ā ļø Trigger Warning: Severe autism, self-injury, distressing footage, seizures discussion
This is my brother Jeremy.
Jeremy is the youngest of us four autistic siblings in my family. He is nonverbal, bites his arms daily multiple times a day, experiences regular meltdowns, and requires lifelong support.
People online casually say they would rather have ālifelong autism than a short-term case of measlesā without understanding what severe autism can actually look like for some families.
Jeremy did have some speech when he was younger. He lost it and never regained it.
He used to escape from caretakers regularly. He smeared feces on walls and furniture. But after receiving the TDaP vaccine at 13 years old ā after my mother was told he needed it for school, he was past all developmental stages, and ļæ¼ it was ātotally mercury-free and thimerosal-freeā ā Jeremyās condition completely collapsed within days.
He developed grand mal seizures for the first time in his life, sometimes multiple in one day. He became dangerous to himself and others, including our pregnant mother. Eventually, the situation became so severe that Jeremy was placed at Lake Mary in Paola, Kansas at age 14 because it was no longer safe to keep him at home full-time.
Later, when my mother returned to the doctor to report what had happened, she was told there āmayā have been traces of mercury and thimerosal, there was no regulation for how much was in a trace, and the doctor was convinced Jeremy got a full dose.ļæ¼
This is not an abstract political debate to my family. This is our real life.
Jeremy and my siblingsā story are exactly why Nathan's Universe exists.