The importance of Immunisation

Not immunising your child is the same as allowing your child to ride in a car without a seat belt; unrestrained and completely unprotected. You might never have an accident, but then again a quick sudden slam on the brakes to avoid hitting something will cause your child to fly through the windscreen.
It seems almost 'unnatural', an emotionally impossible thing not to strap your child in. Guilt stops us; what if we have an accident?
Why is it not the same when people opt out of immunising their children? is it the misguided belief that the diseases we are trying to protect them from are antiquated and no longer relevant? or just like my own parents, who had the insane notion of a sinister government conspiracy.
Isn't it healthy for children to get Measles & Chicken Pox? actually no.

Speak to a mother whose baby died from Whopping Cough, as told in Practical Parenting magazine, "Her last Breath". Its a heartbreaking tale of a death that could have been prevented.

I met a woman a few weeks ago that proudly stated that she refused to have her child immunised. I was instantly compelled to commit grievous bodily harm of an atrocious nature on this woman. Being in public, I held that thought with a tight hold, but it was very hard.
Instead I took a very big obvious step back from her and said "My parents had exactly the same attitude as you. Every day for the last 20 years I have lived with the burden of my parents decision".

I am rejoicing in a government initiative to ban all un-immunised children from attending day care or schools. If you don't immunise your child, be prepared to home school and work from home for the rest of your child's youth. There is talk of government departments not employing non immunised adults in the future, which counts me out.

When my brother met his wife Barabra, a Chinese immigrant, he saw the most beautiful girl in the world. The rest of the family, on the other hand were confronted with a cripple, a girl with twisted mangled legs of not much use. After the initial shock wore off, we too no longer saw Barabra's legs, but the wonderful person that she is. Barabra was 4 when she was stricken with Polio. These diseases still exist because some countries don't have the resources or the respect for its citizens to protect them.

For all the love and care, and the great deal of sacrifice and discipline my parents took to raise their bunch of 4 in a 'earthy natural' environment, they had handed me a death sentence in the process. Their unintended consequences.
At 27, 3 very young children, a mortgage, a husband, 2 cats and half way through a mandatory career driven degree, I caught chicken pox from a lady who decided that she was bored staying at home with her infected daughter.
All I did was stand at a sandwich bar waiting for my lunch when both came to stand next to me. 5 minutes of conversation was all that it took for my health to change forever. I had walked into the cafe with an empty stomach, and walked out with a sandwich, a bottle of water and a ticking time bomb.

As an adult, chicken pox often turns into Shingles, just like Herpes from which chicken pox is of the same virus, it never goes away. If you're very unlucky, you get ITP (Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia Purpera) unluckier still, is the chronic type.

I'll spare you the long boring and most arduous story of what happened, but I will enlighten you a little bit with what life is like as a chronic ITP sufferer.

Anemia, abnormal blood cell structure, internal hemorrhaging, profuse bleeding from the roof of the mouth, gums (lovely sight when talking to clients or customers when this occurs) nose bleeds, external hemorrhaging, daily headaches, stomach and organ ulcers, mental confusion, extreme cold, fatigue, breathlessness, low blood pressure, blood transfusions, enlarged spleen, swollen tongue, curly fingernails, difficulty swallowing (how I love the choking bit), insatiable thirst, injections, monthly blood tests, Prednisone, radiotherapy, removal of the spleen, heart problems, stroke, dizziness, nausea. The trademark red lesion dots on the skin that come with the territory are so numerous now that Little Miss Mischief can draw 'join the dots' and cover my entire body without taking her texta off.

Because ITP is an autoimmune deficiency syndrome, which I never say in its short form, AIDS, because most people automatically think its THAT type of aids, and its not. Its the same type as people who have cancer etc, which means that I should have no immunity or resistance to colds, bugs etc which can quickly lead to death.
The ironic part of that is I haven't had a cold or flu since 2005, the only time I am sick is directly due to the disease itself. Apparently, pregnancy can increase remission periods to 5 years and revert the blood cells to normal structure and give a female ITP sufferer incredible protection, which I didn't find out until 2 years after my last pregnancy.
As the 'pregnancy insurance' is wearing out, and my last treatment took more than 16 days instead of 3, before I started to feel better again, I know that I am now walking a fine line as remission periods will get shorter and shorter.
When making decisions on your child's future, think very carefully. Again I say, never use your child to make statement of your own political or religious agendas.
If I had been capable as a baby of making the decision on being immunised, I would have gladly said "Yes Please"