Roald Dahl's saddest story: how vaccines could have saved his daughter's life
British author Roald Dahl is best known for his beloved, weird classic children's books Charlie and the Chocolate Factory , Matilda , and James and the Giant Peach among them. But one of the most powerful and frightening things he ever wrote was for a public health pamphlet on vaccination, where he described the death of his eldest daughter due to complications from measles.
Dahl writes about how his daughter seemed to be recovering well from what was then a common childhood illness, and suddenly took a turn for the worse. "In an hour, she was unconscious," Dahl writes. "In 12 hours she was dead there was nothing the doctors could do to save her." (Despite medical advances since 1962, encephalitis is still an incredibly dangerous complication that can cause brain damage or even death.)
Dahl ends the story with a call for others to vaccinate their children that still resonates 52 years after his daughter's death. "It is not yet generally accepted that measles can be a dangerous illness," he writes. "Believe me, it is. In my opinion parents who now refuse to have their children immunized are putting the lives of those children at risk."
Read more here: http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/national/roald-dahls-saddest-story-how-vaccines-could-have-saved-his-daughters-life/ar-AA8TM4Z?ocid=DELLDHP
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This has become a public health issue that can no longer be brushed under the rug. The people who chose not to immunize are endangering those who can't be due to age, or health.
Measles is one of the worst childhood disease.
My only suggestion to the medical community is that they no longer group the shots together, for those who feel getting a 3 in 1 is too much for the immune system to handle.
Didn't you know that drinking carrot juice can cure all of that , at least if you can believe Jenny McCarthy ...
Oh... that's so interesting. I didn't realize that Jenny had gotten her M.D.
She doesn't have her M.D. . She has her BBE & SHB . Guess what those mean if you dare !
When did vaccines become an enemy, I have been vaccinated, my children were vaccinated, in my time, they were spaced so I can understand not wanting your children getting them all at once, the only time I remember , there were three in one was for German Measles..parents did the right thing, what's wrong with these younger mothers, I am putting this on mothers because they make the decisions..Also, when my children were getting ready for school, all their vaccines had to be up to date, when did that change?
When did Jenny get her BBE & SHB?
OK, what does that mean and who made her an authority on healthcare? if she doesn't want her child vaccinated, sad for the child, but don't pass on your bogus information to the world..
BBE = big blue eyes
SHB = smokin' hot body
That seems to be enough for the TV media to spread her POV ...
Let me add how disappointed I am that no one even tried to guess at those acronyms ... {smirk}
Hi CM,
During the late '90's, when there seemed to be a growing autism population, vaccines were viewed to be the issue, since they contained a preservative and antimicrobial called thimerosal, a form or mercury. Many parents felt that their kids were getting mercury poisoning and that was the cause of autism. They started to rely on what is called the "herd effect". That if everyone else's kid was vaccinated, then their kids would be safe without the vaccines. Thimerosal was taken out of the of all childhood vaccinations, but parents persisted to refrain from getting their kids vaccinated. That is how we ended up were we are now.
In actuality, the generation that grew up before had much more exposure to mercury than any vaccine could have given a child, since all our open wounds were treated with mercurochrome, because of itsantimicrobial properties, yet the rate of "autism" was much lower. There are those in the both the medical and education communities, that think that the rise in the number of kids IDed as having "autism" is a broadening of the spectrum of what is called "autism" and also, better IDing of kids who have learning disabilities that wouldn't have been considered autism, but are now.
Thanks Perrie, I just did what the Pediatricians recommended, My daughters, were before the 90's so, we didn't have any problem, I am from the baby boomers generation and we seem to be fine..I can understand the fear of autism, but, my goodness, vaccines protects, some people will not even get the Flu vaccine, I take it every year...
Indeed it does. This has become a very selfish act by parents who are ill informed. They are counting on everyone else getting the vaccine.. so that their kids would be protected.
What they never thought about was the babies who were too young to vaccinated, children who are going through chemo and are immunosuppressed, who now are in big danger. Literally hundreds of studies worldwide on vaccines link to autism have shown no connection other than anecdotal.
I became very knowledgeable about this topic, from a family I used to be friends with. They say that their son got poisoned by the MMR, and they became big mover and shakers in the movement anti vaccination movement. But after a lot of my own research, I decided that getting vaccinated was right for my family.
I am not going to say that there are no chances that vaccines could cause a problem with some children, but for that matter, that could be said about every drug on the market. Adverse reactions are hard to predict, but the percentages are very small for most.
When I was in High school they gave us mercury to play with in Chemistry class. We rubbed it on coins made them look like new. No side effects noted. 1959 - 1963.
Dahl was married to the wonderful actress Patricia Neal when their daughter died. While Mr. Dahl was a good parent, he was an awful husband... I never cease to be grateful that I wasn't married to him.
Measles can be deadly. It can also be very dangerous to other children who are still in utero. One of my best friend's from high school's younger sister was exposed to the Rubella bug before she was born. Many operations later, she still walks painfully. It caused, I think, (I never asked), some sort of hip deformation. I loved the sister and would never have inquired.
I think the higher autism rates are more related to pesticide usage. But I'm certainly not a doctor and have no proof. Yet, so many pesticides are nerve agents and neuro-toxins, it makes sense to me...
I had both kinds of measles and I'm now vaccinated, too. There's still a risk, though.
My grandson and I were talking today about this. I told him "if someone knowingly exposed my pregnant wife to measles and she contracted the disease I might have to kill them." He agreed with me. I know that sounds horrible and inhumane of me, but but but......................................
Was the rubella bug 3-day, 5-day, or 7-day measles? I had all three, and it was no fun! In fact, I still have my stuffed toy chimpanzee that Daddy brought me from when he was traveling and I was sick. I named him Measles. Of course.
The woman in the picture above must be Tessa, their nanny, whom Dahl married after his divorce from Neal.
I don't blame you one bit Grump!!