One of the things I fear most as the mom of child with DiGeorge's Syndrome is the unimmunized healthy child. The child whose parents believed a playboy bunny rather than medical science. Or the parents who think it is fine for their child to get major illnesses, not taking into consideration that their child's illness is another child's death.
I don't understand it. Diseases like measles and chicken pox have killed untold numbers of people through the ages. And here we are today, with the means to eradicate these diseases, saving countless lives, and people choose to keep the diseases around! Why?!? Because they had chicken pox as a kid and were fine. That is BS. Pure and simple, self-centered BS! Because some "scientist" published a paper that said vaccines cause autism; a paper that has been criticized, debunked, retracted, and proven to be falsified. Really? What part of fraudulent and debunked do they not understand? What part of the dude has lost his right to practice medicine do these people NOT understand?
Yes, I am angry. Very, very angry. My daughter has been hospitalized numerous times for things you and I would call a bad cold. I would do anything for the MMR or chicken pox vaccine to protect her. But her immunologist has declared it too dangerous because those vaccines are made with live virus. If my baby with her weak immune system had either vaccine, she could easily contract the diseases. And for someone like her, with such a fragile medical condition, those diseases could be deadly. So, no she is not allowed to be vaccinated. Neither is my son because the small amount of virus in his vaccine could infect the Dancing Queen.
I was told not to worry about my kids not being vaccinated because everyone else is vaccinated. But that is a pipe dream based upon sound science and not upon tabloid rumors which, surprisingly, control many parenting decisions. While my daughter's immunologist is sure my kids wouldn't be exposed to chicken pox, measels, mumps, or rubella, he is wrong. Last spring, a child who rode the bus with the Dancing Queen came down with chicken pox. And this week, a child in TRex's school also came down with chicken pox. These children were probably contagious without showing any symptoms for 3 days prior to coming down with the pox. We lucked out last spring because DQ was in the hospital when the child got sick. I guess we'll see next week if TRex was lucky enough to escape the illness. Unfortunately, we will not know if he was lucky until it is too late.
The Dancing Queen is not the only child with immune issues. There are many children with the 22q11 deletion or other congenital abnormalities that cause immune system deficiencies. There are more children who have had cancer and their treatments render them vulnerable. And every child who has had an organ transplant is on anti-rejection meds that weaken their immune system.
Please, have your children vaccinated. Help save lives!
How would you feel if your decision not to vaccinate lead to the unthinkable?
I'll not be returning to your blog because of this post. Though I respect your opinion and your right to voice it I vehemently disagree. I have long since disregarded any causative links between vaccines and autism, but I have chosen not to vaccinate for mmr/rubella/varicella. Several childhood diseases are potentially more potent and dangerous to adults. I'm not going to subject a child and then adult to a life of booster shots. I'd rather my child get chicken pox early on and build a natural immunity and never have to be burdened with routine faux immunity.
ReplyDeleteWhile I'm sure you're convinced that your daughter is special, she is not better than mine, or anyone else's kids. Subjecting the rest to something for the good of a few kids who are immuno-compromised is not fair. Your child is exempt, so you don't have to make these decisions but ours are not. How nice it must be to sit and dictate how we all care for our children for your benefit. I just don't get the sense of entitlement some parents have.
I am right with you on this one! I am an advocate of vaccinations and truly cannot understand any reasoning a parent could have for not vaccinating. I hope they someday find a vaccination for the common cold...my whole family will be waiting in line for it. I will never understand parents that don't feel a need to vaccinate their children...there is no scientific information to NOT vaccinate and a whole shitload (sorry about the language) to show the benefits of vaccinating. Hell...we have the medical technology...USE IT!!!
ReplyDeleteI really don't understand why anyone would consider vaccinations as 'subjecting the rest to something for the good of a few kids' to be a legitimate excuse NOT to vaccinate. Children have been, are, and will continue to be vaccinated for their OWN GOOD...not only for our immuno-compromised children.
I also don't see how your argument is a sense of entitlement when you are thinking about and living with the possibility of your daughter dying. This is a real possibility for many of us and to think that it could be prevented by a simple vaccinations is NOT a sense of entitlement...it is protecting our children and many other children that are not immuno-compromised.
UGHHH...I am done ranting. When people do not live with the day-to-day fear of their child dying they just don't get it!
SING IT, SISTER. AMEN.
ReplyDeleteI don't think vaccines had anything to do with my kids' troubles. And I make sure that they stay up to date. My only issue with vaccines is that I can't get them! I'm no longer immune to several diseases (like measles) but cannot get vaccinated because I am allergic to ingredients in the vaccines. Gotta love that. Makes me nervous every time I get around little kids... especially at doctor's offices. I know too many people that don't get their kids vaccinated AT ALL until they turn five and then the poor kids have to get all those shots practically at one time so they can start school. It's just sad.
ReplyDeleteSara, I'm sorry I can't see how putting lives at risk is not worth having booster shots (even if not my own child because there many others who can die from diseases like chicken pox, including ALL newborns). I donate blood to save lives and that includes having a needle put in my arm for a longer time than a booster shot. That is me.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, my daughter is special. As are all babies. My daughter deserves to live. And she does get vaccines that do not contain live viruses and she has blood drawn at least once a month and has had multiple open heart surgeries and suffered more pain than most people do in an entire lifetime. She has endured a heck of a lot more than a couple booster shots every ten years. So, no, I don't see how you can compare having to decide whether my children get booster shots to what I have to decide for her on a regular basis.
I hope your children do not get chicken pox ever. I had it very bad as a child and have had shingles as an adult because of it (the chicken pox virus stays in your system throughout your entire life and can lead to shingles during times of stress). I hope you and your family never get shingles either. It is extremely painful. I would never wish it upon anyone. I hope nobody has to suffer from any disease.
Sara, WOW!!! Since you won't be returning to this blog, you won't read my comment, but you are the exact IGNORANT mother that thinks that your child's illness only affects him or her rather than helping spread the disease to the rest of the population. Mom on a Line is being very kind to you in her response, but parents like you make me sick to my stomach (and I have healthy kids--NOT like Mom on a Line). SHAME ON YOU for being so extremely self-centered (centered on your family alone and not the population surrounding you). UGH! I, too, hope that your kids never get these illnesses but not because those illnesses could harm your kids but rather because your kids could harm someone like Dancing Queen with their germs and truly kill her. In my mind, that's pretty darn close to manslaughter.
ReplyDelete