TEKANI’S TORY

Tekani Ruby Louise Regan was born of the 6th of May 1998 weighing 5lbs 8oz after a normal delivery. Tekani was a beautiful, happy baby who was breastfed, slept well and seemed very alert and content. On the 8th of May 1998 Tekani was given her first Hep B vaccination, no adverse reaction was noticed.

On the 30th of July 1998 1st DTP shots were given to Tekani, I was very apprehensive and unusually nervous about this but I was told I was doing the best thing for my baby and for the community, so against my intuitive feelings Tekani’s immunisation had begun.

Tekani reacted to the needle with hours of crying, a temperature of 39o, and just didn’t seem right. After about 3 days Tekani seemed fine, although looking back through Tekani’s clinic book things were just starting to change!

A few weeks later we noticed Tekani had begun to shake her body and arms as if she were cold, she was very nervous and suffered from what we thought to be colic. I mentioned the shaking to the Child Health Nurse and I was told that babies can sometimes just do strange things and not to be concerned.

15th October 2nd DTP shots, Tekani has the same reaction as the first needles and now as she cries her back is arched. Tekani has weekly temperatures of 40o for no apparent reason, she is still not happy and her baby milestones are not being reached. Tekani is now bottle fed and has extreme reflux, a thickened formula is suggested to help but it makes only a small difference. Tekani had a blood test which confirmed that she was low in iron, B6, B12, folic acids and the test also revealed that Tekani at some point had the CMV virus in her system.

We took Tekani to a wonderful Chiropractor who also practised kineisiology and that helped with the crying for a few weeks. By this time I was sure something was not quite right even though Tekani to a strangers eye seemed like just a normal grumpy baby. We also began to notice when Tekani was nearly 8 months old that her eyes would sometimes blink unusually, she would stare olot and when falling asleep her head would bang on our shoulders. I informed the Child Health Nurse of these occurrences and we were referred to a Paediotrician who then after I had voiced my concerns about Tekani booked her in for an EEG at PMH.

On the 21st January 3rd DTP shots were given without me ever suspecting that the needles might be what was causing her problems. Tekani’s leg was swollen and red, this reaction was recorded in her baby health book.

23rd February 1999 after the EEG our fears were confirmed that Tekani had Epilepsy and was having up to 200 seizures a day! Tekani was instantly put on medication which slowly seemed to help her. Although the amount of seizures had decreased, they increased in duration and severity. To witness your baby having these fits and getting blood noses and bruises is heart wrenching, we were relieved though because Tekani had started to smile and take notice of her surroundings and seemed to be happier.

In June of 1999 it was brought to our attention that Tekani’s Epilepsy may have been caused by immunisation. We read the book Vaccination Roulette and were horrified and saddened by the damage that these so called ‘safe shots’ could cause. We chose to seek and trust Homeopathic Medicine. Tekani was given a ‘remedy’ to take for 7 days only, so on the 4th of June 1999 we started on our road to recovery. On that very first day Tekani suffered no seizures and has not had any since. Our Tekani came alive! Everyday she was doing something that she had never done before; looking at her hands with amazement, smiling and laughing with her big brother, every little action was a celebration for everyone in our family.

After one month of no seizures we decided to slowly wean Tekani from the Epileptic medication and with medical supervision it took 42 days to stop all medication and still no signs of Epilepsy. Our Paediatrician was annoyed and angry that we sought outside help and that Tekani was no longer on the medicine he had prescribed. He told us that the Epilepsy would probably return, even though it had now been nearly two months since her last seizure, and that he would like to see her more often. Our doctor had no belief at all that immunisation could be the cause and basically told us we were foolish to believe such nonsense. We on the other hand had confidence that we were now doing the right thing for Tekani and as her parents we have every right to choose how to care for our own children.

In November 1999 Tekani had another EEG at PMH and the results were the best news that we could ever had hoped for. Tekani’s test results showed Normal Brain Activity, no evidence of Epilepsy and a comment on her results said that this was Clinically Remarkable!

The saddest and scariest part of our story was that we as parents are not fully aware of the Brain Damage, Death and Disability that can be caused from vaccination. The pamphlets they hand out at Clinics, doctors surgeries and Hospitals don’t even scratch the surface of the reactions our innocent babies can have. I was pro vaccination only for the simple reason that I took the word of doctors and our Government at face value, I entrusted my baby’s life and well being with people who don’t deserve it!

N.B. July 2000 - At 22 months old Tekani has only minimal developmental delays which we are helping her along with speech therapy. She has been walking since she was 18 months old and her trampolining skills are as frightening as they are amazing! She is a beautiful, happy, funny, cheeky, spoilt, clever, HEALTHY and happy, happy, happy baby girl!

Source: Lifeforce Nov 2000 www.vaccinfo.karoo.net