Sick
If I ever do get a tattoo, it will be probably be the following, on my forehead: “If your kid is acting like an asshole, she is getting sick.”
I seem to need to learn this anew every time. Blech.
So she all but passed out in her food tonight and last, and the poor wee thing is so pathetic and snuff-oh-ly, as she calls it, and you can warm dinner rolls on her red little cheeks.
We got her vaccinated against the flu (although Jim, who was the one who took her in, cannot confirm if it was regular or swine flu) so I am hoping it’s just garden-variety fall nasal crud. Knocking wood, selfishly, because I appear to be getting it too. Fun!
Vaccinations, there’s a controversial topic. I come down firmly on the side of, “What you have a shot for that? Here, have an arm!”
I do so because of an experience with childhood illness that is indelibly etched on my mind. When I was 4-ish, I got the measles. I was so sick and my fever was so intense that I hallucinated that all sorts of crazy things were happening to my bed — flying, spinning, you name it. I remember begging someone to make it stop, but of course it wouldn’t.
I would NEVER want to inflict that on my kid, nor would I want her to endure the unbelievable itching of chickenpox. Heck, I am among the last of the generation to be vaccinated against smallpox and I don’t entirely approve of that being done away with, because if measles and chickenpox, the lesser of the fever-and-rash illnesses, were that horrific, why take a chance on the biggie?
I had friends horribly ill with mumps, I’ve seen people throw up from whooping cough. No picnics, either of those.
Here’s the thing, though — you prepare against what you have experience with, don’t you?
I am skeptical, strongly, of the autism-vaccine link based on the science I have read on the subject. But then, I’ve never seen a kid turn into a disassociative zombie after getting a shot. I know what happens when you don’t get a shot— it sucks balls — so I got her the shots. If I was friends with someone whose kid, god forbid, had had a bad vaccine reaction but had never experienced or witnessed the effects of one of the illnesses these vaccines fight, well, the danger of the vaccine would be more present in my mind than that of the disease.
Which is to say that although I worry about things like herd immunity being compromised by other people’s decisions, I can’t entirely fault them for deciding what they decide.
I have to believe that we are all mama bears protecting our children the best way we know how.
This is such the topic of the day, isn’t it? I hear you on everything you are saying. I remember getting the mumps — ugh. Truthfully, I’m straddling the fence on this thing, reading all I can, listening carefully, talking with other friends. Mama bear, indeed.
Comment by Dina — November 2, 2009 @ 9:20 pm
Hope you both get well soon!
Comment by Mary Carey — November 2, 2009 @ 9:20 pm
Yeah…. I try and stay as informed as possible on vaccinations. As far as I can tell from all that I have read, the timing of childhood innocculations simply coincide with the timing of the onset of Autism. For a while there was a tenuous connection with the thimerosal/mercury thing… but there are no vaccines that use the questionable materials any longer. And Autism marches on.
In the end, I am a herd beast. I can say that for sure, because there is something in just about any vaccine ever made that causes Birdie’s little arm (and back in the day, her chubby leg) to swell up hot and tight. She IS the kid that has the bad reaction. I still make her get a shot for everything, along with the rest of us, I figure better her to have a stiff arm for a few days than to get and pass around a bignasty. I am not so cavalier in the face of her poor arm, but there ya are. I am the mama, I make the calls.
I know something of misery and sickness, yo. I heartily wish this illness to pass over your house quickly and quietly.
Comment by bon — November 2, 2009 @ 10:23 pm
Hope you feel better soon. And I agree with you 100 percent, especially the last line.
Comment by Melissa — November 2, 2009 @ 11:17 pm
I guess I am that other kind of mama bear. I am conflicted, but am making the choice not to vaccinate (for the h1n1 flu) and as for the other vaccinations we do a delayed schedule. It is true, thimerosal is not used anymore but aluminum still is. I loved this book
http://www.amazon.com/Vaccine-Book-Decision-Parenting-Library/dp/0316017507
and I think it would help anyone struggling with the choices regarding vaccinations. It explains all of the awful diseases, how vaccinations are made and provides an alternative vaccination schedule (if one decided to use it) for those of us who tend to be nervous for various reasons.
I would never recommend that most parents skip vaccinating their children. I think it is a very important thing to do. However for myself, because autism has shown up in our family and there is no definitive proof that vaccinations don’t in some cases trigger it, I have chosen to do things a bit differently. It’s scary, and I am constantly questioning if I am doing the right thing, but I go with my gut. I guess that’s all a mama bear can do.
Comment by Mama D — November 3, 2009 @ 12:19 am
Amen to that. I have to send permission slips back to school today, the H1N1 vaccine is next week in our schools, and I’ve had trouble deciding what to do. I’m not too twitchy about adverse reactions, except that sometimes you can actually get the illness from the vaccine. My Zeebie got chicken pox from the shot, and then shared it with his sister. If we bring home swine flu, I’ll be pretty sad.
Comment by sarah k. — November 3, 2009 @ 6:53 am
Well said! I’ve got a healthy skepticism about our healthcare system and the pharmaceutical industry. But I also grew up in a developing nation, where diseases like typhoid and cholera still run rampant and kill people every year. And guess what? We didnt’ get those diseases as kids because we were wealthy (relative to the local population) and got vaccinated. Based on what I read about H1N1 and the seasonal flu and pregnant women and fetuses, the risks seemed to balance out in favor of vaccination. So I waited 5 hours in the rain to get the swine flu shot and now I have a cold.
Whaddayagonnado?
MamaD — thanks for posting about that book. I try to stay on top of all the information regarding different vaccines, but its hard. As a new Mama Bear, I want to get my paws on all the info I can!
Comment by Marie — November 3, 2009 @ 10:06 am
Oh… well I guess I should amend what I said about getting every shot in the arm possible. I am opting out of the H1N1 vaccine. This year we all got the seasonal flu shots, but since Dadguy is the only official asthma sufferer in the family and is willing to chance the swine and it’s possibilities… and other than that there are no huge risk factors for my kids…. well, we’ll give it a skip unless it becomes more available. In other words, we’ll wait till all the high risk folks in the community get a shot (get it? haha) at the available supply of vaccine, then maybe we’ll get one. Maybe. Frankly, the swine flu is far less dangerous than the seasonal in general.
Then again… in my current state, a good round of swine flu may kill me.
And i guess I should amend ALSO… because, like Mama D, I do a delayed vaccination schedule on several of shots they give to infants. I guess I am just saying that in the end, my kiddos pretty much get the full range of herd protection.
Comment by bon — November 3, 2009 @ 12:38 pm
I hope you both get better soon. Lots of huggies!
Comment by Mama — November 3, 2009 @ 12:50 pm
Poor Eliza and poor you as parenting sick kids is no picnic with the worry and the whining and all!
I think I am preaching to the converted here but a friend of a friend wrote this very good article: http://www.slate.com/id/2232977/
It is about how her kid, who has cancer and is in chemo, can’t go to a daycare even for a few hours because of the presence of even one unvaccinated kid. It is a quick and very well written read - highly recommend it.
Comment by Meredith — November 4, 2009 @ 9:08 pm
ummm… yeah, turns out the folks down the street got the H1N1 vaccine and then a week and a half later? Got the H1N1 virus. Bummer.
Comment by bon — November 5, 2009 @ 11:32 am