questionable cause of my sons autism?

[sally]

i was told at 6 weeks into my pregnancy that i was carrying twins and was so scared that i couldnt cope. i was in a failing marriage and the thought of two tiny babies scared me. I had worked with children all my life so i needed have panicked as much as i did!

anyway, i suffered from severe hyperemisis in my pregnancy (constantly being sick) and was in the hospital a lot on drips. when i first conceived i was a stone and a half overweight, at 8 weeks i was a stone underweight. i spent most of the pregnacy feeling very weak in a hospital bed.

at 32 weeks i went into labour and was admitted imeediately to hospital. the consultant on call told me under no circumstances was i to have my children that day and athorized a drip to be set up administering Yutopar to stop the contractions and delivery. very soon it became obvious that i and one of my unborn children were suffering. my pulse doubled and i was passing out, one of my babies doubled too ( and i know that babies are supposed to be doube ours, but this was double that) mine was a bout 240 and my babys was about 420. i began to panic for the life of my children and became hysterical. they reduced the yutopar and it all calmed fdown, but the doctor authorised it was to be increased again as i went back into labour.

this was the pattern for the next 17 hours as they tried to stop the delivery. i was placed in a room on my own with minimal monitoring. and then when it had calmed down they want me to return to the antenatal ward. i was so distressed i insisted i went home. i could not bear to be there a day longer. ii became very depressed and cried constantly and was convinced my children were dead despite the sixe of my tummy. i was left like this for a further 4 weeks, where we also had to move as we were told our house was too big, despiter the inevitable birth of my children any day.

i went back into labour at 36 weeks and had my children by normal deliverly and both seemed well and happy at birth, except my daughter had a right talipes (club foot)

at 8 days i went home, all seeming well.



see next message........

[sally]

at 2 weeks old my daughter became very ill with a very rare form of meningitis (B proteus) of which i am told is either contracted in the womb or at birth through the umbilical cord. realistically she should not have survived but she defied all odds and did. i was told if my children had been identical, my son woud not have survived. my daughter now has a complex form of hydrocephalus (2 shunts) and a brain cyst and walking/ballance difficulties as a result of the meningitis.

at 4 and a half my son began to experience difficulties at school. at first we thought it was due to the endless hospital trips of his twin sister. At 6 and a half he was diagnosed with ADHD, at 9 and a half with ADHD and Aspergeres Syndrome. (high functioning) he is on Ritalin and in special education.

i know a lot of this information as i tried to sue with the best lawyers (i believe) in the country. we found all this info and could not get it into a court as the illnesses were so rare, the court seemed tp think that it was justified that a doctor could have made a mistake.

for the law experts, the term used was "they could not link causation with the neglect"

i believe in the deepest depths of me that the Yutopar created a an environment for which caused both my childrens difficulties.

i could cry at the injustice. i only had the twins. i became pregnant 2 years after their birth and was unable to cope and my life was at risk. i chose aginst my beliefs to have an abortion, and to be sterilised so i could not have children again. i wanted to be a good mother to the two i had and not fail them rather than have another, of which i could be ill or the baby.

please, do not reply to me with anti abortion issues, as i am well aware of what i have done and believe i am a victim of circumstance. i had the soap box campaigning against it too, but now i think women should have the right to make their own decisions...some like mine are very justified.

my marriage, already failing, collapsed after my daughter received the diagnosis of meningitis and i have been raising my children alone every since. they are now almost 11.

i do not want your sympathy as i am not the one suffering. i am the mother and carer of 2 amazing children of whom i could never live without. they are my life and one true love.

as you know i also run a special needs theatre company and i am a performing arts student. i mention this as life goes on. it is not an easy life and i worry more about getting old and dying as i want to be here forever.....for my children and cos i love living my life at the mo.

i have little help cos the services in North Wales must be the worse i have ever known, so i am moving to London with the hope that at least if i can find the right schools for both my children, i can do the rest.

we are a family.....one heck of a special one.....but a family first and foremost. we are far from perfect so i try not to preach at others cos i believe only the perfect have the right to preach...and seeing as that is none of us ......lol

if anyone has any info on the above i would be glad to receive it.
my email address Dazemm@aol.com.uk

thank you for listening xxx

sally

[ets]

God bless you. You seem to have had it thrown at you with both barrels. I have 2 children with severe autism. Thank God, my marriage was strong although,it took a few bruises along the way. I believe my experience during labor probably contributed to their condition. I had emergency C-Sections with both boys. I am grateful that they were born physically perfect. My husband and I have the same worries about our mortality and how would my sons be taken care of after we are gone. We were blessed with a 3rd son who is "normal" but it seems like a terrible responsibility to throw at one person. Here in the States, I guess it depends on the state you live in as far as the services that are available. Some are better than others. I will keep you in my prayers. Our wonderful special children are gifts of a different kind but are gifts from God nonetheless. I adore my sons who keep life interesting.:)
Terry

[David Andrews]

at 2 weeks old my daughter became very ill with a very rare form of meningitis (B proteus) of which i am told is either contracted in the womb or at birth through the umbilical cord. realistically she should not have survived but she defied all odds and did. i was told if my children had been identical, my son woud not have survived. my daughter now has a complex form of hydrocephalus (2 shunts) and a brain cyst and walking/ballance difficulties as a result of the meningitis.

Do you have any idea how this could have happened?

at 4 and a half my son began to experience difficulties at school. at first we thought it was due to the endless hospital trips of his twin sister. At 6 and a half he was diagnosed with ADHD, at 9 and a half with ADHD and Aspergeres Syndrome. (high functioning) he is on Ritalin and in special education.

If he was used to the trips to hospital, it would be obvious that his school difficulties came about from being at school, I would have thought. Mine were.

i know a lot of this information as i tried to sue with the best lawyers (i believe) in the country. we found all this info and could not get it into a court as the illnesses were so rare, the court seemed tp think that it was justified that a doctor could have made a mistake.

Ouch. That would hurt. I don't actually believe in blame cultures as a great way to move forwards, but in your situation, i personally would have thought that there may have been a way in for a menigitis-related bug, even in a hospital.

for the law experts, the term used was "they could not link causation with the neglect"

This is a point I have made myself: to have a case, one has to be able to link the current effect of the claimed neglect to a cause and then link that cause to a negligent practice. Easy to think about doing but very hard to do. As a person making the claim against a professional, you're immediately at a disadvantage since you are not necessarily going to be as familiar with the studies and research on the matter in question as are those you are suing. They have maybe even done studies themselves, but as a private person, you don't have that luxury. In an adversarial legal system, as the E&W one is, that's how you have to do it, and if you have no really convincing evidence, it is not going to be very successful as an action. I know it's of no consolation to you, Sally, but it may help others in similar circumstances to yours to know that the adversarial system will let them down, before they try to go to law; it can be awful to go through it all and then get a judge say it shouldn't go to trial. Very disheartening.

i believe in the deepest depths of me that the Yutopar created a an environment for which caused both my childrens difficulties.

Problem is, like with many other things, proving it.

i could cry at the injustice. i only had the twins. i became pregnant 2 years after their birth and was unable to cope and my life was at risk. i chose aginst my beliefs to have an abortion, and to be sterilised so i could not have children again. i wanted to be a good mother to the two i had and not fail them rather than have another, of which i could be ill or the baby.

Hard decision to make, and I would not have liked to be in your shoes at the time.

please, do not reply to me with anti abortion issues, as i am well aware of what i have done and believe i am a victim of circumstance. i had the soap box campaigning against it too, but now i think women should have the right to make their own decisions...some like mine are very justified.

You have been a victim of circumstance, and so have your kids.

my marriage, already failing, collapsed after my daughter received the diagnosis of meningitis and i have been raising my children alone every since. they are now almost 11.

No help at all? Apart from the poxy stuff the state offers if it can be arsed to, I mean.

i do not want your sympathy as i am not the one suffering. i am the mother and carer of 2 amazing children of whom i could never live without. they are my life and one true love.

I'm not going to give sympathy. Doesn't really help, does it?! I think I could reasonably offer my admiration for your having gone on with things...

as you know i also run a special needs theatre company and i am a performing arts student. i mention this as life goes on. it is not an easy life and i worry more about getting old and dying as i want to be here forever.....for my children and cos i love living my life at the mo.

Life does indeed go on, and sometimes it sucks.

i have little help cos the services in North Wales must be the worse i have ever known, so i am moving to London with the hope that at least if i can find the right schools for both my children, i can do the rest.

I hope that this move works out for you. And I think you're right: up country, services tend to be poorer than near the capital. It's the same here in Fnland, only worse.

we are a family.....one heck of a special one.....but a family first and foremost. we are far from perfect so i try not to preach at others cos i believe only the perfect have the right to preach...and seeing as that is none of us ......lol

And I ain't preaching at you either ;)

if anyone has any info on the above i would be glad to receive it.
my email address Dazemm@aol.com.uk

Contact me if you like. I know someone in London in a (not really very but none-the-less) similar situation to yours. She runs a parents' mailing list and you might find that a supportive environment. Let me know.

thank you for listening xxx

Welcome.

sally

David