Six months after the
MMR jab... a bubbly
little girl now
struggles to speak, walk
and feed herself
By
Chris Ellise
Last updated at 7:56 PM
on 21st January 2009
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1126035/Six-months-MMR-jab--bubbly-little-girl-struggles-speak-walk-feed-herself.html
Until she had the MMR
jab Melody Brook was a
bewitching little girl
who loved to sing and
dance.
Two days later the
five-year-old started to
limp and fall over and
before long she couldn't
walk.
Melody was admitted
to hospital within a
week, but her condition
deteriorated at
frightening speed.
Today, six months
after the routine jab,
the schoolgirl is still
in hospital and she has
regressed to being 'like
a baby' again.
Alicia Ellis believes a
MMR jab has caused all
the problems for her
daugther Melody Brook,
pictured with brother
Jay Jay
Melody can no longer
talk, walk or feed
herself. She spends her
days sitting in a chair
and must wear nappies.
She is even unable to
hold up her own head,
like a weak newborn
infant.
Doctors are baffled
by her mystery condition
and continue to carry
out tests to diagnose it
and search for a way
forward.
They have told
Melody's mother Alicia
Ellis, 25, there is no
reason to believe the
MMR vaccine has anything
to do with her
condition.
However, Miss Ellis
is convinced it is the
only logical explanation
and there could be a
connection to a
neurological problem she
had as a newborn baby.
Miss Ellis, from
Leeds, said: 'Show me
the evidence that it's
not linked to the MMR
jab and I might be all
right, but they can't.
'It's awful and
unbelievable. I want her
back like she was. It's
like having a baby
again. They have done
tests and everything has
come back negative.'
Melody suffered some
brain damage after she
picked up a serious
herpes virus at
two-weeks of age.
The tiny baby was
seriously-ill in
hospital and was close
to death. Doctors feared
she would suffer from
developmental problems
as a result, but to
their amazement she made
a complete recovery and
grew up as a normal,
healthy little girl.
Then last July Miss
Ellis, a full-time
mother-of-three,
received a letter
advising her to have
Melody and her
seven-year-old brother
Ryan vaccinated.
The mother said she
told nurses she was
worried about Melody
having the measles,
mumps and rubella jab
because of the infection
she had as a baby, but
was told 'she'll be
fine.'
Two days later the
lively schoolgirl was
struggling to walk.
'She told me her legs
were hurting and she
couldn't walk. She used
to love dancing but her
she was holding on to
anything to support
herself.
'I took her to a
couple of doctors, then
hospital, and she was
admitted to hospital a
week after the jab.
She's been there ever
since having test after
test but she's just not
getting any better - in
fact she is getting
worse.
'They just don't know
what's wrong with her,
all the tests have come
back negative. It's
heartbreaking - she can
barely move and she has
lost her speech.
'I think the jab has
attacked the part of her
brain that was damaged
when she was a baby.
It's just too much of a
coincidence for this to
happen just two days
after her jab, but
no-one wants to listen
to me.'
The shocking decline
is graphically shown by
two Christmas home
videos, one from 2006 of
her with her siblings
and a contrasting one of
Melody unable to do
anything for herself
last December.
Miss Ellis, whose
partner works as a
courier, said her
daughter was allowed
home from Leeds General
Infirmary at weekends,
but remained in hospital
for the forseeable
future.
Safety fears resulted
in some parents
boycotting MMR over a
possible link with
autism and bowel disease
following a
controversial 1998 study
by Dr Andrew Wakefield
and colleagues published
in the medical journal
The Lancet.
However, British
medical and Government
experts blame Dr
Wakefield's research for
sparking a public health
scare and say worldwide
research has debunked
his work.
This month the
Information Commissioner
said that documents on
the introduction of the
MMR vaccine should be
released by the
Department of Health.
Richard Thomas ruled
that their release was
in the public interest
despite months of
stonewalling by
officials.
He said minutes from
three committee meetings
prior to the
introduction of the
Measles Mumps and
Rubella jab in 1988
should be released under
the Freedom of
information Act.
The information is
likely to include data
from the pre-licensing
studies of MMR on which
the authorities relied
when granting a licence
before the nationwide
childhood immunisation
programme starting in
1988.
A spokesman for Leeds
Teaching Hospitals NHS
Trust said:'This is a
complex case and our
specialists are working
hard to understand and
diagnose Melody's
condition.
'Doctors and nurses
are doing everything
they can to keep Miss
Ellis informed whilst
tests are going on, as
we know this is a very
distressing time.'
The MMR vaccine has
been surrounded by
controversy, amid claims
there could be a link to
autism. The NHS and the
World Health
Organisation both
recommend the MMR jab
and say it is safe.'