Thursday, November 12, 2009

Waffling

I have waffled back and forth on getting the H1N1 vaccine for Kurt. When I read that the vaccine has ingredients that have not been tested, I thought no thanks. When I read that the government relieved the drug companies from being liable for harm, I thought no thanks.

When I hear warnings on the news that the flu is worse, perhaps fatal, for someone with underlying medical conditions, that's when I freak, especially when the news story used epilepsy as an example of an underlying condition.

Kurt is medically fragile. He has, in the past, had multiple seizures from illness. Pneumonia a few years ago caused seizures and dehydration, and a hospitalization. And the worst case was ten years ago when a nasty virus caused status epilepticus, a life-threatening situation when the brain is in a state of persistent seizure.

So I called Kurt's neurologist and asked for his advice. He said get the vaccine. Of course, when I called our clinic, the vaccine wasn't available to the general public in our area.

Then I went back to, okay, maybe Kurt won't get it. Or, since he received the seasonal flu vaccine, maybe he'll have a mild case. Kurt is healthier now. He had a cold at Halloween and got over it in 4 days, without any seizures.

I follow the Dream Mom blog, dreammom.blogspot.com, about her Dream Son, a medically fragile teen. He has intractable seizures and other conditions. She explained that her son is severely disabled. I read that her son has the H1N1 flu and is in PICU, with a ventilator. Having been in that situation with Kurt ten years ago, my heart goes out to them. It is traumatic, and life or death.

These are the cases that scare me. I hope we can get the vaccine soon.

2 comments:

  1. Seems like you've given considerable concederation to this, and made an informed choice.

    ReplyDelete


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