Vaccinations

I belong to a web board or online forum. It's predominantly women, save for I believe 2 men. I joined last year through a friend of mine from high school, shortly after I got pregnant. She had been on it for a while and raved about the practical parenting advice available. Since it was my first pregnancy I thought it would be a good idea.

The board itself has many topic areas, not just parenting. Everything, from mindless chatter about current events or silly random things, to house and home topics, cookery, relationships, pets, media and entertainment, crafting etc.... is covered. There is also a debates section which usually results in some sort of drama. One of the latest topics was over the H1N1 vaccination and whether or not members were planning on getting it.

PB and I strongly believe in vaccinations. Although there are some studies that show vaccinations may cause autism, it hasn't been proven conclusively and therefore, PB and I will make sure Corwin gets all of his vaccinations.

Part of the arguments on the board were from the pregnant women who were concerned about the potential side effects that the H1N1 vaccine could cause to their unborn child. If I was pregnant I'd be getting the vaccination as pregnant women are considered in one of the highest risk categories. When asked why, I merely explained that the possible consequence of not having the shot was not only miscarrying my unborn child but also dying myself. This would be unacceptable as I have no intention of widowing PB or leaving Corwin without a mother, especially if it is preventable. Others argued that vaccines aren't 100% effective.

I know this better than most people realize. Back in 2005, PB came home from work and within a day or two was complaining of a fever. He thought that he had developed an infection from a cut in his mouth so we went to our family doctor and got some antibiotics for him. Within a day or two, the fever was monumentally worse and PB was in bed all day - something he very rarely willingly does when he's sick. He had no other symptoms except for the fever. Everyone we spoke to said it was most likely something viral. We waited a few more days and he broke into a rash all over his upper body and on his thighs. Back to the doctor we went. "It's got to be something viral," he said and sent us home. His fever never went below 40C unless he was on Tylenol or Advil and he was shivering violently right before he was due for his next dosage. I kept telling him that something else was horribly wrong. We did extensive research on the internet and came up with all sorts of things but nothing seemed logical or definitive.

Finally I convinced him that I should take him to see Dr. Keystone, the tropical disease specialist at Toronto General who also ran the Travel clinic. We had seen Dr. Keystone before to get PB completely vaccinated for everything possible that he could come across while he was away at work. Traveling around the world, many times in third world countries, we wanted to make sure PB was prepared for anything. Dr. Keystone had said that if PB ever came down with anything odd to give him a call. This was certainly time for that.

Dr. Keystone saw us immediately and within minutes of taking some history diagnosed PB with typhoid. Strangely enough, PB was vaccinated for typhoid, but we learned that it was only 70% effective. They took some blood samples and within a few days confirmed that PB did in fact have typhoid. PB started taking a stronger antibiotic and within a few days his fever finally waned and although he was weakened he was better. Shortly after, PB developed a pulmonary embolism as a result of his being in bed from the fever for so long. PB was out of work for approximately 5 months in total in trying to treat everything and then get his medical to prove to the FAA that he was indeed safe to fly again. I totally understand that vaccinations are not 100% effective.

However, as a member of society I also feel that if it's in my power to stop spreading preventable diseases by vaccinations I will certainly do so. I can't say I'll do it without asking questions for new vaccinations, but certainly for vaccines that have been around for quite some time, I'll take my chances on the lack of 100% effectiveness and protect my family.