The Vaccine Decision

There is no decision that has caused me more anxiety as a parent so far than that of whether or not to vaccinate my son. A wrong decision either way could have grave consequences, but who is to say what a wrong decision is?

The medical community will, of course, tell us that vaccines are necessary, that we would be crazy not to do something that could prevent our children from having serious illnesses.

But is it possible that their motives aren’t entirely pure? Is it possible that they are driven by a pharmaceutical industry that is making HUGE amounts of money? Is it also possible that the Center for Disease Control may know that they are at least partially wrong about vaccines and their consequences, but wouldn’t dare admit it because doing so would result not only in massive lawsuits, but also in a public distrust in them, in parents not vaccinating their children at all and the potential return of epidemics to our country that had previously been eradicated?

There is a lot of hype involved. I noticed this about the flu vaccine long before I became a parent. Every year there is some crisis, such as a “shortage” of the vaccine, so everyone must hurry and get theirs before it runs out. (Amazingly, they never do.) Or perhaps the flu will be a particularly deadly strain this year, and we must get vaccinated right away or risk certain death. But, whew, in the end enough people got vaccinated to keep it from spreading and we dodged another bullet. But next year . . . Interestingly, the only person I knew who had the flu last winter had actually gotten the vaccine (but of course, she was told, she had a milder case of it than she otherwise would have, had she not gotten the vaccine).

I’m not sure, but I believe doctors may take a drama class in medical school. They are prepared for parents like me who suggest that maybe vaccines are not the best option. “WHAT?? You would consider not vaccinating your child? Do you know what the consequences could be if you don’t?” Like they’ve never heard of such a crazy idea.

In a doctor’s defense, they constantly have the risk of a medical malpractice suit hanging over their heads. If my doctor were to agree with me that yes, choosing not to vaccinate your child is a valid option, and then my child were to acquire some illness that a vaccine might have possibly prevented, then I could easily slap a huge malpractice suit on my doctor. So that, of course, is a driving factor in their dramatic presentations.

We are led to believe that vaccines are required by law. They are not. We are told that children must be vaccinated before attending a public school, but in truth, you are allowed to “opt out,” based on your own philosophical reasons.

For many years, everyone just accepted their doctor’s word. If the doctor said their child needed a vaccine, they got one. But now we are in the information age. We have the Internet, where articles on virtually every topic in the world are available to anyone and everyone. Now we can find out all we want to know about vaccines, not just take our doctor’s word for it, though we have to realize that just because something is on the Internet, it isn’t necessarily accurate. We have to also use our common sense and get our information from a variety of sources.

But why would I NOT want to vaccinate my child? There are a multitude of reasons, but you have to dig to find them because the above-mentioned entities do not want to you to even be aware of them.

Vaccines can have side effects. They are hard to prove, and when you’re fighting such huge organizations, the little guy usually loses. But the parent whose 2-month-old baby dies of “SIDS” (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) within a few days after receiving a series of vaccines, or the parent whose healthy toddler gets his MMR shot and suddenly develops full-blown autism can tell you that these things are real. And then it is too late to do anything about them. And the medical community generally won’t admit that there is a connection. Incidentally, the United States comes in 46th for their infant mortality rate for children under one year of age. That means 45 countries have less babies dying, including far less developed countries. After all those vaccines we give to our infants. . .

There is a lot about vaccines that doctors won’t tell you. Did you know that many of them are made from tissue from aborted fetuses? Did you know that they contain poisonous materials such as mercury, something you would normally keep your child from ingesting at all costs, yet in vaccinating, you are injecting it directly into his body? It is also speculated that this unnatural way of forcing these foreign substances into the body can actually harm the immune system rather than build it up. What’s more, vaccines are not always even effective against the viruses they are designed to prevent.

“But the risks are much lower than the risks of getting the viruses,” they will tell a parent like me, who dares to question. Are they?? Do you know anyone whose baby has died of SIDS? What about a child with Autism? Both of these are currently “unexplainable.” A doctor will assure you that they’re not associated with vaccines, but how can they prove that, if they can’t tell you what did cause them? The SIDS rate is highest between 2 and 4 months of age, right at the time babies get their first rounds of vaccinations, often 6 or more at one time. Other things have been associated with vaccines too, including ADHD and more, even possibly diabetes and some types of cancer.

Medicine is a science. Everything is an experiment. If things work time after time, they are generally considered true, but there are always exceptions. Everyone’s body is different and reacts differently to things. Some things have long-term effects; it may be years before we see those effects and even longer before we can unquestionably associate them with certain causes.

The currently recommended number of vaccines given to infants under one year of age is approximately 26, beginning with Hepatitis B in the hospital within hours of their birth (this, by the way, is an illness generally spread through sexual contact or by sharing used hypodermic needles, which the majority of babies hopefully never encounter). This number has increased dramatically in recent years as more vaccines are being developed. So have the number of Autism cases. Hmmm. Some of them are for diseases that are really not all that serious (isn’t chickenpox just a rite of passage in childhood?). And there is currently discussion about adding 4 doses of a Meningococcal vaccine to this schedule.

So, what is a parent to do? Danged if you do; danged if you don’t. I wish I could conclude this article by telling you the right answer. I wish I knew it myself and could confidently take my child in for his routine vaccines, knowing that I am doing the best thing I can do for him. Or not vaccinate him at all with full assurance that he will never contact any of the illnesses.

But I can’t do either of those things. I have prayed about this. A lot. And I have yet to feel a complete peace about any of the options available to me. I have talked to a number of other parents, ranging from those who are adamant that their children shouldn’t have any vaccines, to those who completely trust their pediatrician and agree to give their children every vaccine recommended. And others, like me, who just don’t know what to do. I have even talked to a couple who feel certain their children were affected by their vaccines, one suffering seizures and another, Autism.

My current plan is to follow Dr. Bob Sears’ selective vaccine schedule. He has a program for spreading out the most important infant vaccines (so they don’t get so many at once) and then waiting on the others, or putting them off indefinitely. I’m not sure my husband is in total agreement, but he will admit that he doesn’t have all the answers either. My pediatrician may balk (some would treat me like a complete idiot; mine isn’t quite that bad), but I’m really trying to do the best thing, based on prayer, my research and my own maternal instincts.

If you want to read more about this, here are some websites that may interest you:

Dr. Bob Sears
Center for Disease Control Vaccine schedule
Infant mortality rate - Wikipedia
Aborted fetal cells in vaccines
National Vaccine Information Center
Mercola - Meningococcal Vaccine article

100 Things

I know I've already done one "100 things" list, but this one is a little different. This is something that’s been floating around Blogdom for a while. The idea is to cut and paste the list and then bold the things that you have done. So, without further ado, here is my list:

1. Start your own blog
2. Slept under the stars (in a tent)
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5.Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you could afford to a charity
7. Been to Disneyland (actually Disney World)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Spent a summer 'abroad'
13. Watched a storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child/fostered a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train ride/flight
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you weren't ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run in a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise/sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish Community
36. Taught yourself a new language (ancient Greek -- just the fundamentals)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Been to the top of The World Trade Center
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung Karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful Erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach in the moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had a portrait painted/drawn
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen The Sistene Chapel
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in movie
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served in a soup kitchen
61. Sold girl scout cookies
62. Paid off a mortgage in full
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma
65.Gone skydiving/parasailing
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check (now there's one I'm proud of!)
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the CNN Tower
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Criss-crossed Canada
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chicken pox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby/been pregnant
95. Witnessed a birth
96. Been present at a death
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in a day

A Cause for Celebration

Tomorrow, December 21, is a day I have been looking forward to. True, it is the first day of winter and the shortest day of the year, but it is also when the days stop getting shorter and start getting longer again. One of the hardest parts for me about winter is the short days, but at least now, I can have hope. We’ll be adding less than a minute at each end of the day here in Nashville, but before long we will begin to notice the change. Then in March we’ll go on Daylight Savings Time, and life will be good.

Percy Priest Lake

I love learning about history from people who have lived it. I was recently talking to a friend in her 60’s who has lived in Nashville all her life, and she told me something that surprised me: Percy Priest Lake hasn’t always been there. Maybe this is something that everybody else knew, but I didn’t. It is a man-made lake that grew out of the Stone’s River when the Percy Priest Dam was built between 1963 and 1968. I did a little research of my own and found out the lake covers 14,200 acres in Davidson, Wilson and Rutherford Counties.

Many families had to give up their homes and land so it could be created. Roads that used to go from one place to another were completely covered. I had noticed that Old Hickory Blvd. in Hermitage dead-ends right into the lake. (It would be much easier for me to visit my brother or my mom if it wasn’t there.) There was once a town called Old Jefferson that is now completely submerged. There were a number of cemeteries in the area that had to be moved before the lake was made.

So what was the point? Apparently there had been a lot of flooding in the area anyway, so they decided to put it to good use. The dam helps generate electricity used by local residents. The lake also provides for boating, swimming, fishing, beaches and other water activities.

J. Percy Priest, for whom it is named, was a Tennesseean who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1940-1956. He really had nothing to do with the creation of the lake, but the name was chosen in his honor shortly after he died.

Thanks, Ms. Barbara, for your info!

This picture is from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Digital Visual Library.

100 Random Things That You May (or May Not) Want to Know About Me

I saw this on someone else’s blog and thought it was cute as well as interesting, so I took her idea and made my own.

1. I was born on 10/10, and
2. my initials before I got married were J.J., the 10th letter of the alphabet.
3. I was born 3 years, 3 months and 3 days after my parents got married.
4. I was an only child for 6½ years, when my brother was born.
5. My mom never liked animals much, so we had a few when I was growing up, but never enough for me. Now I have 3, plus an aquarium,
6. which I have had for several years but plan to get rid of as soon as the fish die. I am tired of taking care of it.
7. I went to high school with Wynonna Judd
8. and Ashley Judd,
9. who was my lab partner in biology, but only because we were next to each other alphabetically.
10. I drive a Honda Accord, which I think is a good car.
11. Before that I drove a Dodge Neon, which I thought was a piece of junk.
12. In college I drove a ’76 Plymouth Fury, which got 12 mpg.
13. From age 3 through 12th grade I went to 5 different schools for 3 years each.
14. Then I went to Belmont College (now University).
15. It took me 4½ years
16. to get my elementary education degree,
17. which I have never used.
18. I have always wanted to take ballet. I took for a little while as a child, but still want to take again, but now I would look like an elephant in a leotard, and be about as graceful as one.
19. I have always wanted to play the piano. I took lessons for a little while in college, but still want to take more.
20. I have always wanted to play the flute, and now I do.
21. I play the piccolo now too.
22. I grew up in a Methodist church
23. but now go to a PCA (Presbyterian) one.
24. I received Christ in a Good News Club when I was 10.
25. I have read through the whole Bible several times.
26. I was a girl scout.
27. I was a notary public for about 15 years while I was working for attorneys. My commission expired last month.
28. I am a Nashville native.
29. My family moved away right after I started college, first to Indiana, then Florida, then North Carolina.
30. They eventually all came back, after my brother got married and my parents got divorced.
31. When my brother and his wife moved back, they lived in my apartment complex, so we were next-door neighbors for several years.
32. I am collecting state quarters. I have all but Arizona, Alaska and Hawaii, and I’m not sure if they’ve even been issued yet.
33. I don’t like to take any kind of medicine, but will occasionally take aspirin, or Theraflu if I am congested and can’t sleep.
34. I eat very little pork or shellfish because I think the Old Testament law forbids them for a reason: both are nasty creatures.
35. My band was in the Orange Bowl parade my senior year in high school.
36. I love olives, green or black.
37. I hate mushrooms, broccoli and green peas.
38. I am a sugar addict.
39. About the only food that I binge on besides sugar is chips and salsa.
40. My favorite food (other than sugar) is probably pizza or lasagna.
41. I like to cook.
42. I went out with a guy a few times in college who later got murdered by his wife.
43. I love the "Little House on the Prairie" books (still) and have been to Laura Ingalls Wilder’s house in Mansfield, Missouri.
44. Other favorite authors are Janette Oke, John Grisham and Beverly Lewis.
45. When I was 8, I lived in the same neighborhood as Marcia Trimble, when she was murdered.
46. I didn’t know her, but I did know Jeffrey Womack, their main suspect (who was recently cleared after 30+ years), who babysat for my brother and me at Peggy Morgan’s house.
47. I learned to roller blade when I was 30.
48. I took Spanish in high school and college but don’t remember too much.
49. My great grandparents on my dad’s side lived and are buried in Henning, Tennessee, the same small town that Alex Haley, the author of "Roots" is from.
50. I have seen Niagara Falls from the U.S.
51. and Canadian side, but
52. other than Canada I have never been out of the country, but
53. my friend Laurie won a trip for 2 to Hawaii around my 30th birthday and took me with her for my birthday gift.
54. I am very conservative politically. I think George Bush is doing a great job, and I am dreading (or fearing, depending on the outcome of the election) January.
55. I like to listen to Rush Limbaugh.
56. I attended Bible Study Fellowship for 8½ years, including 2 years as a leader.
57. I live within walking distance from the Hermitage, Andrew Jackson’s home.
58. Except for our house, Don and I are debt-free.
59. Wal-Mart is my favorite place to shop.
60. I don’t like stores that make you use a card to be able to get their specials so they can track what you buy.
61. Amy Grant once sat next to me in church.
62. T.G. Shepherd is my second cousin (or something like that) on my mom’s side, but I have never met him.
63. One of the first things Don and I realized we had in common was that we both like fife and drum corps.
64. I like old cemeteries.
65. Both of my grandmothers lived past age 90.
66. Both of my grandfathers died before I was born.
67. Once in college my picture was on the front page of The Tennessean, along with a "snow bunny" I had built.
68. I used to decorate cakes but quit when I joined Weight Watchers because I always ate too much icing.
69. I had chicken pox when I was 12. I broke out on Christmas day.
70. I don’t like Christmas. I think it’s way too stressful and has completely lost its meaning.
71. I don’t like winter either. Summer is my favorite season, but I like spring and fall too.
72. My favorite flowers are daffodils, because they mean spring is beginning. I always hope to see some before the end of February, which I usually do.
73. My favorite colors are probably pink and purple, but I really like all bright colors.
74. My favorite kind of music is old hymns.
75. I also like contemporary Christian, light rock (especially oldies) and classical.
76. Even though I’m from Nashville, I don’t care for country music.
77. I don’t enjoy traveling; it stresses me out, but
78. if I ever get over that and have enough money, I would like to go to the Grand Canyon, Washington D.C., Italy, Scotland and the Holy Land.
79. One of my favorite places to go when I do travel is to the Smoky Mountains.
80. My friend Pam (who has since died) and I used to camp there every summer, and
81. Don and I went there on our honeymoon.
82. My favorite movies are Mr. Holland’s Opus, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Back to the Future and The Sound of Music.
83. I have never played the lottery, but
84. if I won it, I would probably give most of it away or use some of it to adopt a child from a foreign country.
85. I almost never watch TV. When I do watch, my current favorite show is Bones.
86. I like to do word puzzles and play word games.
87. I like to make beaded jewelry.
88. Don’s family is from Iowa. The first time I went there was at Christmas when we were dating. It was so cold, I thought I was going to die.
89. Last summer during one of the worst heat waves in history our air conditioning went out. It was so hot I thought I was going to die.
90. I don’t enjoy watching sports on TV, but I do like to go to baseball and football games.
91. I don’t like talking on the phone but love e-mail.
92. When I was little my mom kept my hair cut short. She thought it was cute, but I hated it.
93. As soon as I was old enough, I grew it out and have kept it long ever since.
94. I know how to sew but only do it when I have to.
95. When I was 4, I stuck a paperclip up my nose. My parents had to take me to the hospital to get it out.
96. That’s the only time I’ve ever been in the hospital.
97. I am fairly soft-spoken now, but I used to be much more so.
98. I need at least 8 hours of sleep a night or I am very grouchy and basically useless.
99. Don and I got engaged at the Ellington Agricultural Center.
100. I’m exhausted after typing all this!

(and you probably are too after reading it all!)