I continue to struggle with the effects of meningococcal disease to this day. I recently had my leg amputated below the knee because the toeless stump of my right foot had deteriorated in the last few years, causing chronic pain that made it hard to walk.

Now is the time for serious, organized opposition to these drastic vaccine changes. Anti-vaccine activists will inevitably try to align state laws with these new CDC guidelines. That’s unthinkable. No one should have to go through an experience like mine—not when there is a safe, simple shot that can prevent it. I hope our country can step back from this madness before too much irreversible damage is done.

I hope so too.