Home Author
Author

TheVaccineMom

True Stories

You got this. You do you. Happy Mother’s Day to all!

by TheVaccineMom
written by TheVaccineMom

Being a mom isn’t easy, especially during this pandemic, where not only are we homeschooling, but many of us are trying to work, as well. Full-time kids can drive you crazy. But I think that’s normal, and okay to feel that way. 

My daughter says I often look stressed. (I’m sure I do because I am.) My son comes back with, “you got this.” 

I got this. 

If I’m honest, what gets me through isn’t in thinking, “they’re only little for this long,” or “a happy home is a messy home,” or whatever that saying is. Sorry to say that it’s not those things. 

It’s my passion for something beyond this home. It’s science; it’s education; it’s writing; it’s being able to relate to and help other parents make the informed decision to vaccinate their child or children. 

Without passion, a hobby, or a goal, it makes this whole social distancing thing really hard mentally and physically. 

As mothers, we tend to feel bad about saying no to getting down and playing. I’m not saying not to get down and play. BUT, sometimes you need to say no. Sometimes you need to let your children know that you need time for your fun, your passion, your hobby, and your goals. It’s great to show them that you’re not just their parent. You’re a whole person doing things you love. 

My daughter said just a bit ago, “are you working on vaccine stuff?” 

“Well, yes ma’am, I am, and it’s important to me; go play, and I’ll be there in a bit.”

Yesterday I told my son that I’m not doing the puzzle with him because I’m writing something meaningful. He turned around and did it by himself. 

I don’t feel sorry about that. 

Continue Reading

0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
What do health care professionals have to say?

What do healthcare professionals have to say? Luis: The family physician

by TheVaccineMom
written by TheVaccineMom

Luis is a first-generation U.S. citizen and came from a family of migrant farmworkers. After a military residency, he became a board-certified medical doctor.

He is a family physician, working part-time in Fresno and the other part of the time in a rural community outside of the city. Luis sees everyone from pregnant women to the elderly and down to infants. The two locations, however similar, tend to serve different demographics.

Although he has some first and second-generation immigrants in the innercity area of Fresno, most of the patients that visit Luis are “typical Americans.” Luis says that this community tends to be more resistant to vaccinations.

In contrast, outside of the Fresno area, Luis says that 90% of his patients are rural immigrant and stationary farmworkers, most of which are below the poverty level. The vast majority are uninsured or on Medicaid, which in California, they call MediCal. He also sees many self-employed people like construction workers with no insurance.

My clinic is one of the few places that take the uninsured or MediCal patients, so if I don’t take them in, they don’t have anywhere to go.

Luis says he is still tied to his migrant culture.

“My personal perspective is just the same as theirs. Most of these farmworkers come from Mexico, El Salvidor, or Central America. In those countries, preventive medicine is huge. That’s the main type of medicine, so most of the patients don’t have an issue with

vaccines; they don’t even question it. If you order it, they’ll take it.

In Luis’s opinion, migrant workers more often than not, belive in vaccines, while natural-born Americans are more likely to question vaccines. The latter often accept the mandatory vaccines but may decline those that are not mandatory.

Some take the mandatory vaccines for school and decline flu or HPV. Two or three out of the 30 patients I see a day do not get optional vaccines. Once in a while, a parent doesn’t want shots all at once. Sometimes I’ll get someone who doesn’t want them at all, and I’ll explain the risks, my personal opinion, and my training. I respect their opinion. As long as they know the risks, then it’s on them.

The risks of vaccines are minimal, Luis explains.

Continue Reading
2 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Lydia G. and her three children
True Stories

Guest post: Twelve Years Ago I Stopped Vaccinating My Children. Then I Changed My Mind.

by TheVaccineMom
written by TheVaccineMom
Below is a guest post by Lydia G., mother of three:  
 
When I met my husband over about 15 years ago I was a quality control chemist at a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant. I tested raw materials and monitored plant reactions and the purification process. You cant fart in there without documenting it. So I know how much care goes into these products. Still, I fell for the anti-vax rhetoric. If it can happen to me, it can happen to anybody. 
 
We moved for my husband’s career when I became pregnant, so I quit my job. I knew I wanted to be a stay at home mom, and give my child the best start I could. I breastfed, I cloth diapered, I baby-wore and made my own baby food. I also planned to vaccinate. I did vaccinate. I got a flu shot while pregnant. I took her to her 8-week appointment. I was nervous. I remember sitting there thinking, we can’t undo this if it goes wrong. But my daughter got 3 vaccines. And a few hours later she started crying and crying in a robotic high pitched squeal the likes I never heard. When she stopped she slept so deeply I was afraid she would stop breathing. She nursed poorly and stopped looking at me. This was scary. When I talked to the public health nurse, she brushed me off. She said this was normal, and that the baby was fine. When calling me for the next round of vaccines, she lied and said my daughter would not be able to go to school. Then she said there was a polio outbreak in Toronto brought by immigrants. Then she said she would do anything to vaccinate my baby. This broke my trust completely. I didn’t know what to do. My daughter did get better after a couple of days, which seemed like an eternity. 
 
Lydia G. and her three children
Lydia G. and her three children
I brought her in for her 4-month vaccines, but I had lost my trust so I decided to skip DTAP-IPV-HIB because the anti-vaxxers convinced me that my daughter had “cry encephalitis” from brain inflammation. She got her MenCon-C and Prevnar and was fine, but after that, I fell into the rabbit hole and just could not continue. I became consumed by their stories. SIDS, autism, cancer, autoimmune disease, allergies. They shared PubMed studies and articles. I believed these parents and supposed health professionals. I believed I was saving my child. That maybe I could prevent her from getting my autoimmune disease. I went on to have 2 more children. I did not vaccinate them at all. I ran into other moms that were questioning vaccines and we felt like we were sparing our children. It was a dirty secret. We knew the other moms feared us. So we kept our mouths shut. That said I was never one to say nobody should vaccinate. I believed that we should have informed consent. And that we should do what we feel is best for our families. 
Continue Reading
3 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Newer Posts
Older Posts