Daisy Luther
A formerly healthy 19-year-old boy is dead from what the hospital says are undetermined causes. His bereaved mother, Lori Webb, is convinced that his death is directly related to the influenza vaccine he received just hours before becoming ill.
Chandler Webb died from cerebral swelling that was so great it crushed his brain stem.
Chandler Webb received the shot on October 15 during a routine physical, after he had decided to go on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The day after the exam, Chandler became extremely ill – suffering from vomiting and headaches. A little more than a week later, Chandler slipped into a coma and spent nearly a month on life support at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah.
While at the hospital, Chandler underwent a variety tests, but his doctors couldn’t confirm what had caused his illness.
Chandler was eventually taken off life support and died early Tuesday morning. His mother, Lori Webb, said that his direct cause of death was swelling of the brain – something she believes was the result of an adverse reaction to the influenza vaccination
“What attacked his brain happened so quickly within 15 hours,” Webb said on Fox and Friends. ”From one CT scan to the next, there was so much pressure and swelling on the brain that it crushed his brain stem.” (source)
According to Tom Hudachko, a spokesman for the Utah Department of Health, no one in the state has ever died from the flu shot. His carefully worded statement does not rule out the possibility, though.
Like with other medical procedures, there can be side effects and adverse reactions. In the vast majority of those cases the side effects are not very severe — soreness at the injection site, low fever, achiness. Occasionally, yes, there are more severe side effects from receiving the vaccine.
Although numerous tests were run on Chandler during his illness, no definitive reasons were discovered.
Chandler’s medical team, which included six neurologists at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, tested him for every conceivable illness – including Lyme disease and sexually transmitted ones.
“They checked every virus, every fungus, ever tick, West Nile, they even checked for rabies,”said Webb. ”And they can’t find anything…it was the most senseless, senseless, death.” (source)
Despite the risks, the propaganda machine is in high gear, churning out the fear in order to get everyone lined up for their annual flu shots. Widely trusted websites like the CDC, Flu.gov, and the Mayo Clinic are all trumpeting the necessity of this year’s vaccination and proclaiming it to be the best way to stay healthy. Advertising campaigns like The Flugitives attempt to shame people into having the shot, and a holiday themed campaign has also begun.
Sadly, Chandler’s case is not unique. The commercials don’t mention the 23 senior citizens who died from the same injection given at pharmacy counters across the country, and doubtless young Chandler Webb will not be featured in these ads either.
The ads also won’t tell you that not all adverse reactions are reported and that when they are, the statistics are doctored to keep the do-good reputation of the shot untarnished.
In searching the year 2011 on the CDC Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System website – (http://vaers.hhs.gov/index) – it was found that 51 deaths were caused by the flu vaccines, along with 232 life threatening events, 116 permanent disabilities, 739 hospitalizations, 109 prolonged hospitalizations, 4,039 ER visits, and 6,221 “not serious” reports. According to the National Vaccine Information Center, fewer than one percent of all adverse vaccine reactions are ever reported. (Source)
Thus far, in Chandler Webb’s case, there is no hard evidence yet that the flu shot caused his death. State health officials denied the tie between brain swelling and the flu shot in this statement:
Our epidemiology staff have commented that although they have no evidence of a flu vaccine, or any other kind of vaccine, causing this type of reaction/outcome, they take these reports very seriously and they are thoroughly investigated by the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). (source)
However… encephalopathy, or swelling of the brain, IS directly linked to vaccine damage. Both the FDA and US Department of Health and Human Resources cite the link between the two.
Lori Webb hopes that a brain biopsy will confirm the reason that her son died. She has declined an autopsy.
Daily Mail
Despite doctor’s best efforts they could not diagnose him, despite putting him through a battery of tests.
Officially Chandler’s direct cause of death was swelling of the brain, but speaking to Fox News, Lori explained that she believes the vaccination was the reason – and that doctors should have asked sooner if her son had recently been given a shot.
Mother’s love: Lori Webb lies with her son Chandler in his hospital bed in pictures she has released to highlight what she believes the dangers are in getting a flu-shot
‘What attacked his brain happened so quickly within 15 hours,’ Webb said on Fox and Friends.
‘From one CT scan to the next, there was so much pressure and swelling on the brain that it crushed his brain stem.’
Chandler was ultimately taken off life support after a month in a coma and he died on Tuesday after 28 days in the hospital.
‘He was sicker than he has ever been in his life. He says he’s never shook so hard his whole life. He had the worst headache, threw up, and he slept for about two and a half days and didn’t eat anything during that time,’ said Webb to the Salt Lake Tribune.
Medical mystery: Chandler Webb with a friend at home in Utah – Chandler tragically died after he was given a flu-shot five weeks ago before he embarked on a Mormon mission
Friends: Chandler Webb (far right) with two friends at home in Utah – Chandler’s mother has made the difficult decision to release pictures of him as he lies dying in hospital
According to a report from the Salt Lake Tribune, Webb has declined an autopsy, as she believes that a pending brain biopsy will reveal Chandler’s cause of death.
Chandler’s doctors have not discussed his case and public health officials repeated that the vaccine is safe and rarely has serious side effects.
Chandler’s medical team, which included six neurologists at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, tested him for every conceivable illness – including Lyme disease and sexually transmitted ones.
‘They checked every virus, every fungus, ever tick, west Nile they even checked for rabies,’ said Lori. ‘And they can’t find anything…it was the most senseless, senseless, death.’
‘This was his first flu shot,’ Lori said. ‘He’d never had one before.’
‘I hate this. ‘I hate that I have to bury my son.’
Tragic: Lori Webb with her son Chandler who died on November 19th after spending a month in a coma – which his mother believes was triggered by a flu-shot
Utah Department of Health spokesman Tom Hudachko said the state is aware of the case but can’t verify the cause of death nor whether it is investigating because of patient confidentiality.
He added that the health department has no record of anyone in Utah dying from a reaction to the vaccine, he said.
‘Like with other medical procedures, there can be side effects and adverse reactions,’ he said.
‘In the vast majority of those cases the side effects are not very severe — soreness at the injection site, low fever, achiness. Occasionally, yes, there are more severe side effects from receiving the vaccine.’
130 million people nationwide, nearly half of all Americans, decide to get the flu vaccine every year and side effects are extremely rare.
Fit and Healthy: Chandler Webb was described by his mother as the picture of health and would visit the gym five-days a week in an effort to stay fit
Out of those 130 million people, about 140 people report serious side-effects each year.
Chandler Webb was described as a healthy teen, who visited the gym five days a week before he fell ill.
Lori Webb described how as her son was taken off life-support she cut his hair for the last time and told him the story of ‘The Three Billy Goats Gruff’, just as she did when he was a child.
‘I can’t describe how hard it is to lose a child,’ she said.
‘We can’t wrap our heads around this… it’s so bizarre.’
