Laura Chicos, now 14, leads “a miserable life,” according to her mother, with allergic reactions to “almost everything,” including but not limited to food, dust and environmental contaminants.
Over a period of 15 years, Ines Chicos, Ph.D., a research coordinator with a doctoral degree in psychology, built a bright scientific career.
Today, Chicos primarily stays at home in Queens, New York, taking care of her daughter, Laura, who at the age of 2 months first experienced adverse events following a DTP (diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis, or whooping cough) vaccine.
Laura, now 14, leads “a miserable life,” according to her mother, with allergic reactions to “almost everything,” including but not limited to food, dust and environmental contaminants. This forces Laura, who experiences difficulty eating, to follow a strict diet. The allergies also interfere with Laura’s studies.
In an exclusive interview with The Defender, Chicos discussed her daughter’s injuries and the challenges she faces today.
She also detailed her family’s mostly unsuccessful efforts to obtain justice and get answers for Laura. Extensive documentation provided to The Defender corroborates the family’s claims.
First symptoms appeared two months after birth
Laura was born on Dec. 4, 2007, and was, by all accounts, healthy at birth and up until her first injection of the DTP vaccine on Feb. 9, 2008, when she was just over 2 months old.
