Farah
06-30-2009, 10:56 PM
So, I was talking to my friend yesterday and she said something that made a point to me. I mean, I've thought about what she said in a theoretical sense, but not a practical one.
Let me start with this. She has a 20month old son that has a SEVERE allergy to nuts and egg. So bad, that if there are nut particles in the air he breaks out. The egg is so bad that if he touches dough his hand swells up. The poor kid is really really allergic. The mom can't go to any party without having to make sure that she keeps him away from the food since most party food has either egg or nuts in it. The child can't eat bread or cakes and they can't go out for breakfast since there's egg everywhere!
We were talking about Charlie's upcoming vaccinations and I said how I had heard that after 2 years old there's a nasal mist flu vaccination that kids can take. Her son can't get the flu vaccination (shot) because it contains a high level of egg and I wasn't sure if the nasal spray had egg. Her son can't get his MMR vaccination because it contains egg. There are a few others that she can't do either, but I can't remember.
I asked my friend what that means for when he goes to school and she said (and this is the part that stuck out at me) "We have to depend on the rest of the world to be immune to it and pray it doesn't come near him"
After that I couldn't get that part out of my mind. I can't imagine what it'd be like to be a vaccinating parent and not able to get the vaccinations. I just wanted to give her a big hug and say "It'll be okay. He's going to outgrow this" and for her sake, I really really hope he does.
Let me start with this. She has a 20month old son that has a SEVERE allergy to nuts and egg. So bad, that if there are nut particles in the air he breaks out. The egg is so bad that if he touches dough his hand swells up. The poor kid is really really allergic. The mom can't go to any party without having to make sure that she keeps him away from the food since most party food has either egg or nuts in it. The child can't eat bread or cakes and they can't go out for breakfast since there's egg everywhere!
We were talking about Charlie's upcoming vaccinations and I said how I had heard that after 2 years old there's a nasal mist flu vaccination that kids can take. Her son can't get the flu vaccination (shot) because it contains a high level of egg and I wasn't sure if the nasal spray had egg. Her son can't get his MMR vaccination because it contains egg. There are a few others that she can't do either, but I can't remember.
I asked my friend what that means for when he goes to school and she said (and this is the part that stuck out at me) "We have to depend on the rest of the world to be immune to it and pray it doesn't come near him"
After that I couldn't get that part out of my mind. I can't imagine what it'd be like to be a vaccinating parent and not able to get the vaccinations. I just wanted to give her a big hug and say "It'll be okay. He's going to outgrow this" and for her sake, I really really hope he does.