If you are the parent of a minor child, you most likely have heard about one or both of the HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccines currently on the market. A trip to the pediatrician’s office with a teen or pre-teen is typically where the first discussion takes place. The doctor will dutifully recite information. HPV is the most common sexually transmitted virus in the United States. As a parent, that gets your attention. They go on to further state that the vaccine will protect your child from the strains of the virus that most commonly cause cervical cancer in females and genital warts in males. These are both very uncomfortable subjects for most of us. However, as parents, we want to protect our children at all costs from anything and everything possible.
As with any vaccine, the parent is provided a pamphlet or sheet containing the standard information: what is HPV, why get vaccinated, who should get vaccinated, and the obligatory safety information. After reading the information and listening to the doctor’s recommendation explaining that the vaccine is very safe (and it seems to be for most patients), many parents make the decision to have their child protected. I was one of them. I rolled the dice and sadly, my daughter lost.
The information pamphlet states that the vaccine has been used in the United States for about six years and has been very safe. You are warned about pain and swelling of the injection site, fever, headache, and the most troublesome side effect, fainting. The patient is required to remain in the doctor’s office for a period of time after the injection as a safety precaution.
What the information pamphlet does not address is that over 29,300 injuries and 136 deaths have been reported following HPV vaccines. Vaccine injury reporting is voluntary in our country and the Center for Disease Control acknowledges that adverse events, as they are called, may be 10 to 100 times greater than those actually reported. Do the math. The reported numbers seem very significant to me, but I am the mother of one of the injured. I trust we can all agree that the actual numbers could be staggering.
The list of new medical conditions being reported following the HPV vaccine is also staggering, I counted 144 conditions. My daughter has 31 of them. She suffers mainly from neurological, autoimmune, and adrenal issues. The worst offender is a migraine-like headache that has been present every day, all day and night for more than a year. The neurologist refers to it as migraine-like because all the symptoms are there yet it does not respond to any medication. Her immune system has also been compromised. She suffers from leaky gut syndrome and now has sensitivity to 20 common foods. Dealing with this for more than a year now has taken a toll on her 16-year-old body. Chronic pain has lead to depression and adrenal fatigue. All of this in a girl who had what was described as an “unremarkable’ medical history prior to vaccination.
While my daughter’s symptoms are grave, she really is one of the lucky ones. Many of the injured suffer from daily seizures or even multiple seizures per day. My daughter does not. For that, I am thankful every day. Having a child in crisis is hard. Having a child with a medical crisis that medical doctors do not know how to reverse is even more difficult. My decision to protect her, in fact, caused her great harm.
Choosing to give your child a vaccination is a personal decision, but it is one that should not be taken lightly. Do your own research, do not simply rely on the information pamphlet, it is, after all, written by the vaccine manufacturer. I learned this lesson the hard way. When you decide if you will roll the dice, please, for the sake of your child, remember this: Education conquers fear and knowledge is power.
Gardasil Cervarix HPV Vaccine Research
Hormones MatterTM is conducting a large scale assessment of symptoms and adverse reactions associated with the HPV vaccines, Gardasil and Cervarix. If you, your daughter, other family member or friend have had either of these vaccines, we encourage you to take this important survey. The data collected with help delineate the range, severity, frequency and onset of health symptoms associated with Gardasil and/or Cervarix. For more information or to take the survey: The Gardasil Cervarix HPV Vaccine Survey.
THE GARDASIL LIFE: MY CHILD’S PARALYZED STOMACH AND INCURABLE STOMACH VIRUS
My daughter was an outgoing, super funny, confident, soccer athlete, practicing 3-4 hrs a day. She planned to play HS soccer and move on to college soccer. Autumn was a free spirit and so full of life. Her love for animals and passion to save the mistreated drove her to want to open her own animal shelter. She had dreams, goals and a plan. In January of 2010 she received the series of Gardasil shots. Her second shot was on 3/31 and by 5/10 we had her back to the doctors due to shortness of breath, horrible rib and back pain. That is when our nightmare just kept getting worse. Autumn’s life after Gardasil. Excruciating rib/back pain episodes, unable to stand up straight or breath deeply. Pain episodes lasting as long as 4wks, requiring many ER visits. A mass measuring 6x12x9 found in her abdominal muscle under her rib was thought to possibly be bone cancer. Doctors kept her overnight to do a bone biopsy but morning came and the mass was gone. It literally disappeared overnight, the doctors could give no explanation and conducted no further studies. Constant leg/knee pain, intense muscle contractions, painful joints, chronic congestion, sore throats, ear pain, reoccurring hearing loss, bladder infections, heat sensitivity feeling faint in showers/bath, shortness of breath walking one flight of steps/talking too long, unbearable migraines leaving her screaming in pain, light/sound sensitivity, chest pain, racing heart, lymphadenopathy, tiny cuts bleeding over 20 min, bruising, petechia rash, cold purple feet, heavy menstrual cycles, paralyzing pelvic pain with lumps that come and go, cycles lasting 3 wks or longer. Chronic fatigue, sleeping sometimes 20 hrs a day, night sweats, strange skin sensations, lips going numb, reoccurring rashes covering her body including the mucosa of her mouth/nose making breathing difficult requiring ER visits. Gastroparesis- stomach paralysis causing severe bloating appearing 6 mths pregnant, debilitating pain, no appetite, severe weight loss, weight gain from body going into starvation mode, constant nausea, vomiting blood/bile leaving her begging for mercy, pleading for death. Autumn will live with a stomach virus for the rest of her life, 24/7/365. Can you imagine? Unable to absorb nutrition, malnourishment. Autumn fought hard to keep the life she had prior to Gardasil, but eventually was forced to quit soccer and withdrawal from school. She has been diagnosed with depression and anxiety. She suffers from extreme memory loss, anger, insomnia, severely diminished cognitive processes. She has self harmed, cutting and branding her wrist/hips to cope with the suffering she endures daily. Did the benefit outweigh the risk? Absolutely not. So where is the medical community now? They casually say Autumn is a complicated case, offer no answers, and wish us luck. PLEASE SHARE AUTUMN’S STORY TO HELP SAVE ANOTHER CHILD FROM DEVESTATION
Spot on, Tracie! Thanks for this reminder! The HPV vaccines should be pulled before one more innocent is injured..