Of Pigs and Flu

People who know me know I am very gun shy of western medicine. This is not news. There are things children are vaccinated for (like chicken pox) that make no sense to me. Gardisal is another hot button topic for me, good thing Lissa is only 2 and it is a non issue at the moment! But then there is swine flu. Picture those words blinking in my brain like a neon Vegas sign. Well, I assume Vegas has neon signs; I have never really been there! LOL

Anyway, swine flu makes me fret big time. Jo, whose blog I read often had her son hospitalized for a long time as a result of swine flu. I have read so much about swine flu and the pros and cons of the flu shot that my eyes are rolling up in my head. There are concerns out there that the vaccine has been rushed to market. There are doctors saying that they would never administer to this to their own family.

And there are other people, including Harvard Medical School, saying the vaccine is safe and is potentially the best option for high risk people. My children have been deemed high risk according to the letter sent to me by our family MD. He knows me well as he also included instructions on how to opt out, but noted that he is obligated to notify the CDC of refusals for high risk patients.

KC was born preemie, addicted, and with a family history of asthma and had a "heart incident" while in NICU. Thankfully he is thriving and bright and wonderful and 5. But I can't for a minute risk that he becomes seriously ill.

Lissa was born full term, addicted and her first mom had no prenatal care at all. The first year of her life, Lissa got the "regular" flu. I think she was about 4 months when she contracted it. We brought her to the Dr. and he agreed she was ill but not seriously. I would agree with his assessment. Merely 24 hours later he was a whisker away from feeling she needed hospitalization, her condition had deteriorated so rapidly. Even now, she is a child who is either blooming with health (thankfully more often than not) or very very ill.

So we are having the vaccine administered today. Rob also was deemed high risk which makes a bit less sense to me. But I figure in for a penny in for a pound. Parenting is always about hoping you have made the right decision. It just doesn't usually feel so intense to me.