By Stefanie Stark

"I wrote a couple of years ago to say that our middle son, Andrew, had fallen ill with vaccine-induced autism. I also wrote, during that time, of a bird-flu pandemic in the works.

"I believe that Our Lord is asking me to share the follow-up story with you.

"It has become so clear to me, through hindsight and the Holy Spirit, why this had to happen to Andrew.

"My son, like all of the children with vaccine-induced autism, are little messengers of God. They are angels on a mission to teach us that we must turn back to God and to a more natural way of living that is in accordance with God’s creation, as opposed to a chemical/synthetic world such as the one we are creating through science and medicine. 

"When Andrew was about four weeks old, I went to lay down and, as soon as my head touched the pillow, I had a vision – not a dream, but a vision. It was so real. I saw my baby lying in his crib. And kneeling beside the crib, praying, was a male angel dressed in a brown robe with a gold-colored rope for a sash, the kind the Franciscans wear.

"And I heard Our Lady’s voice say, "Spend every moment you can with him."

"Then the vision ended. I sat bolt upright in the bed and thought that I was being prepared for my child to die. I got on my knees and begged God not to take him. But I remembered, also, the promise I had made in Adoration [of giving and trusting my children to Jesus, at His request], and asked that Our Lord would give me the strength to bear whatever His Will would be for Andrew’s life.

"Weeks later, I told my mother and sister about the vision. I was still so shaken by it. 

"When I took my son for his 12-month-old check-up, I asked the pediatrician which vaccine he was to receive. I was told it was the MMR (Measles-Mumps-Rubella). I told the doctor that I had read an article just the week before (I think on Spirit Daily), that said the MMR, along with twelve other vaccines, was cultured on the cell lines of aborted fetuses.

"I explained to the pediatrician that, as a pro-life Catholic, I would object to and refuse that particular vaccine based on my moral and religious beliefs.

"The doctor became furious at this claim and said it was 'a lie made up by extremists on the right who have an agenda to push.' He stormed out of the office and returned with the package insert. He unrolled it in front of me like a scroll and said, "Here. Look at this and tell me where it says aborted fetuses were used!"

"I was shocked by his reaction, but I also had nothing more to go on than the one article, and I couldn’t even remember the source. I felt silly and unsure, so I went along and allowed Andrew to be immunized with the MMR. I later found out that, indeed, the vaccine is created using cell lines from aborted fetuses.

"The week before my son was diagnosed with autism, I went for a walk on the beach. I stopped to pick up a bird feather. Again I heard a voice. This time it said, 'Hope is a prayer with wings.'

"Later that day, I was at the bookstore.

"As I walked past rows of books toward the checkout, I spotted one whose title read “H.O.P.E.” It was a book about digestive health and how to heal the gut. I bought it on a hunch. Later, it became invaluable in understanding and healing my child’s "leaky gut syndrome," another aspect of autism. 

"The day Andrew was first diagnosed with autism, he had just turned two. I was reeling from shock and disbelief and confusion.

"What had happened to my precious, healthy child?

"How could this be?

"I remembered, again, that I had committed my children to the care and protection of Our Lord.

"That night, I read Andrew a bedtime story and tried not to break down in tears until I had put him to bed.

"Quietly, he got up from my lap and walked over to the Holy Water font in his room. He dipped his tiny fingers in and then came over to me and made the Sign of the Cross on my forehead! He had never done that before.

"I knew at that moment that Jesus was right there with me and, just as in the poem “Footprints,” He was going to carry me and my family through this. I kept thinking, "You have to persevere in hope. Do not give up hope for even one instant."

"I have witnessed the special connection that children with autism have to Jesus and Our Blessed Mother. When Andrew was two and a half and completely nonverbal, he took my agnostic sister, who struggles with infertility, by the hand and led her into the Shrine of Our Lady of Le Leche, that bears a statue of Our Lady holding the infant Jesus (in St. Augustine, Florida). Andrew motioned for her to kneel down. Then, without words, he invited her to clasp her hands and bow her head in prayer. It was a beautiful scene to watch!

"At three years old, Andrew had so few words, but such incredible comprehension, that the speech pathologist recommended he get a handheld computer device to speak for him. Our insurance company agreed to pay for the device.

"Around the same time, we met a biomedical doctor who was willing to run the blood tests that my husband and I had been asking for.

"The tests came back showing conclusively that Andrew had been infected with measles and rubella. The tests also showed that our son’s immune system was barely functional – because his little body, by that time, had been fighting these viruses for nearly two years, which led to an auto-immune disorder.

"We began using vitamin supplements and B-12 shots to get his immune system functioning again. We also switched to a gluten-and-casein free diet and went organic as much as possible. We used homeopathy to detox his body from the viruses and heavy metals and to heal the damage that had been done.

"Within weeks of detoxing Andrew from the damage his vaccines had caused, he began speaking and behaving more normally. When I called her to say that we would not need the speaking device after all, the lady at the insurance company said that she had never heard of a patient recovering to the point of not needing a speaking device, especially in only a few months time!

"More important than all of the physical remedies: I not only prayed for my son but over my son.

"I asked for the intercession of so many saints, especially Our Blessed Mother.  

"I asked, for example, St. John Chrysostom, saint with the golden voice, to pray for Andrew’s voice to be restored.

"I stood on the Scripture in Mark where Jesus healed the deaf and mute man when He said, 'Ephatha!,' that is, 'Be opened!'

"I claimed the Scriptures for my child. I anointed his forehead with Holy Water and blessed oil daily as I prayed over him.

"And perhaps most powerful of all, I praised God and thanked Him every day for Andrew’s healing long before he was actually healed.

"I also prayed every day that I would be given the grace to hope beyond hope and never lose faith that my child would be healed. 

"Indeed, Andrew has been healed of autism! All praise and glory be to God! He goes to school with normally developing children, and people are shocked when I tell them that he has recovered from autism.

"He is now a normal, active four-year-old. 

"When he was finally able to speak (which he now does in full sentences), Andrew said, "Mommy, Jesus is the Bible." I said, "Yes, much of the Bible is about Jesus." To which he replied, "No. Jesus is the Bible, Mommy."

"I encountered another autistic boy at the doctor’s office one day. He looked to be 12 or 13 but had the social skills and speech of a five-year-old. I asked him if he liked to swim. He said yes. I asked if he liked to swim in the pool or the ocean. And he replied, 'Ma’am, I don't have an ocean, but I have a river, and His Name is Jesus.'

"These kids are so close to Our Lord!

"I believe that God allowed this to happen to Andrew. I have met literally hundreds of parents with the same or a similar story to Andrew's, and they have found renewed hope that their child can recover.

"This experience has also opened my eyes to the many ways our children are being harmed through vaccines. The swine flu vaccine is perhaps scariest of all. The adjuvant, squalene, has not only been proven to cause severe neurological damage and auto-immune disorders, but also paralysis and death. Squalene can cause a person to become allergic to cholesterol, something your body needs to survive!

"I am also very troubled by the fact that Baxter International, (the same company that accidentally sent avian-flu tainted flu shots to 18 countries), applied for a patent to make an H1N1 vaccine in August 2008, even though swine flu did not appear in the population until April 2009. (For the patent, go to: http://patft.uspto.gov/ Click on publication number search on the right for patent applications. Enter: 20090060950).

"I know the vaccine issue is just one of many sins against God and His creation. Our bodies are His temple, Scripture says. The Bible also says that "we perish for lack of knowledge."