Kathi's Story

In April 1982, I had taken my 18 month old son to the doctor to get his 4th round of shots. He got DPT and Oral Polio. That morning he started screaming in a way I had never heard him scream before. It was like he was in pain. He wasn’t wet, he wasn’t hungry. I could not console him. There were several times, he would stop screaming and just sort of pass out. I thought he had cried himself to sleep. This went on for about 8 hours and the next few days his leg was swollen and he was limping. I was told it was a “normal” reaction but I knew that was not normal for my child. I saw a show called DPT: Vaccine Roulette that featured children who had the same reaction. They went on to get more shots and that was when the severe damage was done. I never gave him another vaccine. I made a vow that day that no one would ever force my children or grandchildren to be vaccinated. In our family, a daughter followed 6 years later. I waited until she was 2 and only gave her DT. She experienced symptoms of shock along with hives all over her body. She has never had another vaccine. Until my son reacted, I never knew vaccines had side effects. His life was in danger that day and none of the books I had read in preparation for motherhood ever even hinted at problems. The medical literature is full of reports of reactions but no one talked about it in the 1980’s.