UK Vaccine Injury Win: MMR Caused Brain Damage
By Teresa Conrick
A long and hard fight for compensation due to a vaccine injury has been won -- finally. You can read about it HERE. This is an historic event in that this is the first UK MMR case that has won in their vaccine injury system BUT, it is not for autism, according to the media and Department of Health. This injury by MMR is for seizures, or more precisely, epilepsy.
This is what the Daily Mail reported: "He endures frequent epileptic fits and requires round-the-clock care from his parents Jackie and John, though he is not autistic. He suffered the devastating effects after being given the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine when he was 13 months old."
Jacki and John Fletcher are warrior parents who have persevered in their care and legal case for Robert, now 18 years old. Jackie, in a recent email to Anne Dachel, here at Age of Autism, revealed that Robert suffers from a severe seizure disorder, with an inflamed oesophagus, brain damage and has some minor autistic traits. The award stressed epilepsy as the result of his injury. That is great news but for the thousands still waiting with children and teens also injured by the MMR, the lack of the word, "autism", is baffling. Welcome UK parents, to our world, too. Here in the states, we also have heard those words, "but not autism."
Whether it is severe autism or minor autism, isn't "autism" a set of behaviors? In March of 2008, the Poling family hit the news, much like the Fletcher's now: "ATLANTA — For those convinced that vaccines can cause autism, the sad case of a Georgia girl, daughter of a doctor and lawyer, seems like clear-cut evidence. The government has agreed to pay the girl’s family for injury caused by vaccines. The 9-year-old girl, Hannah Poling, had an underlying condition that may have been worsened, triggering her autism-like symptoms." HERE. Hannah also was compensated for seizures that did not begin until six years after the date of vaccination. HERE
And from the Daily Mail yesterday on Robert: "In a dissenting judgment, Professor Lingam said he believed Robert was ‘genetically predisposed to epilepsy and that the vaccination triggered it rather than caused it. 'Robert would have developed epilepsy in any event, even if he had not had the vaccination’. But Professor Lingam was overruled by his two colleagues. In their final judgment, they accepted that MMR had caused Robert’s illness but added: ‘We would stress that this decision is fact-specific and it should not be seen as a precedent for any other case" and again from MSNBC on Hannah: “This does not represent anything other than a very special situation,” said Dr. Julie Gerberding, head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention." TIME reported a bit more back then: "The Poling case is also causing deep concern among public health officials, eager to reassure parents that vaccines are safe and, indeed, hugely beneficial. In a public statement on Friday, Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), insisted that "the government has made absolutely no statement about indicating that vaccines are the cause of autism, as this would be a complete mischaracterization of any of the science that we have at our disposal today." HERE
Coincidentally, Dr. Julie Gerberding left the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and was named president of Merck & Co vaccine division at the start of this year. Merck is maker of MMR vaccine. Are you getting the very crazy picture here? A child has been injured by a vaccine, whether it be MMR or Thimerosal-containing vaccines , is labeled "autistic" by the pediatrician, neurologist or other health professional, then is denied vaccine injury compensation, based on that word. It appears that the Fletcher family has shown that Robert's development was stopped and brain damage was the cause from the MMR.
Enter the Cedillo family and their daughter Michelle. Michelle is now 15 and her case of both MMR and Thimerosal causing her autism, seizures and severe GI disease has been denied twice in Vaccine Court. It was filed back in 1998. Michelle, like Robert and Hannah, suffers from severe seizures. From the 2007 Hearing: "At Michelle Cedillo's hearing last year, Dr. Marcel Kinsbourne, a pediatric neurologist who is a professor at The New School in New York, testified that he thought the measles vaccine was a "substantial factor" in causing the girl's autism. Traces of the measles virus were found in Michelle's gut, leading the Oxford University-trained doctor to conclude the girl's immune system had not rejected the virus. Kinsbourne told the court the measles virus invaded cells in Michelle's brain, resulting in her autism." HERE
Dr. Kinsbourne was also a key expert in the favorable decision for the Fletcher's, again in the Daily Mail: "At this month’s appeal, evidence was given by a leading expert on vaccine-damaged children, paediatric neurologist Dr Marcel Kinsbourne. He explained the biological changes which had occurred in Robert’s brain following the vaccination." Same testimony, same vaccine, same injuries but Michelle Cedillo's case has THE AUTISM WORD as her diagnosis along with all of her other medical diagnoses. It is encouraging that the Fletcher's have proven injury to Robert by the MMR vaccine.
The financial responsibility to a disabled child is astronomical and there are thousands of other children also waiting to prove their cases of autism, seizures and GI disease. So there is much to be learned by this very big win in the UK:
1-Robert's family has proven that MMR can cause brain damage and GI injury -- the MMR-autism connection -- which will give hope to thousands of other parents whose children have been severely affected by routine vaccinations.
2-To admit that MMR can cause autism and its related injuries to brain and gut is to accept that Dr. Andrew Wakefield et al were correct in 1998 to raise concerns about a possible link between the combined MMR vaccination to GI disease and regression ie - autism, and instead of condemning them for that work, to applaud their heroic research.
3- Health Authorities in both the USA and UK continue to deny "autism" as a vaccine injury but have conceded and/or paid compensation to medical diagnoses related to vaccine injuries. The Bailey Banks case is another example: HERE
4-The Cedillo case, because it includes both the mercury preservative, Thimerosal and the combined Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine, as the causative factors in Michelle's regression into autism, is a huge precedent of a case. Would they win if it were epilepsy alone?
5-All of these children were injured as a result of their childhood vaccines and no matter what words are used or not used in court, justice needs to prevail.
Teresa Conrick is a Contributing Editor for Age of Autism.
Hi the mercury in the vaccines also cause tourette syndrome kind regards alex
Posted by: alex | July 06, 2011 at 07:13 AM
Michael-
this wasn't in his IEP. It was some information done following his IEP. But I will take care of it today so that it can be corrected. Truly, it seems they cannot get it in their heads that the environment plays a huge role-vaccines in particular. Maybe they just don't want to believe it or deal with it(after all-it's the school's policy to believe in the safety and protectiveness of vaccines) BTW thanks Teresa for this great piece.
Posted by: Maurine Meleck | August 31, 2010 at 07:27 AM
Theresa O asks, 'Anyone want to take bets on when the Daily Mail takes it down?'
Actually, the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday are to be commended for their consistently thorough and 'open handed' investigative reporting of the MMR controversy over the years. This is in direct contrast to those Murdoch owned public propaganda machines like The Times(Yes! Brian Deer's domain!)
Recently, the Scottish Herald published an article about the early MMR, Urabe Mumps containing vaccine, introduced in the UK in 1988. In the UK, certain 'secret' papers are released after 20 years.In Scotland a baby died, following seizures,six days after being vaccinated. Government health officials deemed the vaccine was not responsible, even though there were CLEAR prior warnings from the Canadians who banned this version of the MMR for causing aseptic meningitis and seizures.
It took our UK government another 3 years to ban this dangerous vaccine after an avalanche of adverse reactions were reported by GPs.
That Herald article? I gave my url print out to a reporter outside the GMC premises in London following the Wakefield et al verdicts. He was a bit patronising and told all us demonstrators we must 'stick to facts' during interviews. (HA!-That's a laugh!!) Anyway, I gave him my Herald printout and informed him that these particular reported facts were about MMR incidents in 1989, nearly 10 years before Wakefield's Lancet article was published!! I also told him that this information had been 'suppressed' by successive UK governments for 20 years!! Guess what Theresa?? By the time I returned home to Scotland that Herald url had been 'edited' to remove all the evidence of the government cover ups and negligence!!
Posted by: Jenny Allan | August 31, 2010 at 02:18 AM
Maurine, why wouldn't they come to "you" to write something for J's IEP. It would be hard for me to not go ballistic.
Posted by: michael framson | August 30, 2010 at 10:29 PM
I am sad, angry, disgusted---everything all at once. What these children and families have to suffer through.
Last week was J's IEP and since he now has different teachers for classes--they wanted everyone who works with him to know something about him-so they typed up an explanation of autism, information on Joshua's personality, how he works best etc--all in the first person. The first paragraph
read" My name is Joshua Murphy and I am just like other chidlren my age except that I have autism(he is nothing like other children his age, but I'll let that pass)
Then an explanation of autism(you know the standard social stuff etc) and "I didn't do anything wrong to get autism. I was just born with it." No worry---It will be corrected tomorrow.
When will the teachers and everyone get it????????? I went thru a 20 minute explanation of regressive encephalopathy at his IEP.
Maurine
Posted by: Maurine Meleck | August 30, 2010 at 10:13 PM
Patrons99: I think giving Julie and the CDC a credibility rating of ZERO is being a bit generous. Their behavior and credibility is off-the-scale.
Posted by: michael framson | August 30, 2010 at 09:39 PM
Jake, you are my hero. Great work digging up that old article. Anyone want to take bets on when the Daily Mail takes it down?
(Score: Jake Crosby: 2. British "journalists": 0.)
Posted by: Theresa O | August 30, 2010 at 09:21 PM
So sad - blessings to the Fletcher family.
Wouldn't it be interesting if it was ever proven that a simple metabolic cascade like... "an environmental trigger caused lack of folinic acid" ...in all these conditions?
MAKE AUTISM STOP
Posted by: MAKE AUTISM STOP | August 30, 2010 at 06:21 PM
But I have to agree... these kids don't have autism. They have vaccine injury. Autism is an incurable neurological disorder. It is up to parents to make sure their children are properly assessed for heavy metals, GI disfunction, immune disfunction, vitamin and nutrient deficiences and imbalances, food allergies and intolerances, metabolic disorders before your child gets a label. The insurance companies are banking that you will have your child labeled, thus prevent medical assessment and treatment. Don't go for the label. Don't defend the label. These kids are not autistic. If they were autistic, none of them would be recovering. Now go out there, prove your kid is sick and demand coverage. It works!!!!! It really works!!!! My kid is recovered and has coverage for his medical ailments
Posted by: treegirl | August 30, 2010 at 05:13 PM
Let them play with the terms, use words like autistic traits and autism-like symptoms, and still claim there's no evidence of harm.
This is a huge blow aimed right at the denialists in the media, the CDC, and the AAP.
The image of Robert Fletcher as a bright, smiling baby and the photo of him today permanently disabled in a wheelchair flies in the face of everything experts have told us for years.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1307095/Family-win-18-year-fight-MMR-damage-son--90-000-payout-concerns-vaccine-surfaced.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
I hope the Daily Mail piece is seen by every parent in Britain.
Anne Dachel Media
Posted by: Anne McElroy Dachel | August 30, 2010 at 04:09 PM
JAKE!!!!
That is freakin hilarioso!! I just read your link and let me tell you this thing smells like bullshit. As long as you deny that your child has AUTISM and sign on the dotted line then we can give you hush money.
They waited how many years to give this family some pocket change? I would tell them to shove that money up their asses in return for a PUBLIC Apology that the MMR caused the onset to my child's AUTISM.
Posted by: Elucidatus | August 30, 2010 at 02:36 PM
Julie has been the beneficiacy of the "revolving-door" policy between pharma and CDC. Her credibility with respect to vaccine policy is ZERO. The CDC's credibility with respect to vaccine policy is also ZERO.
http://vactruth.com/2010/01/04/julie-gerberding-primed-big-pharmas-pump-with-flu-and-hpv-vaccines/
And we have to entrust our health to them?
http://www.pharmalot.com/2010/04/grassley-wants-conflict-data-from-cdc-committees/#comment-494181
Posted by: patrons99 | August 30, 2010 at 02:32 PM
"a very special situation," my ass Julie Gerberding.
Posted by: jen | August 30, 2010 at 01:26 PM
Here's a naive, non-attorney type of question:
Have any of the test cases to date, been related to injury sustained by a MANDATED inoculation? If so, could a motion under the federal declaratory judgment act be made to declare the mandated jab unconstitutional? Could such a motion be included with the filing of the original complaint?
Posted by: patrons99 | August 30, 2010 at 01:23 PM
Please also don't forget the Hazlehurst family and their valiant fight in the appellate court.
And the Snyder, Mead, King and Dwyer families who were all test cases as well.
Posted by: Theresa Cedillo | August 30, 2010 at 12:39 PM
The incentive here is for Doctors who care about their patients and families to not use the word autism in their diagnosis until the vaccine compensation is awarded. Then we call it what it is. If we get enough children compensated for all the side-effects then maybe things will start to change with improved efforts to ensure safety of the vaccines.
Posted by: ObjectiveAutismDad | August 30, 2010 at 12:00 PM
Has anyone heard the "Vaccine Zombie" song?
Its awesome. I have it on my MP3 Player and I have sent it to all my friends. Here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYI-dC9G0us&feature=player_embedded
Enjoy!!!!
Posted by: Elucidatus | August 30, 2010 at 11:53 AM
Unbelievable that it take 16 years to finally make it to the end of vaccine court.
That is NOT justice. The vaccine injustice system is enough to make parents everywhere reject any and all vaccines!
Posted by: Disgusted | August 30, 2010 at 11:36 AM
Great job Teresa! Thank you for this thorough post today. Congratulations to the Fletcher family. They have suffered tremendously and fought hard.
Posted by: Theresa Cedillo | August 30, 2010 at 10:57 AM
Michelle Cedillo is 16 today. I hope 16 marks the age that our government grants her vaccine injury compensation for lifetime care.
Her autism shares the spotlight with her intractible tonic-clonic seizure disorder, severe static encephalopathy, esophageal ulcers, GERD, IBD, use of a wheelchair and a feeding tube. She and Robert share many medical injuries yet Michelle still waits.
Prayers and hope are my wishes to her and her family on her 16th birthday.
Posted by: Teresa Conrick | August 30, 2010 at 10:56 AM
I can't imagine our government and our doctors openly admitting their primary role in causing neurological damage, including the "A" word, in 1 in every 6 kids. They have placed too much faith in the cheap and dirty road to public health, vaccinations, to ever acknowledge what a catastrophic mistake they made.
Good job, Teresa.
Posted by: Harry H. | August 30, 2010 at 10:19 AM