Well I have always said I am pro-choice, for everything. I believe people have the right to do what they want with their body and for children, parents have the right to choice what they want with their children's bodies. However, the video attached to this article http://aattp.org/hey-anti-vaxxers-nyc-court-rules-parents-dont-have-the-right-to-send-unvaccinated-children-to-school/ about parents not vaccinating really got to me today. I guess with everything going on in my life I am having a harder time understanding why people do not vaccinate their children. By not vaccinating a child, that child is a potential threat to someone like me.
I hate to say that children are walking germ machines, but as a mom I know this to be a true statement. I have cancer, going through chemo, and I am getting ready to have a stem cell transplant. I am sick, but I am not germy or contagious. I have a disease that is not currently preventable, Lord knows I wish it was preventable because it sucks. Anyway, I currently try not to let my having cancer inhibit me from anything, especially being a mom. I go to the park with my germy kid and other germy kids. I take my kid to the play areas in the mall that are oozing with germs. I know my immune system is low with the chemo, I get sick easy. But, I wash my hands A LOT, along with my sons, and have a constant supply of "magic soap," aka hand sanitizer. Furthermore, I try to detox my body through healthy eating and exercise so I can maintain normal mom activities with germy kids. Of course I know I am risking by health by being around kids, but I have a kid and I am not going to make him miss out on being a kid because I am sick, with a non preventable disease. However, with my upcoming stem cell transplant my plans of normalcy might have to change, especially with the increase in parents not vaccinating their kids and outbreaks of preventable diseases.
From what my doctors have told me, I will literally have no immunity following my stem cell transplant. The stem cell transplant will follow some intense chemo that will kill both good and bad cells in my body, this includes my memory blood cells where immunity is stored. Therefore it will be like I never had any of the vaccines I have had in the past. I, a grown woman, will be like a baby with new, un-vaccinated blood. I will need to get re-vaccinated for all the things I was once vaccinated against. I have to wait at least six months, but closer to a year, before I can begin re-vaccinating my body since my body will be too weak to handle the vaccines immediately after the transplant. This means cancer will get a small victory in my life because I won't get to go to the park and do what I want, be a normal mom, because of cancer. I fear that I will be scared to go to the park since my immunity will be much more compromised than it is now. Kids have germs and some of their germs can literally kill me. I don't want my son to miss out on being a kid because I have cancer but I want to see my kid be an adult. This means I may not be able to take him to play with other kids for a while. That sucks and isn't fair. Not saying that non-vaccinated children are the only reason I will fear going out, but it something I have to consider. I, like all humans, am selfish so I do not like having to think about others, but when it comes to my health, I have too. I feel like non-vaccinated children are selfish too, well their parents are, because they are not considerate of people like me who are immunocompromised. Non-vacinated kids go to the same parks and same stores I want to go to; but I can't go because they were selfish and didn't vaccinate and think about me. By being non-vaccinated, I risk catching their preventable illnesses. If my cancer were contagious I would not go out, but my disease is not contagious. If I could get vaccinated against cancer I would. I choose to get vaccinated, heck, I want to be vaccinated, but I can't for a period of time. This period of time makes me susceptible to a sickness that could be prevented if everyone else would not be selfish, think about me, and just be vaccinated.
This whole cancer shenanigans has made my ability to empathize towards the choice to not vaccinate difficult. I have friends who don't vaccinate, does their choice to not vaccinate make them any less my friend? NO, it is their choice! However, when I am not protected from preventable diseases because I have to wait to get vaccinated, it makes me hesitant to hang out with their kids. Don't get me wrong, I am still pro-choice and I choose to vaccinate. However, now that I could be recipient of the negative that can happen when a person is not vaccinated, it makes it harder for me to see the side of not vaccinating.
Someone said to me, "do you think maybe the toxins in all the vaccines you had contributed to your cancer?" My response to that is "maybe". The truth is, I have gotten this far in life without a known preventable disease. I would rather get more vaccines and know that I am prevented from dying in a way I can control. I would rather my death be from something I could not prevent, wouldn't you? Cancer sucks. Period. At this point in our society there is no one way to prevent cancer. Like I said before, if there were a vaccine against all cancer, with research to back it up, I would be in line to get it. Now I have cancer, I pray that I will have a "cancer immunity". Probably won't, but it is nice to believe I got it once, well twice, and after this stem cell transplant I will done with cancer. Realistically though, cancer will always be part of my life. Am I happy about that, NO. However, I am happy that I have never gotten measles, rubella, hepatitis, pneumococcal disease, and countless other preventable diseases because my mother chose to vaccinate me. It is funny that she put thought into vaccinating me and now, by me getting a stem cell transplant, her thought becomes obsolete because my body will have no record of the vaccines. Now, as an adult I will get to choose whether or I not I vaccinate myself and I without a doubt choose to vaccinate myself. I choose to protect myself from preventable illness. Sure I am risking toxins in my body, but there are so many toxins on this earth now that I consider the toxins in vaccines a "good" toxin because it is helping keep me well from some diseases.
Please let me know your opinion on vaccination. I am not looking to change anyone's opinion on vaccination because we are all entitled to our opinion but I do love hearing both sides of an argument. Maybe your opinion will help me empathize with non-vaccinating more.
Have a healthy day!
