Let Us Praise Good Doctors
By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.
“Have you had a tetanus shot in the last 10 years?” my doctor asked during my annual physical the other day.
This is the second year I’ve been with my new medical plan and the second time I’ve seen this doctor. I’ll call her Dr. N* (pseudonym). She’s Indian, studied and worked at Harvard, but likes working for my medical plan because they advertise that “we let doctors be doctors”, and that’s actually a pretty accurate description.
“No, I haven’t,” I replied.
She stopped writing on her pad, looked up at me, and I could tell that the next words out of her mouth were going to be something along the lines of, “We’ll get that ordered for you.” I decided to stop her forward motion.
“And I won’t.”
She looked at me curiously. “Why not?”
“My daughter has a vaccine injury,” I replied. “And I don’t trust what’s in the shots.”
A look of recognition came over her face. “You’re the one who gave me that book last year, aren’t you?” That book was David Kirby’s “Evidence of Harm.” I considered it my personal contribution to medical education.
“That’s me,” I said cheerfully.
“I read it,” she said. “And then I passed it onto a friend who had questions about the immunizations.”
It was my turn to be surprised. “You’re passing it around to your friends? Are you now a pariah among the medical community?”
“Not at all,” she answered. Dr. N* then went on to explain much of her own history. She said that early in her career she’d been a disciple of “evidence-based medicine” but as time had passed she’d become less enamored of it. “It’s one thing to say that a medicine will work in 80% of cases, but how do I know if the patient sitting in front of me is part of that other 20%? It’s the same for bad reactions. How do I know if my patient will be part of that group?”
It was my turn to talk. I always worry that we in the autism community often overwhelm those hapless people who cross our path with all of the information we carry around in our heads so I wanted to be brief, but powerful.
I told her about how Dr. Bernadine Healy, former chairman of the Department of Health and Human Services said that the vaccine-autism connection was “biologically plausible” and that the necessary work hadn’t been done because it seemed the scientists were “afraid of what they might find.”
And I told her about the concession in the Hannah Poling case.
She listened intently, we talked about my daughter for a few more minutes, and then went onto other topics, like my need to stay out of the sun a little more and use sunscreen so I don’t one day end up with skin cancer.
I left the office, but couldn’t stop thinking about the visit. Those of us in the autism community are engaged in a great struggle to free our children from the lies perpetrated by the medical community, our politicians, and the community at large who has been brain-washed to believe that vaccines are as safe as humanly possible.
But I don’t want to hate the medical community. When my wife and I started dating and I met all of her friends who worked at the hospital I remarked that I’d never met a nicer, more caring group of people. I still feel that way today.
That same medical community, though, has injured my daughter and my life is dedicated to finding out if that damage can be repaired. Dr. N* remembered what I’d told her about my daughter on my previous visit and I filled her in on what’s been happening lately. I don’t believe she was just humoring me. She’s a healer and when she learns of a person in distress every part of her seems to lean forward as if to figure out how to help. My daughter wasn’t in that examination room, but she might as well have been for the interest Dr. N* took in her.
I know that the demands of justice and my Sicilian temperament will never be satisfied with anything less than those guilty of the enormous crime of harming our children being consigned to hell-fire and damnation.
But for those unknowing foot-soldiers, to those who believed their superiors, I might be willing to offer an amnesty. If they admit that we raise important questions, if they admit that something seems to have terribly wrong with this generation of children, I might be willing to lay aside my anger.
I want the medical community to be with us. I want doctors like my Dr. N* to be the standard, and not the exception. I want to see the intellectual curiosity which is supposed to be the hallmark of good science. I hope that day arrives soon.
But in the meantime, let us praise good doctors, and let them be an example for the rest.
Kent Heckenlively is Legal Editor for Age of Autism.
I'm no great fan of pharma reps either. Once I sat in my OB/GYN's office in a gown, waiting for an hour past the time of my appointment, while I could hear my doctor meeting with the vitamin rep outside the exam room. I got dressed and left. BUT, I wonder how docs are supposed to learn about new drugs and devices if they don't meet with the reps. They have to find out about them somehow, and I do think that presentations from the reps are more informative than ads or articles. I don't care if they bring lunch or not; I think that's just their way of saying they know they are taking up the staff's time. Any doctors on this board who could comment?
Posted by: JGinger | August 09, 2008 at 09:03 PM
Ok Robin so I read your entire post and that is about the same thing that has happened to me.
We were just "kicked" out of our Peds office on May 24th because he found out we had filed for our VICP. This is the same guy that wrote a letter to the Vindy.com site, and no I'm not afraid to use his name because he plastered it all over the internet so...Dr Iqbal. This is the very same guy that wrote he was doing (multinational and multicentered) studies in our area. My child should have never been vaccinated in the first place due to an auto immune disorder and SEVERE allergy to eggs. I didn't realize at that time I shouldn't because eveything I was taught told me vaccines were "harmless" and I was doing the right thing both as a mother and a nursing student. What they don't cover in nursing school would scare you!!
We've seen the same D.O. for about 15 yrs (my husband my oldest son and myself) and I don't know why I didn't just have my babies go to him in the first place. I thought I was supposed to take Riley to a Peds doctor because he was born with a heart murmur.
I scheduled an appt with this D.O. and took the babies in last Friday. I went in there expecting a fight and was ready for anything when it came to vaccines. When I mentioned that we had filed our VICP and I would no longer be vaccinating my children he said "Good" Ok that caught me off gaurd completely. Here I was "guns" drawn and ready for anything he could throw at me and he said "Good"!!
He then told me that he stopped vaccinating out of his office 10 yrs ago. I asked why, he told me the risk vs benefit thing was the number one reason plus he said with every new vaccine to come down the "pipeline" he couldn't afford to store them all. He said NO to the chicken pox vaccine when it first came out and the County Health Dept tried to shut him down. He said my oldest boy (14) was probably one of the last kids to ever be vaccinated in his office.
I could just kick my self in the ass every day for not taking my babies to him in the first place. Hind site is 20/20 for sure but now we are on the right track because he believes what I say and has got on board with our DAN! Has ordered some tests for Riley and gave me his email address (even tho he admitted it would go to the front desk girl) he wants to see everything I find on vaccines.
So yes, there are still some great Dr's out there!!! My hat's off to our "DR MARK"
Posted by: Riley's mom | August 01, 2008 at 10:19 PM
Very good point, Claudine. There is no reason for doctors to use their brains when they are already free of liability for what they do. If you notice, they will only do those things for which they are free of liability. Why would they take the chance of being liable by treating the root of a patient's problem when they can just prescribe a drug for which their liability is covered by Pharm.?
Posted by: Elizabeth | August 01, 2008 at 04:05 PM
I too visited a seeminly nice pediatrician today with my 6 year old son. A combo of sweat and chlorine caused a rash... While at the visit I heard horrible coughing coming from the room next door. After a short while an adorable little girl appeared. I overheard the doctor order nebulizer/steroid treatments for the girl. When the MD arrived in our room, I inquired as to what was wrong with the little girl, the MD replied "asthma". I let him know that my son's asthma condition was cured by acupuncture and that maybe he should look into it. To myself, I wondered if the pertussis vaccine caused the child's horrible condition. I also witnessed 2 teenagers leave the practice with band-aids on their arms....what shots did they get? Gardasil, DPT, meningitis???? I wondered how their bodies would react? Were their parents aware of the risks? I bet not.
As a fellow lawyer, I ask you Kent--would the doctors be so casual if they could be held liable? Would they then pay more attention to this vaccine injury horror story, or would they continue to remain passively "open minded" behind their protective wall. The beautiful hacking little girl and the teenagers with the band-aids on their arms made me want to kick the MD in the pants. If there was liablility, I believe the whold system would be different with a lot less injured/dead children.
Posted by: Claudine Liss | August 01, 2008 at 02:12 AM
It seems to me, Kent, that coming across these doctors is easier for adults than children. When I lived on the Oregon Coast, I met a pastor who found out he had high copper and was being treated for it.
I was amazed at how that could happen because no matter what I screamed, "Autism! Mercury! Lead! For goodness sakes look at my son's hair and urine tests!", no one would listen. The pediatrician had no clue (about anything). When I called the internal medicine clinic the pastor went to, they said they wouldn't treat children. I even tried the environmental section of the health department trying to see if they could refer me to someone for my son's lead poisoning...nope.
So we are on our own. My son is doing Andy Cutler's protocol and we have recently seen AWESOME results after adding DMSA to ALA. Thank God for the Autism-Mercury group and thank God for Andy!
Posted by: Elizabeth | August 01, 2008 at 12:47 AM
Kent,
You posted about the possible role of HHV-6 in autism some time ago.
If it turns out that HHV-6 (with or without vaccine complications) is the key to autism, the people you should direct some of your interest and some of your ire at are the members of the very powerful HIV/AIDS establishment. They have used every nasty, duplicitous trick in the book to make the public think that HIV is the only cause in AIDS, when HHV-6 has not only been causing severe neuroimmunological damage in AIDS, but has also been linked to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, MS, autism, diabetes and a shocking number of other medical problems. HHV-6 is the 800-pound gorilla that is hidden inside the HIV lie. And everyone who is a victim of HHV-6 complications in autism may be the victim of that enormous lie.
HHV-6 is a threat to the HIV/AIDS establishment because it undermines everything they've told the public about AIDS for three decades. Everything. As they might say in Sicily, their credibility would sleep with the fishes.
If you think you guys in autism activism have been treated badly by the medical establishment, you should see what has happened to the HIV/AIDS whistleblowers and critics. Recently a former LA cop named Clark Baker did an extremely important investigation of the HIV/AIDS, establishment. What he found is very disturbing and should be read by everyone engaged in autism activism, because in some ways you are ultimately up against the same dangerous folks. Here's the link to the Clark Baker piece:
http://www.californiaconservative.org/academia/hiv-aids-gallos-egg/
Posted by: Lawrence | July 31, 2008 at 10:37 AM
Hi Kent
Thank you for sharing this with us. I have also found "two of the good ones"-mainstreamed- that helped us with the medical problems in my son. Living in a city of not more than 300000 people, this has been very encouraging.
María Luján
Posted by: María Luján | July 31, 2008 at 10:06 AM
But for those unknowing foot-soldiers, to those who believed their superiors, I might be willing to offer an amnesty. If they admit that we raise important questions, if they admit that something seems to have terribly wrong with this generation of children, I might be willing to lay aside my anger."
When you begin to think that the hallmark of a good doctor is an open mind (I know you don't expect them to own up and say sorry), its a sign of the travesty of the times. The medical profession has indeed done itself proud!
Posted by: (Misplaced?) Gratitude | July 31, 2008 at 10:02 AM
Kent,
Thanks for sharing this with us. I recently took our son to the same clinic that we went to for his early childhood care, to remove stitches (the whole wrist through window thing during tantrum thing, you know, when he was being a brat).
Our doc is a great guy, well meaning and caring. What I like most of all about him is that he has finally learned not to even bring up the subject of vaccines to us any more. This is less out of respect for us I think than for his own protection - We had some pretty good discussions on boosters for our NT 13 yr old and he knows we have a strong case against the extra vacs.
There are some great open minded medical proffessionals out there. I think that the CDC's problem with trust in the NIP is less a problem with the masses, most of us are suckers; it is when they lose the doc's trust that they will be toast.
Posted by: Tim Kasemodel | July 31, 2008 at 09:03 AM
Why is she doctor 'N*'? Why the use of the pseudonym?
The doctor who I’ve been seeing recently is a DO. I don’t know too much about DOs. I do know that when I speak to my DO, he listens to me.
I see Dr. Matt at the family practice up the street. Before I met Dr. Matt I met his brother, Dr. Marty. I call his brother the ‘evil twin’. Well, not to his face. That would be rude. So I guess now I’m going to have to remain consigned to not naming any full names, since I’ve been rude. Oh well.
I first met Dr. Marty when I tried to make an appointment with Dr. Jennifer for my daughter, but she was not available that day. Yes, at this family practice all of the doctors have the habit of going by their first names. It doesn’t impress me that much, these token attempts to show me what good beside manners they have. What did impress me was Dr. Marty’s reaction when I saw him for the first time, when I took my daughter in to see him. It was for something minor. I forget what it was, possible pink eye maybe or an allergy (I no longer take my children to see a doctor unless they are pretty uncomfortable.). This was when I first told him about my concerns about vaccines. I told him that I felt that they were harmful. He gave me the look, the one that says ‘ I don’t have time for this nonsense…’ and then he said to me “I don’t think that information is accurate.” I was about to say “But Dr. Marty.. .You don’t actually have any idea at all what information I have! Would you like to see some of the information that I have? Perhaps you’ve already seen it and don’t agree with it. But how can you say ‘that information isn’t accurate’ when you’ve no idea what information is in my head?”
But I said nothing. I just vowed not to have any of children see him in the future.
Dr. Matt is aware of my concerns about vaccines, but he hasn’t ever given me ‘the look’. He is also aware of my concerns about the drug companies. On the day that I went to visit him because my foot hurt so bad (I’d injured it stepping down from a table while hanging a shelf) I told him that I’ve seen them, those pharmaceutical representatives, there in the waiting room most every time I’ve had cause to visit their little family practice in the last few years. They always have a dark bag in their hands. I used to think the bag was full of free samples. On this particular day, the there was a person who had one of those bags that looked like it was insulated. I’d asked the receptionist what was in it. “Food. That’s our lunch”, she said. She looked at me like there was something wrong with me for asking. Who knows, maybe they’d all just gotten together, had somebody take an order, and all pitched in money so they could order out food. But for some reason I didn’t think so.
I’m not usually prone to inappropriate outbursts. But in recent years I’ve grown a bit less reticent about speaking when I’m not sure it’s going to be appreciated. And so I continued talking. “So, is it a pretty nice spread you’ve got back there, for lunch?” I asked. And she just kind of tilted her head and nodded. I asked if I could see and she told me I could ask the doctor about that.
I didn’t see what the staff had for lunch that day, but I did talk to my doctor about it. He told me that he doesn’t eat the food that they bring. “If you stopped talking with the pharmaceutical reps, they’d go away” I told him. And he told me that he does talk with them because they bring a lot of free samples, and there are a lot of patients he has who can’t afford the drugs and they benefit a lot from the samples. And I’m sometimes rather naïve and so I nodded that I understood.
I told him that under no circumstance would he prescribe any of that chit that I see advertised each and every day on my television on the nightly news. “I’ll die first before I’ll take that chit”, is more or less what I told him. I don’t know if he believed me, but I think he understands now, somewhat, how much I’ve grown to fear doctors. He gave me some lovely exercises to do for my foot that helped quite a lot.
Ok, so I don’t really think that his brother is evil. I just think that he is, unfortunately, the epitome of what your typical mainstream medical doctor in the US has become. Afraid to think outside of the box. Afraid of lawsuits. Pressured for time by their bosses, the insurers. Wooed by the ease of writing those prescriptions. Arrogant.
There is something I don’t understand. How is it that treating them as though they are so far above everyone else that they get to remain nameless, how is that going to help change anything? Why the pseudonyms? I’ve grown so tired of the nameless, faceless people. It’s the nameless and faceless people who always seem to get abusive.
You’re not evil, Marty Frantz. But I think you might want to think about trying to change your bedside manner.
Oh and thank you, Dr. Matt.
Posted by: Robin Nemeth | July 31, 2008 at 08:32 AM
This is a great article, full of thoughtful insight and very sensitive of the fine line we all walk as parents concerned about the effects of vaccinations and members of any mainstream community.
The Bernadine Healy response is a very powerful one and I'll be sure to raise it at my next doctor's visit, or when someone questions my decision not to vaccinate.
Thanks for your insights.
Lisa
http://www.Holistic-Treatment-for-Depression.com
Posted by: Lisa | July 31, 2008 at 08:21 AM