Ruby Shallom, 16, started to suffer from stomach spasms, dizziness, pain, headaches and fatigue just weeks after having the HPV jab. But in May she woke up with no feelings in her legs
Gardasil Articles (Media and adverse reactions)
Girl, 16, is left paralysed in 3 limbs and in hospital on a drip after having the HPV vaccine, her parents claim
By Stephen Matthews For Mailonline
PUBLISHED: 09:47, 16 December 2016 | UPDATED: 13:05, 16 December 2016
A 16-year-old girl has been left paralysed in three limbs and is in hospital on a drip after having the controversial HPV jab, her parents claim.
Ruby Shallom was vaccinated at school to protect her against cervical cancer as part of the routine NHS programme.
But just weeks later, the keen horse-rider and runner started to suffer from stomach spasms, dizziness, pain, headaches and fatigue.
Her muscles became weaker and in May - two years after she was given the jab - she woke up with no feelings in her legs whatsoever.
She has since lost all sensation in both her legs and one of her arms and is virtually bed-bound - unable to eat, lift or dress herself, incontinent and often too weak to lift her head.
Doctors have been unable to diagnose her with anything and have dismissed it as being psychological, refusing to acknowledge any link to the jab.
Ruby Shallom, 16, started to suffer from stomach spasms, dizziness, pain,
headaches and fatigue just weeks after having the HPV jab. But in May she woke
up with no feelings in her legs
She has since lost all sensation in her right arm and is virtually bed-bound in hospital on a drip - unable to eat, lift or dress herself, incontinent and often too weak to lift her head
But her parents Aron and Nicola, 45, are convinced her condition was caused by the jab.
'We are 100 per cent sure that it is down to the HPV vaccination,' said Mr Shallom, an engineer from Bracknell, Berkshire.
Her parents have spoken out after former glamour model Melinda Messenger said on This Morning that she stopped her 12-year-old daughter, Evie, having the jab over fears of chronic illnesses.
Known side effects include headaches, fever and nausea, but experts around the world remain adamant there is no evidence to link the vaccine to anything stronger.
Girls show stomach spasms allegedly caused by HPV jab
But Mr Shallom added: 'The way the doctors dismissed her was disgraceful.
'She doesn't want her daughter to go through what we are going through. We back her totally.
'Ruby was healthy before but now she is paralysed - you could hit her legs with a hammer and she wouldn't feel anything.
'We thought it was going to do her good but in hindsight it has done the complete opposite.'
Her parents are convinced her condition was caused by the jab (pictured with her mother, Nicola, 45, and sister, Evie, 11)
Doctors have been unable to diagnose the condition and have dismissed it as being psychological, refusing to acknowledge any link to the jab
Ruby had the course of three injections with classmates at the end of 2013 and start of 2014.
She, who has since missed two years of school, said: 'It is so scary. The doctors keep telling me it’s all in my head. It’s not just a coincidence.
'This has totally changed my life. I’m in pain all the time. If I hadn’t have had it, I wouldn’t be like this.
'It needs to be recognised because they are still giving it out. It will continue to happen to more girls until they stop.'
This has totally changed my life. I’m in pain all the time. If I hadn’t have had it, I wouldn’t be like this
Ruby Shallom after having the HPV vaccine
Melinda Messenger has since hit back over how she was treated while she was on This Morning yesterday.
Her comments sparked a fierce backlash, with doctors accusing her of scaremongering and viewers branding the decision 'irresponsible'.
And the 45-year-old glamour model claims she was attacked by Holly Willoughby, Phillip Schofield and Dr Chris Steele for speaking up over her concerns on the show.
The UK Public Health Association had even attempted to ban her from going on the show to discuss the matter.
She said: 'I can only assume that the This Morning team, Philip and Holly must have had a huge amount of pressure on them on what to let me say, and what to stop me from saying.
'Four against one, the PHA [Public Health Authority] must have been very worried.
'I was shocked and surprised at how Dr Chris Steel treated me during my interview on This Morning and also when I came off screen as well.
'The level of anger and hostility thrown at me was extreme, especially considering they had invited me on to talk about my concerns as a parent over the HPV vaccine, but would not let me talk or have another supporting voice who shared the same view, to balance out the debate.'
Lucy Rebbeck, 15, suffered the same ordeal after having the HPV jab, her muscles were so weak she was confined to a wheelchair for six months
Her mother, Diane, 47, said: 'It has been horrendously awful - it has been life changing. Lucy is on the road to recovery but what is scary is that we don’t know what caused it'
Another girl, dancer Lucy Rebbeck, 15, from Wokingham, Buckinghamshire, suffered the same ordeal after having the HPV jab. Her muscles were so weak she was confined to a wheelchair for six months.
She fell ill with similar symptoms in autumn 2014 and is being treated at the same hospital - Frimley Park in Surrey.
Doctors diagnosed her with coeliac disease and later removed her appendix - but nothing helped.
Her mother, Diane, 47, said: 'Her legs were getting weaker and weaker. They would just buckle and give way and in February she went downhill very rapidly.
'She couldn’t feel them at all and within two weeks they gradually went more and more numb.
'She was in a wheelchair for six months and was having to shuffle up the stairs on her bottom.'
Lucy, who has dropped four GCSEs because of the illness, has regained strength in her lower body after undergoing rehabilitation, including hydrotherapy.
But her family have no idea what caused her condition in the first place and MRI scans show that indeterminate patches of inflammation remain on her brain.
Mrs Rebbeck added: 'It has been horrendously awful - it has been life changing.
'Lucy is on the road to recovery but what is scary is that we don’t know what caused it.
'I don’t know how many girls of this age have these illnesses, but this definitely is not a coincidence. Why is it happening to so many girls?'
She called for more testing of the vaccine and urged parents to research it independently.
Public Health England said they would 'strongly urge' girls to have the vaccine and ignore 'misleading information'.
They said: 'The most likely explanation for the reports of side effects is that some girls will coincidentally develop normal illnesses found in adolescents after vaccination and families may mistakenly think the vaccine has caused them.'
Doctors diagnosed the keen dancer with coeliac disease and later removed her appendix - but nothing helped
The HPV vaccine, Gardasil, is routinely offered to 12-13 year-old girls as part of the NHS' cervical cancer programme.
Originally many were concerned over young girls being given the vaccine as they believed it may increase sexual promiscuity.
But it is known to protect against two common types of HPV, which are responsible for more than 70 per cent of the cases in the UK.
The disease is believed to currently kill 1,000 people yearly in the UK, but doctors estimate that around 400 lives are saved each year as a result of vaccinating girls before they become infected.
However, many women instead report that they have developed chronic fatigue syndrome after having it.
Lucy, who has dropped four GCSEs because of the illness, has regained strength in her lower body after undergoing rehabilitation, including hydrotherapy
But health authorities around the world, including the World Health Organization, have recently extensively reviewed the vaccine and have concluded it is safe.
Some 63 women in Japan recently sued the government over claims the vaccine caused serious neurological conditions.
Chris Exley, a professor in bioinorganic chemistry at Keele University, said it contains an aluminium adjuvant which can be toxic in humans.
He said research is in a 'very early stage' and neither of the jabs has 'undergone satisfactory safety tests to demonstrate that they are safe for use in humans'.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency said its safety has been reviewed recently and extensively and 'it has a good safety record'.
'There is a clear consensus that the evidence does not support a link between HPV vaccination and development of premature ovarian failure and a range of chronic illnesses.'