and I said, “I don't know.” He said that mercury could kill her. So we vowed NO shots until I researched it. I was amazed at what I found. Mercury wasn't the only bad thing in the shots.

Our daughter Chelsea is almost fully vaccinated except for her two MMR shots. The doctor called the other day to say she didn't have it and is due for her 10-year booster. Well Chelsea was a sweet child, very easy going but always sick. She had several high fevers that were unexplained. She also had severe allergies, severe eczema, and asthma, requiring hospitalization several times.

Along came baby #2, Carrigian, who is now five. This baby I now know is damaged the worst. She started screaming at two months old and I swear she didn't stop until she was six months old. She could never go to the bathroom and her stool was always so hard we had to dig it out of her while she cried and cried.  She started all this at two months old. At her six-month shots, she passed out cold. The doctor said, “Oh, this is normal.” After that she started passing out when she got mad or scared. She has fits in the middle of the night where she rocks back and forth and cries and you can't calm her. Her left upper arm at the site where she got lots of her shots is rough like sand paper. Her legs are covered with eczema. She has learning problems and emotional issues. She has been vaccinated up until her fourth dosage of shots and has not received a second MMR.

Our son Michael, Baby #3, who is now four, seemed to handle these vaccines okay. He was the BEST baby; never cried, etc. Well at three he had this huge gland on his neck so I took him to the doctor and had him tested for everything. He now has the Epstein Barr virus. I am so saddened by this. I know it is vaccine related. Sometimes he is still so tired he doesn't even want to play. He is being treated with homeopathy and is much better.

Chaela, baby #4, has had no vaccines. She is beautiful, vibrant and so alert. She rarely sleeps since she is too busy exploring her environment. She came down with pertussis at five months and experienced croup and a minor cold here and there.

I often wonder if it was mother's intuition. What would those final shots have done to my sweet Carrigian? Now it's just a matter of trying to undo what has been done. I will NEVER know what Carrigian would have been like without these vaccines. They took something from us and it's unfair!

Comparing my children

My vaccinated kids all walked when they were around one year old. They didn't talk until they were about 14 months old except for “mama” or “dada.”

Now my non-vaccinated 16-month-old baby walked at eight months old and can work the VCR. I mean put the tape in and rewind and eject it. She goes to the coat rack and says “coat” when she wants to go outside. She has known all her body parts since 14 months old, such as nose, hair, eyes, teeth, etc. She can talk in two-word sentences like, “Hi daddy, hi mama, Bye-Bye dada.” She points at stove and says, “HOT; Fridge Cold.” She can say Elmo, Chelsea, Barney, coat, hat (12 months), doggie, banana, ball, and car.

I could go on all day telling you the difference in these kids. She still rarely sleeps. She is so intrigued by her environment that she doesn't want to sleep. She is truly amazing. All the stuff I just mentioned she has been doing since 13 or 14 months old.

She climbs the stairs using one foot after another; not one at a time like most kids her age. She is also almost potty trained. She knows when she goes so she will grab her butt and say, “Poopy!” She amazes her father and myself every day with what she knows. Just yesterday she went and got my keys and said, “Mama's keys.”

The end of the above true story reminds me of our neighbor's 11-month-old boy who chased his mom around the house with some “wipes” to encourage her to change his recently “poopied” diaper. I also recently had an engaging and incredible phone conversation with a girl who recently turned two. And, yes, these children have never experienced being assaulted with a needle filled with “dis-ease.”

I hope this helps people understand exactly how vaccines are changing our children. But this is just one case of many. We have yet to meet a parent with vaccinated and unvaccinated children who hasn't noticed a sharp contrast in the health, vitality and learning development between their vaccinated and unvaccinated kids. ~(ILC)