Vaccine Survivors 8

Vaccine Survivors

"Mikey"

They say cases like this are extremely rare.

I think what makes Mikey's case so rare is the fact that he survived.

My entire life came to an abrupt halt when my Weimaraner puppy became deathly ill. We got him from a vet who had declared the puppy to be healthy. The day after we brought him home our vet examined him and he agreed that Mikey was a healthy puppy. This healthy pup became deathly ill before he was one year old.

At first his problem seemed to be very minor. He had a minor skin condition but with antibiotics it did finally clear up after a few months. For many months he suffered with itchy paws periodically, he would lick them until they were raw and sometimes bleeding. The vets prescribed an array of products but none of them helped. His condition grew increasingly worse. He started displaying behavioral problems. In September of 2003, he went through a period of vomiting. We took him back to the vet and then his skin started breaking out with what looked like hives or acne. His coat became dull and coarse and his hair began to fall out. He became tired very easily and he could only play for about five minutes. He was cold all the time. At times he insisted on being right with us every moment. Being alone made him extremely nervous. It wasn’t enough for us to be in the same room with him we literally had to be touching him. Many times even while he was resting we could actually see his chest pounding because his heart was beating so hard and his breathing was very unusual. Even the smallest cuts or scratches seemed as though they would never stop bleeding.

In September of 2003, when his stomach became unable to tolerate food or even water we took him to the vet. They took Mikey into a room to x-ray his stomach and then the vet discussed exploratory stomach surgery with us. Mikey's condition became progressively worse and worse. He became deathly ill and we realized no one could help him so in February of 2004 I began frantically typing a medical diary so I could send it to one of the worlds' leading veterinary experts for a "final" opinion. While looking at the invoices from the various vets I learned that when they took Mikey into that room for an x-ray the vet took the liberty of vaccinating him again five months early, while he was sick and without my knowledge or consent. Mikey's vaccination record was in his file and it clearly indicated that he was not due for any vaccinations until February of 2004! According to the vaccine manufacturers directions for safe usage the product can be "safely" administered to "healthy" animals. Mikey certainly was not healthy when that man took the liberty of needlessly vaccinating him.

We had been through eight vets, a small pharmacy, what we now know to be one completely unnecessary major surgery and literally thousands of dollars only to be told that Mikey's problem was food allergies. Finally we found vet #9 and he correctly diagnosed Mikey with severe allergies, hemophilia, inflammatory bowel disease, and liver & pancreatic disorders. He did so by taking Mikey's medical history, examining him and reviewing one lab report. The lab and pathology reports support his diagnosis. Those same reports were completely ignored by several of the other vets.

Vet #9 correctly diagnosed and began treating Mikey's mysterious illness and within a month his condition had improved drastically. We found out Mikey almost died most likely because of an adverse reaction to vaccines. His symptoms from the beginning were indications that he could be having an adverse reaction and then that vet took the liberty of vaccinating him again. Mikey's autoimmune system seems to have been overwhelmed. He is still undergoing treatment but he is so much better. He's obnoxious, overbearing and demanding ... everything a Weim should be! This experience has really opened my eyes to the potential dangers of many "safe" and commonly used veterinary pharmaceutical products.

The pathology report recommended further testing for liver and pancreatic disease. We had asked three vets to do the testing and they refused. Instead they insisted that the problem was nothing more than food allergies and kept trying to sell us expensive allergy dog food and anti-vomiting pills so the pup could keep the food down. As his condition continued to deteriorate under their care we took it upon ourselves to create a nutritious homemade diet for him. In January we made the decision to stop using flea control products and although we had no idea he had already been vaccinated we decided to postpone all vaccinations. One vet did insist that we ignore Mikey's serious health condition, go against the vaccine manufacturer's recommendations for safe usage of their product and vaccinate him anyway. The vaccine label states that it can be safely administered to “healthy” animals. It was quite obvious that Mikey was not healthy, in fact he was seriously ill. We truly believe the decisions to stop the flea control product, postpone vaccinating and cook fresh foods for him saved Mikey’s life.