Vaccinations

Avery went to get her second dose of her 2 month shots this week.  She got her polio vaccine and her vaccine to protect against bacterial meningitis.  She was a champ.  She was all smiles by the time we got home.  All this controversy over vaccines has got me thinking about how lucky we are to have the option to protect our children from these deadly diseases.   (I think Avery looks like a poster child for vaccination in this picture... not phased a bit by her shots)

 

My mimi- pictured below- contracted polio at the age of two.  She had a pretty severe case that left her mostly paralyzed from her waist down.  She walked with the aide of knee-ankle-foot-orthoses and crutches for most of her life.  She is dependent on a wheelchair now due to a bad fall that broke both her legs.  But I can only imagine how traumatic it must have been for my great-grandparents to send their young daughter to get care in another state at the Shriner's hospital, while they helplessly waited for her to get better.  

Today, we debate over the safety of vaccines and whether our children need all of them... but it is truly a wonderful gift to be able to protect our children from some of these awful diseases.  

It is a personal decision, I know, but we have chosen to give our children all their vaccines at the recommended ages.  We have just chosen an alternative schedule to give one live vaccine and one dead vaccine at a time.  It makes it a little more inconvenient for me to take them to the doctor more often, but I feel better knowing that they are getting all their shots in a way that is less likely to harm them.  

I just want to say to all the polio survivors still living... you are truly amazing people.  Polio survivors are a unique group... I have never seen people more determined, independent and tough.  I never heard my Mimi complain about her disability.  She was determined to be independent and do things on her own as long as she possibly could.  I pray for her everyday now because I know that her life is a lot tougher now that her independence has been taken away.  

I was proud to give Avery her polio vaccine and prouder still of my Mimi who survived polio!