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This page contains stories, questions, and comments from mothers of ill children. These women all had silicone or saline breast implants. 
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This is for anyone who wishes to participate in the Children's Grant Study.
We need a first person report on each case. One page
describing the Mother's implant experience, and the
Child's problems.
If you would like to fill out the questionnaire now,
you can submit a request through our web site
at
http://www.birthdefects.org or call
(800)
313-2232 and leave a message requesting the registry
packet. Betty
Mekdeci (Association of Birth Defect Children,
Inc.)
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Date: February 21, 1998 Subject: SBI Breastfed Baby Shirley, Please help me to understand about the dangers of breast feeding, and silicone breast implants. I breast fed my son for 4 months. My son is now 7 years old, and refuses to eat. His growth/weight percentile is normal, but he is painfully thin, and will not eat as a normal child would. Pediatricians, Psychologists, and ENT's say he's OK. He has no appetite. He must be reminded to eat. He sometimes has trouble swallowing, and says that the food feel gross when he swallows. He has a hypersensitivity to smells which seems to trigger his aversion to food, and is afraid of trying new foods. His diet consists of peanut butter, white rice, scrambled eggs (when I can talk him into eating them) and cereals. Yes, candy is one of his favorites but more often than not will refuse these as well. I know that this sounds very typical for kids, and all the "experts" say many kids are just like that. I'm sorry, but they don't have to live with this day in and day out. It is tearing us apart. It breaks my heart to see my child afraid of eating. He eats enought to stay within the normal percentile for his age, so no one worries about it. He is constantly complaining of being tired and of course is out of sorts. Nobody seems to understand my concerns. I'm seen as a mother who is just worried about a "picky eater". I wish it were that simple! I don't know if there could be a connection here but I have run into a brick wall in the help department. I even mentioned it to his neurologist and he said "that's normal, don't worry"! Even as I write this I feel foolish reading it over, it does sound like a typical child. But this started when he was 22 months old! I would appreciate any information you can come up with.
Thanks you very much. |
Brianna Baily was born when her mother, Diane, was 32. Diane had on idea that because she had lupus, and arthritis (caused by breast implants) that any of these diseases would be passed on to her precious daughter. Diane had suffered with illnesses ever since the installation of her implants in 1980, but never equated all of her illnesses to the implants themselves. She took such good care of herself when she was pregnant that she was obsessed with doing the proper things. She even gave up chocolate!! When Brianna was born in 1990 Diane "just knew" that breast feeding would be the healthiest way to nourish her, giving her all the wonderful antibodies that she had acquired in life. Little did she realize her own immune system. Brianna would not breast feed for two days after she was born. The Le Leche League instructed me to keep trying, and said that although she had implants, she should not have any problems breast feeding. Those first two days Brianna was a happy baby. When she began to breast feed she became very cockily. She would scream at the top of her lungs, and she lost weight. The pediatrician instructed Diane to keep breast feeding, and to add formula as well. Brianne never got any healthier. Finally Diane stopped breast feeding her altogether and Brianna began to get better. Brianna was six years old on August 14, 1996. Her life has been one of constant illness. She has such severe constipation that she screams and cries when she has to go to the potty. She was put on laxatives by her physician and still has major constipation problems. She has gastric problema and her mother has to cajole and bribe her into eating most of the time. Brianna was always on the small side and is just now catching up to her friends. Her allergies keep the family in a state of panic. Brianna's eyes will swell and itch, she will break out in a horrible rash, and she has difficulty breathing. She has had to be rushed via ambulance to the hospital several times. She suffers from frequent urinary tract infections and practically lives in the doctors office. Even with 12 hours of sleep each night, Brianna is still fatigued. Her knees, shoulders, and hands ache all the time, just as her mother's did before she had her implants removed. Unfortunately there are no implants in Brianna to remove. There are just horrible nasty antibodies that Diane's silicone gel-filled implants passed on to the most precious person in her life. Diane lives in constant fear that physicians will find silicone in soom of Brianna's organs as they did in hers. Diane says if Brianna were asked what the worst of all the poisoning and illnesses is, it would be having to watch her mommy have a seizure due to the silicone in her brain. Diane says her family and friends describe her seizure episodes as looking as if she is a bug and someone has sprayed her with bug killer and she is dying. The worst of all this nightmare for everyone is that Brianna's future is unknown. It is doctors like Dr. Shanklin and Dr. Smalley who hold the key to all our children's future. We can only hope and pray that it is soon and that the manufacturers underhanded, evil, maneuvers don't force those who support us and our cause into giving up before that discovery is made. Our sincere thanks to Diane and Brianna for sharing their story. |
Date: March 4, 1998 Subject:Re Need a doctor for sick breastfed child in Florida Children's Medical Center in Dallas' Texas is the only place I am familiar with other than St. Jude's which is only for terminally ill children are the only state of the art hospitals I am familiar with. I want to share with this woman and her child that I breastfed two of my three children. My eight-year-old has had pneumonia three times, has asthma, and is undergoing allergy shots. He has very frequent nausea which luckily I treat with children's Mylanta chewables. My daughter was born one year before I was explanted and I had a check up as I had before my son was born with my Plastic Surgeon who assured me that everything was fine. Well, I breastfed her for six months. I had my implants taken out when she was one year old, in August of 94. She at 14 months began having grandmal seizures. She was hospitalized and they determined that they are Febrile (fever related only) seizures. But she has bad sleep disturbance still so I am not convinced that she will outgrow the seizures. She may be epileptic, as 90% of all children outgrow fever related seizures by the age of four. I sympathize with this mother and child so much. I hope they find a good Pediatric Gastroenterolgist in Florida.I do know physician on the Texas Medical Examiner's board and I will ask her if she has met any Pediatric Gastroenterolgist at conventions, etc. Teresa |
| Do you or your child have a story
to
tell? We would like very much to hear from you. The
manufactures worst nightmare is for the children's
stories to be told. Let's make the public aware of
our children's plight. If you have a child who is being treated by a caring, understanding physician we are in need of his/her name. We are attempting to build a data base of doctors who will treat these children.
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