stories

The final sad straw for me was when as a single mother of a 4 year old and 10 month old boys. I was staying in a domestic violence womens shelter in Miami, Florida. I was a vegan raw foodist, with undiagnosed bipolar disorder having a very mentally damaging relationship with the father.

We had to go to a hurricane shelter because of a nasty storm. At this shelter we were relegated to a gym locker room because we were being protected from our abusers. A few days later my 10 month old baby boy got very sick and over a four day period became listless and the women around me in the shelter were very concerned and persuaded me via calling an ambulance to get help. My baby stayed in ICU for three days being treated for pneumonia and near sepsis.

I was so distraught and helpless. I had not vaccinated my kids because of my delusions about doctors. On day three my mother came from Colorado to help me and we decided that when he was released we should take my children home to Colorado and leave my abusive relationship behind. We flew to Colorado the day he was released.

No more than 12 hours of landing my baby was listless again. He was admitted to The Children’s Hospital where he received treatment for pneumonia for another 7 days. During this time I stayed with him the entire time, helpless with the exception of breast feeding every few hours.

One of the doctors came to talk to me one of these days. He was on the head of the vaccination board of doctors and asked me if I knew there was a vaccine for pneumonia that my baby could have received. Sadly I did not know this. He told me that he would not release my son if he were not vaccinated with my agreement. He pleaded with me to make the hard but correct decision. He also personally promised me my son would be okay.

I agreed to vaccinate. My son had to have special RSV shots for the next 9 months and was on oxygen till he was 3 years old. He had an obstructive apnea and needed many sleep studies and adenoid removal to get him off oxygen, as well as a dairy-free diet. This was a long hard time.

I had to come to the conclusion within myself that I do not have all the knowledge for my child’s well-being and forgive myself for making an ignorant decision based on my beliefs about society and the medical profession.

My sons are now 20 and 15 years old. I am enormously grateful to all of the people and medical professionals who have supported my family’s journey.

The father of my children did not do one thing to raise my children. No visits, No child support for 20 years. What a loser who was a vegan raw foodist.

I still use much of my experience about vegan and raw and organic lifestyle to this day. But I also listen to others and accept their support when it comes to the lives of my children. I encourage people to make their own decisions but be open to the people who will save your life when you are wrong.