Ok I wasn’t going to do it because the topic is so controversial and quite frankly I truly feel that it is the parents right to choose what they feel is best for their child and that they should not be crucified for it, but I can’t help myself, it has been sent to me, people have asked me my opinion and I have seen it plastered all over facebook. First let me say that as a parent of children on the spectrum I feel nothing but sympathy for Jenny Mccarthy, not because I agree with her views or her methods but because I have been there and I have lived through the agony of not one but two autism diagnosis and a third one in the works and let me tell you it is not an easy thing to go through not the first time not the second time and not the third time but the first time you hear the phrase your child has autism it reaches to your core. It is right up there on the list of most stressful life events, it can tear at a marriage and ruin friendships, it shows you who you can count on and who you can’t and a lot of the times these are people that you would never have guessed you would be hurt by including family members. An autism diagnosis is a life altering thing. It makes you question everything and rocks you to your core with fear and self doubt, the “what ifs” can tear you apart if you let them and above all else it shatters dreams, dreams of taking your child to little league or tossing the football around, of teaching your child to drive a car, of having a normal childhood. Will you ever hear them say “mommy” or the heart melting “ I love you “ will you ever be able to hug them without them cringing at your touch. These are just a few of the things you go through when your child is diagnosed with autism, and this is why I have nothing but heart felt sympathy for her because all of that is hell on anyone and I would not wish that on my worst enemy. I can not imagine living my life for so long thinking my child was on the spectrum only to find out many years latter that they are not, I can’t imagine the frustration you would feel at all of the time spent on therapy and with doctors only to find that you were dealing with something else, it will feel like you had wasted valuable time. The fact that the article now appears to be false is disgusting that someone felt ok to play with peoples emotions like that, it is irresponsible of them to publish an article that is not backed by facts, and to open the door to yet another media frenzy surrounding an already controversial topic, unless of course that was the plan all along to once again get people talking about the vaccine controversy in that case they have succeeded quite brilliantly.
So yes Jenny Mccarthy has my sympathy and I feel for her and her family during what must be a difficult time, dealing with such horrible gossip and bad mouthing. As a mother she made choices, she tried to do what we all want to do she tried to help her child in the best way she knew how, making choices that were probably scary at times, but I can guarantee at the root of all of those choices she had one thing in mind the welfare of her child and in trying to help him, she made choices that parents of “normal” children never even have to contemplate, and for someone to judge her when they know nothing of her struggles shows just how shallow and cruel people can be to each other. Until you have had to make a choice for your child that causes your heart to break into a thousand pieces and makes you question everything you have ever know do NOT stand on your high horse and talk smack.
So lets talk vaccines, vaccines are controversial for a number of reasons and a large group of people and not just our good friend Jenny thinks they are unsafe, Personally I feel that they do a lot of good, but since my oldest stopped talking or interacting shortly after receiving his MMR vaccine I am a tad bit skeptical on this subject, and have done a lot of research into it. Just like every other drug, vaccines have side effects and unfortunately doctors and drug companies do not tell parents this, and these side effects happen more frequently than they would have you believe, for instance the MMRV vaccine causes seizures in 1 out of every 1250 children it is given to and doesn’t normally happen until 5-12 days after the vaccination was given, in severe cases it can cause long term seizures and brain damage.( don’t believe me feel free to take yourself over to the website for the center of disease control, thats where I just got the stats from) So my oldest has autism( a neurological disorder) but did I also mention he has seizures as well, did you know that seizures are quite common in children on the spectrum in fact our specialists have asked us to have a neurological assessment done on our second son as they feel he may be having petit mals. (wow that is the first I’ve sharen that little tidbit which means I better call my mom tonight before she hears it through the interweb. ). Now put yourself in my place and in the place of every other autism parent that saw changes after a vaccination, see why I’m a little bit leary of this particular vaccination.
So yes people are starting to questions things because when you start to do the research things get real. Do I truly believe that vaccines cause autism to be honest I’m not sure, I think for some yes, but not all, but that is the real problem no one person can say what causes autism, because we just don’t know, and even us autism parents disagree on the causes. In my families case it is most likely genetics either that or we just have really really bad luck. Am I upset that Jenny has gone public with her feelings and beliefs no I can’t say that I am because it has done one thing it has forced people to look at vaccinations a little more seriously and not just blindly follow suit. It has brought to light the fact that there is more to vaccines than just meets the eye, for instance did you know you can order them without the added preservatives and chemicals , or that you have the choice of asking for a more delayed schedule if you are not comfortable with the current one which actually ends up meaning your child may not need all of the vaccinations anyways depending on age , or that you can opt out of a particular vaccination all together like the MMRV ( measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox) and that you can request it as just MMR which drops the chance of seizures down to 1 in 3000, these are the things that we as parents need to know so that we can make the best choices for our children, do your own research and make your own choices but remember you have to live with those choices and I’d rather live with autism than risk losing my child all together to a disease that could have been prevented.
That’s me for today weighing in on a controversial topic and just trying to live life one puzzle piece at a time.
J
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