Hurt In The Name Of Security

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HURT IN THE NAME OF SECURITY
 
By Marita Lowman 12/13/2002
When Tara McHale gave birth to her first child, Samantha, she recorded every wonderful moment of her baby's life. The first smile, the first word, the first step, the first hug, the jutting of each tooth, the nuance of each new gesture.

In every way, Samantha was developmentally on target. At 15 months, she walked and talked and joyfully played.

Then, during a regular medical checkup, the pediatrician injected four childhood vaccines into Samantha's bloodstream.

Samantha, of Clarks Summit, has never been the same.

The next morning, her cognitive skills were dulled. Her physical abilities spun backward.

When she was 4, she could not be toilet trained. She no longer made eye contact. Her speech shrunk to one- or two-word sentences. She flapped her hands in bizarre gestures.

All the while, her mother pursued pediatricians, neurologists, audiologists and other professionals to find out what was wrong.

In 1997, a developmental pediatrician confirmed the diagnosis.

Autism is a neurological condition that forever alters a child's life.

"It was a crushing blow," Mrs. McHale said.

It is a blow most members of Congress know nothing about. So when the federal legislators approved the Homeland Security Act last month, they glossed over a last-minute provision tucked secretly into the bill.

It granted Eli Lilly and other pharmaceutical companies retroactive protection from lawsuits such as those that say Lilly's vaccines caused or contributed to autism.

Childhood vaccines have been suspect for many years, but the claims gained more credence when research found dangerously high levels of mercury and the preservative thimerosal in the vaccines.

One thousand lawsuits were pending against the vaccine makers, but the last-minute addition to the Homeland Security Bill canceled all of them.

Mrs. McHale, Rita Cheskiewicz, of Dallas, and Frank Scholz, of Mehoopany -- all parents of autistic children -- met Thursday with U.S. Rep. Don Sherwood, R-Tunkhannock, to seek his support in overturning the provision.

They are hurt by the government's seemingly cavalier attitude toward children with autism. They are frustrated by what appear to be cozy relationships between pharmaceutical manufacturers and the White House.

Mrs. Cheskiewicz, a former administrator at Hahnemann Hospital in Philadelphia, gave up her job when her son A.J. was diagnosed with autism.

He was normal in every way until age 18 months, when he received three vaccines at once. He stopped speaking and stopped responding to his name.

"As a mother, it is heartbreaking, and it did not have to happen," Mrs. Cheskiewicz said.

Mr. Scholz, whose son, Joey, was diagnosed as autistic several years ago, drives two hours a day to take his son to an educational program geared to children with autism.

The children will need lifelong care. The parents want more government resources put into autism research. They want more recognition of autism's devastating effects.

Mr. Sherwood, visibly moved by the families' plight, said he will try through the Health and Human Services Committee to direct funding for autism through national health institutions.

He also will recommend overturning the Homeland Security provision, but the prospect of success is not good.

"There will be some support, and I'll give it a shot when we go back into session in January, but to turn the provision around now will be a major proposition," he said.

Samantha McHale is 10 now, and despite intensive care, she is wrapped in the limitations of autism.

She needs help dressing, bathing, toileting. She doesn't understand gender or relationships, time or numbers.

She does not recognize family names, and when she's in pain, she cannot explain why or where she hurts.

She does not go to ballet classes or listen to music with friends or take part in other activities most 10-year-old girls enjoy.



 
©Scranton Times Tribune 2002

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