Of all the decisions I've had to make since Autism the hardest, by far, doesn't even have to do with Oliver. And it is a decision I have to revisit every three months. The decision to vaccinate my Sammy is so hard that I usually choose to just ignore it altogether, keeping him warm and safe in the cocoon of our little green house and trying not to think of all the germs that are just outside those walls plotting how to get at his tiny little immune system. So, call me an ostrich if you must but this is one decision that, for the moment, is being made by default.
Today I am taking him- one month late because I couldn't face it a month ago - to the peds office for his "well baby" visit. My last visit there left me feeling slightly bruised and I almost decided to quit going altogether. Really, the "visits" are just an exercise of me forking over $35 for the jab of the needle. Without the needle do I really need to spend $35 for them to tell me that he is growing and gaining as he should be? But I don't want to go to the place where bad mothers go when they die so I will take him and pay the $35 and consider myself lucky that I get some benefit out of our insurance.
Wish me luck.
Unlike many ASD kids, Henry seemed to exhibit his behaviors from the beginning, rather than easily correlated with a vaccine. Still, I was uneasy when it came time for Thomas' shots. I felt like I at least could ask more educated questions, but I did ultimately go ahead and have him vaccinated.
ReplyDeleteWhooping cough went around our high school this year. My teenage daughter came down with it (the vaccine wears off) and we all had to take an antibiotic. At that moment, I felt relieved that Tommy had been vaccinated. I tell this story only to give one example of a case where the vaccine seemed like a good thing. Most of the time they do seem dangerous, and a waste of money, and unpleasant experience for our little ones.
It's probably over by now, so I hope today went ok. The pediatrician can really be a disappointment. Before everything happened with Henry, I took my ped's word as gospel.
Wow. That's so funny that you wrote about vaccinations, because I have been thinking alot about it lately. I'm not sure what to do. My daughter will be going into kindergarten this fall and is due shots, Gabe's last shots were before he was diagnosed. I just want to cry at the thought of injecting my children with the same shots that come from companies that lie in the wake of an epidemic that may have been responsible for creating. Could my daughter react at 4 years old? I am shooting for an excemption. Gabe is in no way getting any more shots. I do not feel the medical community has given me reason to believe that they care about the welfare of my children.
ReplyDeleteSorry about the rant and rave :o)
Kristin
Thanks Eileen. I changed it. It must've gotten screwed up when I changed my template.
ReplyDeleteThe Ped. appt. actually went really well. I'll post about it tomorrow when I'm not so brain dead!