Age: 1.75
Sex: M
Vaccine: DTAP, HIBV, IPV, MMR
Symptoms: Pyrexia, Splenomegaly, White blood cell count increased
Clinical narrative: On 12/1/00, my son was given 4 vaccinations. His appointment was at 09:15. The morning of 12/2/00, he was out of sorts. He had a low fever, he didn't have an appetite, he was extremely tired and very cranky. He was not acting in the usual manner at all. I know that vaccinations can sometimes cause these types of symptoms. I gave him the recommended dosages of Children's Motrin throughout the day to lower his fever. It alternated between 100F and 101F. On 12/3/00, he continued to be very cranky but his fever had gone away. He was acting unusually aggressive. He was not his "normal" self, but he did not show extreme signs of illness. My husband and I both commented that we hoped the vaccinations had not caused him some kind of harm. This child was normally extremely easy going and never cranky. In fact, it was the 1st time we had seen him in a "bad" mood. On 12/4/00, he woke up in the morning and as I was getting him dressed, I noticed that he had 1 fluid filled blister on the top of each of his knuckles. (I had been under the impression that he had received his Varicella vaccination per the nurse at my doctor's office). I called the advice nurse and told her about his blisters. She said that they were probably a result of his vaccination. She indicated that they were contagious until they dried up. By 12/6/00, they were completely gone. They did not crust over or anything, they just disappeared. He actually did not receive his Varicella vaccination, so they could not have been chickenpox. Throughout the month of December, he continued to act really tired and would take long naps. I did not know why he was sleeping so much, but he did not exhibit classic symptoms of obvious illness. He also had some unusual behavior that he was crankier than usual. On 1/9/00, we were playing at about 16:00. He began rubbing his eyes. I asked him if he wanted to go "night night" and he responded "yes". I took him into my bedroom and we rested on my bed. He rubbed his eyes and said, "Owie". A few tears rolled out the sides of his eyes as if his eyes were tearing. He rolled over and fell asleep. By this time it was 16:20. His older brother and a friend were playing in the room where he was sleeping. I told them to play outside so they would not wake him. I checked on him several times. At 17:00, I looked in on him and found him face down. I turned him over and he was blue, his eyes were half open and he wasn't breathing. He had blood coming out of his nose. I began CPR. My son called 911. He never regained consciousness. He was pronounced dead at the hospital about 1.5 hours after I found him. This was a perfectly healthy child. An autopsy was done. The cause of death was undetermined. Upon 6 months of further investigation, the Medical Examiner still has no absolute cause of death. The main findings are that his spleen was enlarged and full of white pulp (denoting massive white blood cell production) and his brainstem had a foci of mild inflammation. It has always been my gut feeling that he was harmed by his vaccinations. I have never been opposed to vaccinations. My other child and this child ha both been regularly immunized. I know investigators don't believe in intuition, but I have a very uneasy feeling about this round of immunizations. I can't say why, it is just a feeling that I now trust. I hope you give the death of my child a thorough investigation. I would hate for another child to die or a family to have to go through this gut wrenching hell and grief. The truth is, children are rarely harmed by immunizations. I want to know if my son was that one in a million. It is very hard not to know why your perfect, healthy child suddenly dies in an instant with no explanation. I appreciate your attention and diligence in honoring the need for an extensive investigation.