Mia Smith, age 6, was born
into a physical world that causes her pain and hinders her behavioral and
cognitive development. She was diagnosed with Autism
Spectrum Disorder before her 2nd birthday. Some of the initial healthcare Mia
received made matters worse though it was seen as therapeutic at the time.
Mia’s mother, Terra Smith, Puzzle
Master and Chief Recovery Officer, works with doctors, therapists, and
insurance companies to piece together all the care required for Mia’s recovery. The tab, thus far, is over $5M dollars. Mia’s father, Craig Smith, puts in the work
hours to make sure the family has a home, food, and clothes. Terra's Essential Oils business is starting to grow into a consistent income.
One
of the primary puzzle pieces Terra deals with is vaccinations. Forces of “choice versus no choice” amass on opposite sides of this issue, each
attracting advocates who fire policy opinions at the other. Terra discovers that posting an online
comment seeking or offering
help elicits a stream of insults and accusations that
she doesn’t care about Mia or children like her. The Smith family gets ten to twenty emails
per year, letters from the state, as well as inquiries from insurance companies
about Mia’s lack of immunizations.
Since
I co-authored a book on this subject with Terra Smith entitled “Hope Comes In
Pieces”, some may see this article as promoting my own business interests. As long as there is an understanding of how
that business interest developed, it’s a fair criticism.
To
my knowledge, none of my three children were adversely affected by
immunizations. My wife and I kept to the
requirements and recommendations with few exceptions. Becoming part of the writing process for Terra’s
book gave me another perspective on the immunization issue. It took one conversation with Terra to
understand that Mia’s vaccine story really pivots on two questions– should Mia
have been vaccinated after she was born sick? Should her vaccination regimen of
twenty-four shots before age two have continued, though she had several infections with fevers? All of this was done under that care of physicians and specialists.
Helping Terra insert those two questions into
the contemporary controversy surrounding vaccines and autism may influence this
conversation. That’s how my “business”
interest came about– to help a family tell their story because it may prompt a
pause in a loud and polarizing argument. I also wanted to partner with them to
find other entrepreneurial ways to pay for Mia’s care.
Guidance from the Center For Disease Control (CDC) points to various “contraindications and precautions” in which vaccines may present a risk if administered. It even advises parents to consider not giving an inoculation under certain circumstances. Mia
was born Oct 2009 after a difficult pregnancy.
Craig and Terra barely had time for a photo with her before she was placed
into special care. Mia was officially sick
at birth. She had jaundice, low oxygen levels of mid-80 percent, and displayed
her first allergy after receiving formula.
She received Hepatitis B, treatments, and antibiotics during that twelve-day
hospital stay.
Mia
continued to be sick. She suffered from recurring fevers and rashes, nine cases
of pneumonia, viral infections, allergic reactions to apple juice, antibiotics,
and acid reflux medication. Her cognitive
and behavioral development regressed. Yet,
her vaccinations continued to be administered as recommended. From the time she was born in 2009 to October
2011, Mia received at least twenty-four immunizations all during a time in
which she was sick,with fevers, and under the care of Neo-natal Intensive Care physicians or
a pediatrician.
In
contrast, my daughter received twenty-one immunizations over eleven years. Even after 24 years of military service
including a career in healthcare, six doses of the Anthrax vaccines, and other
additional vaccines necessary for deployments, I received only ten more
immunizations than Mia.
No
doubt, some readers may assert that this article still doesn’t support even an
anecdotal connection between vaccines and autism. Okay, but that’s not really the point. In my opinion, the current path of that argument
may not be helpful because it seems to detract from these questions. Should Mia
have been vaccinated initially? Should her vaccination regimen of 24 shots
before age two have continued? To state it
differently, does this particular child need to be vaccinated with this vaccine
at this particular moment? Is there a
manner of testing a particular child or do we just commit the child to a
morbidity risk table and call it good?
Actually, these are the recurring conversations Terra and I had when
determining how to develop the chapters that describe Mia’s vaccine story.
Terra
thanks and credits God as responsible for helping Mia progress from an ill
child who did not speak or walk, who fell into tantrums for hours, who had
problems switching a block from her right hand to her left hand, who broke-out
in rashes of which could never be resolved, who suffered nine bouts of
pneumonia, who didn’t respond to her name, and rarely went outside.
Mia
still works her way through many challenges but she is much better today. Terra
continues to advocate for special needs children and their parents. She guides them toward resources for grants
and biomedical testing which helps parent understand conditions that may be
present alongside autism. Her best advice to moms– “Trust your mother’s
intuition. Find a pediatrician who gives
weight to your concerns and observations.”
Thanks to John Newton at La Voz Latina for originally publishing this article in a manner that let me retain all rights.
“When
it comes to autism and other disabilities, parents can have a hard time overcoming
a sense of self-shame and social stigma. This greatly hinders parents in finding proper
treatment for their children.” Leah Seyoum-Tesfa is a Registered
Nurse and Founder of REACH Families of Dallas Texas. REACH Families supports about 80 families throughout the U.S. with
autism education and guidance in English, Amharic, and Tigrinya. The non-profit organization helps
parents connect to resources, provides parent education on various topics
related to raising children with special needs and empowers parents by teaching
advocacy skills. Also, the organization works with the East African communities
to bring autism awareness to ensure early identification and intervention for children
with developmental disability. Leah’s twin boys were diagnosed with autism just
before they turned 3. They will celebrate their 18th birthday in
2016. 
