The end of March was my family vacation and unfortunately Justin had to take his National Boards right in the middle of it. So I had to leave Justin behind and went with the family to EUROPE! My parents figured its only going to get harder to have these family vacations now that Amie and I are both having babies. My sister Kara also missed out but she is on a Mission spreading the gospel in Independence, MO. Even though I missed my husband, it was still an amazing trip. My dad had a medical conference in Brussels, Belgium so we all flew into London and while we stayed there for 3 nights in a 5 start hotel he went on to Brussels. We met up with him there for a night, then we all went on to Paris for the rest of the trip. We saw so many wonderful things in each city. We ate some great food as well as some not so great food too. The two pregnant ladies had some difficulty walking all day but we were so glad we got to be there and experience it all. Thanks mom and dad for the once-in-a-lifetime trip!
I did bring back something from Europe that I didn't mean to though... the measles! I returned to Redding and thought I was getting the flu or a cold because my brother had been sick and I wasn't feeling great. That next weekend though I had a high fever, spots all over my body, spots in my mouth, bright red eyes, and a terrible cough. Home care is really the only treatment for measles but Justin took me to the emergency room when my fever was 104 to get checked out and pump me with some liquids to help bring it down. I stayed there for 7 hours and was out of it. I had to be quarantined. When I saw myself in the mirror I realized that I'd be pretty scared of myself if I didn't know what was going on. The nurses didn't want to release me but instead just monitor me for 3 days while the results of my blood test came back. The infection control Dr. knew that there wasn't really anything they could do for me there anymore. He had been talking with Justin and knew I'd be in good hands at home. As long as I stayed quarantined and came in if any complications arose, I was able to go home. Justin took great care of me and I made good recovery. It was a little scary there for a minute though. As far as we can tell the baby is OK too. I did make the news however! Without using my name they made a pretty good campaign for the vaccination companies and made me look like a menace to society. Hey, I didn't know I had the measles when I went out to Olive Garden! I thought it was the flu!
http://www.redding.com/news/2014/apr/08/shasta-county-sees-first-measles-case-in-17/
http://www.krcrtv.com/living/health/shasta-co-sees-first-measles-case-in-17-years/25369296
After seeing what the CDC was doing to my family and the comments people made about the articles I was pretty upset. I felt like I was being compared to a terrorist, intentionally harming others. Once I knew I had the measles I obviously stayed away from people. But why should they be so scared if they were vaccinated? My parents chose not to vaccinate me and I do not hold that against them. Did I enjoy having these illnesses? Of course not but my immune system has been strengthened by having chicken pox, measles, and rubella, etc. The measles is not a deadly disease. It used to be commonplace for children to get it and recover without any problems. Only if they had certain serious but very rare complications was it deadly. "From 1953-1963, about 500,000 children got the Measles every year out of a population of 2.5 to 4 million who were susceptible. That is a 12.5 to 20% infection rate. Of those infected about 500 had serious complications and died. That is a 0.1% mortality rate." A look at this graph shows that the measles was already on its way down due to better health and sanitary standards before the vaccine was even introduced. Hmm.
Check our this article to learn more about the measles https://www.drhansen.com/
I don't like to be in the middle of a controversy, but I was thrown in face first. I believe some vaccines are good and even necessary. I think that whether or not parents choose to vaccinate their children is a personal decision to be made thoughtfully and prayerfully. I can respect those who choose to vaccinate as well as those who do not, without argument. I just wish that others would show the same respect, as we are all just doing what we believe to be best for families and children.
