Why I Ask What I Ask

I just re-read an excellent book, and this quote jumped out at me as capturing so well why I take the time to research rather than take for granted, and then go further by encouraging those around me to research, too.

"Priya never recieved her MMR due to her egg allergies, but otherwise was fully immunized.  After putting her on an elimination diet, she improved greatly.  She started to grow, and to sleep better.  She was happier and more alert. The dietary changes helped her, but her immune system remained hyperactive and hypersensitive, and never fully recovered. Priya died of an anaphylactic reaction to a trace amount of peanut in an egg roll.  I wish I could turn back time.  I wish I knew then what I know now, about the effects of vaccines and heavy metals on a developing immune system.  I sought out the people I thought would help, but I was sent down a path that led to tragedy."
~ Dr. Anju Usman, MD speaking of her daughter in a presentation on nutrient therapy & a biomedical view of ASD.  Quoted in Healing the New Childhood Epidemics, by Dr. Kenneth Bock (MD)

I never want a friend of mine to have to say those words.  If even one family is spared that kind of "I wish I'd known" burden because they looked into something rather than just going with the flow, then all the effort of blogging, posting, reading, talking and writing will be worth it.  In this world we all will suffer; there's no way around it.  But I would far rather have suffering come from something I could not prevent or foresee than through something I brought into my own life, even unknowingly!  Let's always try to go ahead with eyes wide open!!

This is why it's worth it to me to bring up issues like vaccines, water purity, breast-feeding, responsible farming and cheap manufacturing from child slavery.  Yes, it risks offending some because they think I'm judging them (I'm not, I promise.  I'm just asking you to ask some questions for a minute.).  But if the price tag might be higher than you're willing to pay, wouldn't you want to know that up front?  Again, I'm not saying I KNOW the final price tag on any of these or other issues-- my goal isn't to put my own answer out there for everyone to agree with.  My goal is to get the questions, the prayers, the asking started, so that God can guide you, whomever you are reading this, in areas where you might not have thought to even ask for guidance.  In each of these areas (and many more besides), someone else did so for me.

(Dr. Usman, quoted above, had her first 3 children fully vaccinated (minus the MMR for Priya) on schedule and all three of them suffer from many allergies and auto-immune conditions.  She chose to not vaccinate her youngest, and he is free from any such disease.  While this isn't a controlled matched study, it is startling.  I highly recommend the book! And no, Dr. Bock isn't anti-vaccine; he's just leery of the current CDC schedule and certain ingredients in today's vaccines.  He has a suggested vaccination schedule in an appendix of his book.)