Monday 5 November 2018

Vaxxed | My Life



My name is Alisha Valerie Gerrard, I’m thirty years old and I was born and raised in Liverpool England. Before I was six years old my hobbies were: ballet, gymnastics, majorettes and climbing trees looking for conkers in the local park. Just after my sixth birthday, I received the MR Vaccination at school - a regular vaccination given to all my classmates. That one vaccination changed my life forever and within a couple of weeks, I was stiff swollen and sore. I was diagnosed with Juvenile Chronic Arthritis as a side effect from the vaccination. It felt like my life was over, as I was no longer able to do all of my favourite hobbies due to being in so much pain. I was put on medication, which to this day I still say didn’t help, this was only the start...


| My Story |

After being diagnosed and having to stop all of my outside of school hobbies, I also had to stop certain subjects in school, I was no longer able to be involved in subjects like PE or dance. So whenever my classmates did these subjects I had to watch alone in the corner of the room while my other classmates took part. I wasn’t able to take part in school swimming lessons, bike riding or go in any school days out. It made me feel isolated and alone, and like there was something wrong with me. I was bullied, very harshly, to the point where certain children wouldn’t even sit on a table with me in fear they would catch something off me. When I went into juniors school I thankfully made two friends who have been friends for life, and I'm so thankful to them for sticking up to me and being my friend.

At age eleven I started an all-girls high school, and I hated it. Around this time I started suffering from bad stomach cramps, whenever I was mentioned to my doctor he shrugged it off as puberty. After a couple of years of dealing with stomach pain, everyday things seemed to get worse, but the doctor kept shrugging it off telling me it was either puberty, teenage stress or exam stress. The pains became unbearable were I couldn't concentrate in my classes I started having to use the bathroom anywhere between 40-50 times a day, and a lot of the time it became being pure blood from my back passage. This made school life a living hell, I'd have to get to the bathroom sometimes three times in one class which obviously my other classmates noticed and rumours started that I was bulimic, anorexic, doing drugs or trying to kill myself. Because I visited the toilet so much every day the weight dropped off me I could hardly eat due to the pains in my stomach, the rumours continued and grew, and I lost all of my friends in school because no one wanted to be seen with "the suicidal girl".


One morning I'd had enough and refused to go to school, I broke down and told my parents about everything so they took me straight to my doctor who again shrugged it off. By age fourteen I weighed around four stone was bedridden, and at that point wanted to die. I'd had enough and no longer wanted to live a life where my life seemed to be going to the toilet fifty times a day. After months of being in bed, I begged my parents to take me back to my doctor so they did and I was kept in Liverpool's local children's hospital and had numerous tests done. Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, I was taken to theatre for a colonoscopy and endoscopy and was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. I was let home but given prednisolone steroids to gain weight, I also had to try numerous medications to find which was the right one, I felt like a bit of a lab rat. After months of nothing working, I was put on daily chemotherapy, and I didn't know it then but I'd be on chemotherapy for the next sixteen years.

Due to my age, I was moved from the local children's hospital to an adults hospital, there is where I met my gastroenterologist nurse. He is one of the best people I have ever met in my life and I'm so thankful that he’s stuck by me, listens to me and never pushes me into anything I don't want. He's kept me alive all of these years and continues to do so, I wouldn't be here today without him. 

Life seemed to get a bit better for me in my twenties - I gained weight back, started eating and enjoying food again, I enrolled in college and made an amazing group of friend who I cherish to this day. As you'll know from my recent instagram post, my health was never amazing I had flare-ups of both my rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative colitis, which I was always given steroid medication for. Due to all the steroids I then developed osteoporosis, and then over time was diagnosed with iron deficiency anaemia which when I was trying to start a family with my husband has caused me to have two miscarriages. I have now been told by my doctor that I will no longer be able to have a baby of my own because of my health. All of this because one vaccination on one regular school day changed my life forever.


My advice to anyone who is thinking of giving your child a vaccination of any kind is to do your research beforehand because one small injection could change their life forever. Don't let a doctor just fob you off with some advice leaflet someone has printed to look colourful and helpful, ask for the actual leaflet which comes from inside the box of the vaccination itself (if a doctor won't give it or makes excuses - ask yourself why), do your own research online, talk to as many people as possible. I understand that people need certain vaccinations to protect themselves against certain illnesses, what I don't understand is why doctors want to give babies vaccines when their immune system isn't fully developed yet. If you were making a cake - you wouldn't put it in the oven to only pre-bake it, then take it out of the oven put the icing on it and expect it to look good. So why do the same with a child's immune system?




| My Mother's Story |

My heartache began back in 1994. My daughter was a healthy happy little 6-year-old child, reached all her milestones, clever little girl until her vaccinations came around again. Our British government introduced M.R. Vaccine back in November 1994. All school children to be vaccinated which I trusted and signed the form unknown to my knowledge that on 22 November 1994 my daughter was administrated two vaccines one was M.R. Vaccine and still unknown to me what the other one was, I still don’t know.

On 8th December 1994, my daughter was getting ready for school one day when she said her fingers hurt, they were swollen and red and angry looking. I took her straight to A&E where she was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, I was shocked and in disbelief. We were referred to a rheumatologist and I mentioned that I believed my daughter was vaccine injured, he was quite abrupt and said there was no way her latest vaccines would cause it. My daughter was prescribed Naproxen to help take the inflammation down which she then had to take for many years. When she was 15 years old she was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis and after a long 13 months of undiagnosis. My child struggled everyday of her childhood because of these chronic diseases which, as a mother, was heartbreaking to have to watch her struggles of everyday life.

My advice right now to other parents is to educate before you vaccinate as these side effects to these vaccinations, no one has ever questioned, we just did what the medical professionals told us to do - roll our sleeves up and take the shot, not realising those harmful side effects they can do. I didn’t know what was in a vaccine.

So when you do question it they either want to send you to a psychiatrist making out you are the one insane, if you see your member of parliament he cannot help, solicitors and/or courts for vaccine damage or the payment unit your child has to prove they are 60/40 injured from vaccines. Do your research into all vaccines for yourself and your child, my very best wishes to you all.


| My Father's Story |

My story starts when my daughter was six years old - a normal healthy child, meeting all her milestones, a real bundle of energy and very active with it. That is until the day she went into school for a vaccination of M.R. (Measles and Rubella). Within 36 hours we were at accident and emergency at our local children's hospital, where we were told by the doctors that it was normal and she had just had an allergic reaction go home and give her calpol.

After a long three month later wait we were finally told she had Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis. My wife and I said "No, it can't be" but the doctors at the hospital said yes. We were in shock. We were told by doctors that we were lucky, we now have a clinic at the children's hospital in Liverpool to deal with it, but when we asked why is it becoming more popular in children, the doctors would not give us an answer. My daughter was put on so many medications and was referred to physiotherapy.

Our lives revolved around hospital appointments for other tests which we thought strange, but none of the medications worked, it was a very worrying time. We found out the other problems and she seemed to get one after the other: Ulcerative Colitis, Osteoporosis, Iron Deficiency Anemia to name but a few. My daughter has suffered her whole life from the age of six to her late teens, to this day at 30 years of age. 

Her school life with friends was taken away for her, she could not join in any activities or go on school trips, it was her breaking to see your child so upset and alone. 

If I was giving any advice to other parents it would be to educate yourself as to what is in your or your child's next vaccine and what are the side the effects and are they really worth risking your child's health and life for, because our story is no coincidence.




Sending massive thank you wishes and love to my wonderful amazingly strong parents for opening up and having their say in this blog post for me.

With love, Alisha Valerie. x

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18 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing your story! I believe wholeheartedly in vaccinations but education is SO SO important for everyone. You can't jump into anything like this without thinking it through.

    Jenny
    http://www.jennyinneverland.com

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  2. Thank you for sharing your story my lovely, vaccinations are so important and I'm so sorry you had such a heartbreaking reaction to it!

    Love, Amie ❤
    The Curvaceous Vegan

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  3. Oh my goodness you poor lady, I can't imagine what you've been through especially since such a young age. My Mum had UC for a very long time and last year it just about killed her. They caught it about 2 weeks before it finished her off for good when she went to have her ileostomy op. It's such an awful thing to have. Also with regards to children, it's just reminded me how insensitive people can be, constantly asking from what feels around our mid 20's, 'when are you having kids?' when they should probably stop themselves to remind that it's not that simple for so many people. Thankyou for raising awareness about vaccinations, I had no idea they could do something like this :( x x
    Ellis // http://www.elliswoolley.co.uk

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  4. This story brought a tear to my eye. Thanks for sharing. You are such a brave woman. I can’t inshibe what you’ve been through x

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  5. Thank you for sharing your story! I think you and your parents are so brave and you are so right that people need to educated themselves more about the side effects of vaccines. I hope you get better! :)

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  6. Oh gosh you've been though so much. Sending all my love. Thank you for sharing your story xx

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  7. you have overcome so much, you are such a strong woman! I'm so happy we met through blogging!

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  8. I remember you sharing your mums story a while back. I’m so sorry this happened to you :(

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  9. wow i always knew vaccinations were important but my eyes have been seriously opened by this post!
    Rosie

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