The dark side of vaccines Posted: June 12, 2007 1:00 a.m. Eastern It wasn't until right after the little girl had received her third and final pertussis shot that all hell broke loose. One of five children in a Christian homeschooling family I know well, the child suffered an extreme and life-altering reaction to the common childhood vaccine. Today, perhaps 15 years later, her family's life largely revolves around taking care of the now-teenage girl, confined to a wheelchair, unable to speak, her life decimated by a "required" vaccine shot. Indeed, the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, part of the federal Department of Health and Human Services, was set up years ago to pay for the care of just such vaccine-injured Americans. If you or your child suffers from anaphylactic shock or brachial neuritis as a result of getting any tetanus-toxoid-containing vaccine, you're eligible. Develop encephalopathy – literally, disease of the brain –