Vaccinated

Amid all the H1N1 flurry, I kept going back and forth between vaccinating and not vaccinating. It made me nervous that the vaccine had been creating so quickly. Had there been time to adequately test it? On the other hand, I'm terrified at the possibility of the girls getting that particular strain of flu. One of two theories is true when it comes to the girls' immune systems. Either their immune systems are weaker due to their prematurity and overall sickness at birth or their immune systems are stronger due to the duress under which they were born and the following months of ailment after ailment their systems were forced to fend off. I'd like to think their little bodies are stronger after what they've been through, but who's to say for sure? In the end, it was a conversation with the girls' neonatologist, Dr. Lawson, that clenched it for me. When I asked what he recommended, he responded, without a second's hesitation, "Get it." That's all I needed to hear. Dr. Lawson got us through the girls' hospital stays; we trusted him with their lives, so his opinion carries a lot of weight.


Once the decision to get the vaccine was made, it became a matter of where to get it. Despite watching their pediatrician's website, we missed securing some of the initial delivery of the vaccine. When I called to make an appointment, it was all spoken for. We considered taking the girls to one of the various clinics that have been offered all over town by the city on the weekends, but Jeff argued that the girls would likely be exposed to more in line waiting for the vaccine than if we carried on as usual and waited for more to arrive at Dr. Mayberry's office. I agreed.

Tuesday of last week, I called Dr. Mayberry's office for a completely unrelated reason, but decided to ask about getting on a waiting list for the vaccine while I was at it. It just so happened that they had received a new shipment that morning. After finding out there was a lack of afternoon appointments, I picked the girls up from school and took them to finally get their vaccines. The fear of them becoming sick, and God forbid, something horrible happening to one of them after everything they (and we) have already been through had been gnawing at me for too long. Inaction isn't something I handle well, so I can't explain adequately the relief I felt at finally doing something. The girls are old enough and healthy enough to get the mist version of the vaccine, so our visit was quick and painless. They took their squirts up the nose like pros and delighted in the Dora stickers they were able to proudly sport when they returned to school. And I delighted in the fact that I could finally breathe a sigh of relief.