250th Post!

Don't get too excited. I don't really have anything great to talk about. I am going to get on my soapbox for a little bit and talk about my favorite subject lately: immunizations.

Remember how Polio was eradicated in all but 4 countries? Yeah, me too. I know elderly people who were stricken with Polio when they were children and they are crippled now. I used to visit teach a woman who got Polio when she was a kid, and is now confined to a wheelchair and is in a lot of pain because of the Polio she got 80 years ago. It's not pretty to watch. I never knew anyone my age with Polio because there wasn't anyone. Everyone had been vaccinated against it. And now Polio is on the rise again. Mostly in 3rd world countries because people cannot afford the vaccine. It costs $.30 to vaccinate a child. Polio is no longer extinct in the US either. Is that a money issue? Probably not. More than likely, a parent chooses not to vaccinate his or her child for various reasons. The great thing about America is that people can choose. Choice is also principle in the Plan of Salvation. I have no issues with people practicing their right to choose; however, sometimes people make decisions based off of false information and mass hysteria, and their choices, in turn, have consequences for themselves and others.

Last week, I got a call from a lady at church who babysat Maggie the week earlier. Her son had been exposed to Whooping Cough at preschool and at church by children who were not vaccinated. She took her son to the doctor, he was put on a prophylactic antibiotic, and she started making a list and calling everyone who he had contact with since being exposed to the infected children. Maggie was one of those children. I started thinking I needed to call everyone that Maggie had been in contact with to warn them. I was about to do that and then Robert told me to wait until I talked to our doctor. Dr. Berry was out of town the next day when I called, but I did get to speak to another doctor who told me that since Maggie and I were up-to-date on our vaccines that we had nothing to worry about - we couldn't get it, and therefore couldn't give it to anyone. I didn't need to call everyone and let them know about Maggie's possible exposure. I slept better that night knowing that we would be OK.

I also thought a lot about why a parent wouldn't want to give his or her child the most protection against diseases, and thus giving his or her child a better shot (pun intended) at a good life. There are those who say that immunizations cause autism. I just don't see enough evidence to support that theory. Granted, I don't have an autistic child, but my gut feeling is that kids with autism just come to this earth wired that way. Why? I don't know. I'll talk to God about that when I get the chance.

Others don't want to immunize a child because they're afraid that the small amount of inactive virus will cause their child to get sick, even if only temporarily. My husband says that every time he gets a flu shot that he gets sick afterward. I have news for him. The sick he gets after getting a shot is nothing compared to what the flu really is. The real flu makes you feel like death warned over for about 3 weeks, and it kills people.

There are all sorts of conspiracy theories running around out there that people use as excuses for not vaccinating their kids. Obviously, I don't believe in any of them. I actually considered not having Maggie get the Chicken Pox vaccine because I thought that Chicken Pox were a right of passage. And then I started thinking about it and I felt that if I could minimize the suffering that my child had to experience in this life, I would do it. Chicken Pox may be a drop in the bucket as far as suffering, but if I could help my child avoid it, I would.

I don't like living in fear. For those few hours before I could talk to my doctor, the whole neighborhood was in a buzz about whether or not they should quarantine their kids and get them on antibiotics pronto. I would call it hysteria. I didn't like that. And I have seriously hard feelings toward those people in the ward who chose not to vaccinate their children and then bring them to nursery to play with all of the other kids in the ward, who then go play with other kids in the ward. Wildfire. It spreads like that. And it spreads exponentially. I'll probably give those people nasty looks when I see them next. It's not the Christian thing to do, but I'm not perfect. I'll repent later.

My personal beliefs are that science and religion are complimentary. Really, they both work together for the benefit of mankind, and I believe that God gives us medicine especially to make our mortal experience better. Light, truth, and knowledge all come from the same source - God. I'm going to graciously accept His blessings and vaccinate my kids and myself. And go to the doctor when we're sick. I don't have any control over Robert, but I think this most recent experience helped him to think a little differently about things because he got his Dtap, or whatever they call it, on Saturday. Maybe I am actually chipping away at his hard, crusty, essential oiled exterior afterall. I don't think I'll have such success with his other family members.

So that's my Soapbox. Does anyone know when "Sister Wives" starts up again? I bet they don't immunize their kids, but I sure do like watchng that show.